Sonic High: Emerald Lake
by twotailedfox
Summary: 32 main characters, 12 years of school and 1 campus in the middle of nowhere. As the students of Mobius High try to finish their senior year, relationships will be tested, tensions raised and drama will lurk around every corner. Dark and mature themes, many different relationships (no relationship is safe) and real world problems including suicidal thoughts, rape, racism, death etc
1. Chapter 1: Tradition

A/N: Hello everybody, and welcome to the sequel to Sonic High. Welcome to all old readers from number 1 and new readers who are just starting now. For those who have already read all 16 chapters of the original, read on and just skip the bold since you already know the drill (Or read it anyway to know what's in store). For those of you who haven't read Sonic High, you don't need to have read it but I'd recommend it to better understand the characters and their motivations/relationships. Also, although I try to mention why some characters have animosity towards others, sometimes I may forget to and just assume people know the event from the original that I'm referencing. Either way, I hope you all enjoy Sonic High 2!

 **Warning: This story is not like your normal high school fic. It is written to be more realistic and like actual high school. This means there will be a lot of darker topics written about that our students will go through which include, but are not limited to, Death, Suicide, Self-harm, LGBT, Bulimia, Bullying, teenage pregnancy etc. For this reason, this story is rated M. If anything may be offensive to you, I apologize but I will be writing about a lot of real life, serious issues.**

 **This story will include the 14 main characters from last story, as well as 14 new cast members to bring the total up to a main cast of 28. All will have their own arks, plot lines, happiness, depression, hard times and everything in between. This story focuses on the relationships between our cast of 28 all all the dramatic events that occur in their lives in their last year of high school. This cast will eventually grow to 32 and there will be a lot of side characters that will appear/be talked about every now and then to add to the drama.**

 **For shippers: This story will involve a multitude of ships, including malexfemale (majority), malexmale and femalexfemale. You have been warned. Don't like, don't read. Also, in this story, much like high school, no relationship is safe. There will be many break-ups and make-ups and new flings. Although some of the current relationships MIGHT end up together, none of them will be able to stay happy together throughout the story. If you don't like a couple, don't worry because anything can happen and nobody is safe**  
 **This story has characters from the games, TV shows and the comics but has no original characters and never will. If you are confused about a character, look them up and you might find somebody new that you like :)**

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Sonic High 2: Emerald Lake

PART 1: EMERALD LAKE

Chapter 1

Tradition

 _The low lying clouds rolled overhead, grey and thick with precipitation which only added to the gloomy ambiance of the field. The rows of black fold out chairs had been neatly arranged, all facing the lectern, every kid in the school and some family members taking their seats. All the guys wore their fancy blacks and the girls all donned black dresses and some even had black veils to cover their faces. All was silent. No birds were chirping, nobody was conversing and not even the wind dared to howl and ruin the somber moment. The only time the silence was broken was for some stagnated coughing or the quiet wails of some of the attendees. Razor finally stood from his chair in the front and walked over to the lectern, his fin protruding out the back of his black blazer._

 _"Thank you all for coming," he began in a somber voice. "I'm sure the deceased would have appreciated how you have all taken the time to come and pay your respects," he continued, addressing the saddened crowd as he held out his arm, gesturing to the closed casket that lay behind him..._

Earlier that semester...

…

Sonic strolled through the bustling streets of their little suburb. His hands stuffed into the pockets of his denim jeans as he whistled a light tune as he walked. He passed by the large structure, surrounded by adjacent, small, more modern buildings and large patches of grass in ovular shapes with wooden structure overlooking the area. Sonic frown, the sight of his school enticing his thoughts as he thought back to the previous semester they had all just endure. Pictures of his friends rushed through his mind. Knuckles, Rouge, Blaze, Silver, Amy, Sally, Shadow, Espio, Tikal, Cream, Jet, Fiona and, of course, his boyfriend, Tails.

'I guess some good things came out of last semester,' he smiled in thought as he picked up the pace and continued along the cemented road to his destination. As Sonic arrived at the mundane, suburban house, he walked up the winding path through the well-kept garden to the door and wrapped his knuckles on its surface.

"Oh, hey Sonic, come in," a well-built, red echidna answered, stepping aside to let Sonic enter the house.

"Thanks, Knux," Sonic nodded in greeting as he crossed the threshold and entered the main living room of the humble echidna's house. That's when Sonic's eyes fell on the beautiful black and white bat, draped on the fuchsia couch. Even though he had spent most of their three weeks of mid-year vacation with the echidna and bat, his gaze always traveled to the spectacular golden bangle fastened to her wrist. The emerald situated on the bangle sparkled in the rays of the sun, mirroring the hue of Sonic's own eyes.

"Sonic, how have you been, Hun?" she asked, swiveling her legs around so they could be planted on the floor and stood up, rushing over to wrap her arms around the sapphire hedgehog and pull him in for a hug.

"It won't be as fun not being able to hang out with you guys as much when school starts back up," Sonic frowned as he pulled away from the hug, his thoughts continually going back to their final semester at school.

"Gross, don't remind me about that place. I can't wait until the year is over and we can leave that place forever," Knuckles sighed, imagining a care free life beyond the confining walls of their high school.

"It's okay Blue, we can still hang at lunchtime together. Besides, don't think about going back yet. We still have our beginning of the end party to drink away our troubles before a new semester," Rouge beamed.

"Yeah. So who's going to host it this time?" Knuckles asked, glancing to Rouge who put her finger on her chin in thought before smiling.

"I'll host it. I only go to the most extravagant parties, so who better to host one than me."

"Doesn't Amy normally host them?" Sonic asked, looking between the two of them, who exchanged awkward glances. Rouge finally spoke up, shedding the silence that had begun to fall upon the three.

"Look, Sonic, Amy isn't invited this time. It's not that we hate her, we don't, but after all the crap she pulled last semester, we have all agreed that we need a bit more time before we can start trying to mend those bridges," Rouge confirmed, trying her best to sound civil about the whole situation.

"But she wasn't that bad. Besides, Sally is one of my best friends and those two have been going pretty great from what I've heard," Sonic tried to defend the absent, pink hedgehog.

"C'mon man! She tried to break up me and Rouge, as well as Blaze and Silver and even wouldn't give you or Tails a break. I know you're quick to defend but that isn't the same as the rest of us," Knuckles stood strong, glaring down Sonic who shrunk slightly back, the gears turning wildly in his head.

"Okay, you guys are probably right. I'll text Sally so see if she is still going to come. See you guys tonight," he waved as he sprinted out of the house, intent on running home to get ready before greeting Tails, as the fox was due to return that afternoon.

Knuckles and Rouge just looked absentmindedly at Sonic as he ran away.

"That guy is far too forgiving. That'll bite him in the butt eventually," Rouge sighed.

"Speaking of biting butts," Knuckles smirked at Rouge who just shook her head in annoyance at how corny the echidna's Segway was. "Wanna fuck?"

"Why Mr. Echidna, you're such a gentleman," she rolled her eyes as she emphasized the sarcasm in her voice. He placed his hand around her waist and brought her in, nibbling her ear slightly, sending shivers down her spine. "Well we still have a couple hours until I need to start getting ready for the party so sure, why not."

…

Tails placed his head in his hand, glancing out the window longingly, watching the leaves in the tree tops sway with the wind. He sighed audibly, turning his attention back to the pile of papers that were situated on the small, wooden desk.

"Almost done," he groaned, rubbing his temple between his hands. He stared up towards the clock that was fastened to the wall, watching the second hand tick away in circular motion. "Almost 3," he smiled, excited to finally be done with this. However, his spirits fell when a monkey strode through the doors, eyes fixated on the fox.

"Have you finished all your summer work Tails?" Ken asked, sifting through the many papers to check if they had been completed.

"Yes, sir," Tails nodded. Although not the most fun person to be around, Tails always respected Ken and thought of him like an uncle. Ken 'Monkey' Khan had been Tails' father, Amadeus' secretary for as long as the fox could remember. Amadeus would often spend late nights at the academy grading student's papers and Ken had been the one to come home and fix the young fox up some dinner when his mother was off on her business trips. Tails smiled his thanks as he gathered up his belongings and headed out to the bus stop.

'Oh, and one more thing," Ken called out, causing Tails to freeze in place and turn to look at the monkey. He dreaded what Ken would say next, knowing all too well what he was about to be asked to do. "Your father has requested a meeting to discuss why you refused that scholarship placement."

Tails' head fell to the floor. He had been dreading that meeting for the past three weeks. After the dance, Ken had come up to him and told him how Tails would have to go off and complete summer school as punishment for refusing the scholarship, which he had been informed that Amadeus had to pull quite a few strings to even make Tails applicable. Tails thought he had gotten off pretty easy, not even having to face his father but it turns out he would still have to face Amadeus' wrath head on.

"Okay," Tails gulped, nodding before he scurried out of the building and into the bus that was waiting beside the stop. Tails didn't want to have to face his father and explain the reason why. He knew he couldn't. Anxiety, regret and doubt welled around inside of him as a battle within began to rage but Tails knew that if he could just get home and be with Sonic, everything would be okay.

…

"Babe, it'll all be okay," the green hawk placed a reassuring hand on the rabbit's tense shoulder. Cream shrugged him off, continuing her pacing around the room and incoherent mumbling. Jet sucked in a deep, controlled breath. Cream had been a nervous wreck all morning. The anticipation for her upcoming interview with Mobius Academy had molded her into a nervous, anxious wreck. Jet had spent the better part of the day trying to calm her down but nothing had seemed to work and he was fast approaching his wits end.

"You don't understand how much of a big deal this is!" Cream snapped at him, spinning around on her heels and throwing her hands up in the air for emphasis.

"Cream, please don't yell," Jet said in a lowered tone. He simply stood up off the side of the bed and walked over to Cream. He wrapped his arms around her body and pressed his forehead against hers, their noses mere centimeters apart.

"What if I fail?" she shook with fear and dread.

"You won't. You are one of the kindest, smartest people I have ever had the privilege to meet. That academy should be lucky to have you," he smiled as he finished. Cream returned the smile, before closing the gap and crashing her lips against his. He returned the gesture, utilizing his tongue to elicit some moans from the young rabbit girl.

"Thanks," she breathed as the two pulled apart. Cream had really noticed it as the two of them had been hanging out for the majority of their three week, mid-year winter break from Mobius high. Jet used to be a cocky, arrogant bully but he had changed so much. Cream looked upon him with pride, glad that he was in her life. She didn't know if she was the one who spurred on his change of heart, or if something else happened, but the rabbit girl knew that she didn't want it to change.

"Don't mention it. Besides, I heard that Tails is returning from his holiday school punishment. His dad is one of the head professors there so maybe he can give you a few pointers," Jet suggested, earning a nod of agreement from Cream. Suddenly, Cream felt a slight buzzing from her pocket. She reached her paw into her tracksuit pocket and pulled out her phone, swiping the screen to read the message she had received.

Sonic: _Hey Cream. The party is at Rouge's tonight instead of Amy's. Same time. See you and Jet there_

Cream furrowed her eyebrows as she read the text, wondering why the place had been moved. It had been at Amy's place every single time since they all created the tradition three years ago.

Cream: _Won't Amy get mad that it isn't at her house_

Sonic: _The others talked it over and they aren't ready to talk to Amy yet_

Cream: _That's terrible_

Sonic: _I know but we can't really fight it. I think it would be best if we just keep it a secret from Amy. You know how she gets._

Cream: _Okay, but I want you to know that I don't feel good about this_

Sonic: _Me either. Anyways, later Cream_

Cream: _Bye Sonic_

"Who was that? You seemed a little worried," Jet remarked, reading her facial expression that he had come to know so well since that fateful night in the hospital.

"Just details about the party. It's at Rouge's place now. Come on, we should start to get ready," Cream replied, pushing past Jet to look through her closet for the perfect outfit to wear that night. Jet shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to push any more questions about the issue and instead began helping Cream with outfit choices.

…

The compartment began to slowly open from the undercarriage of the plane as the wheels were slowly extended into position. The nose of the plane aimed at the runway, began its descent as the passengers on the plane chatted excitedly, happy that their long flight was finally at its end.

"Thank Chaos this is finally over," Silver groaned, stretching his sore and aching muscles. His feet felt like they didn't even work anymore after being cramped under the seat in front of him with limited movement.

"The destination is always worth the pain of the flight," Blaze turned her head to smile at him. Silver returned it, leaning back. Blaze took her opportunity, leaning her head over to place it on Silver's shoulder, nuzzling up to his neck.

"I'd sit on this plane for eternity as long as you were here with me," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. The two had just come back on their romantic, two-week adventure to Mobotropolis. They had both come back refreshed, happy and more in love than ever before.

"As comfortable as you are, I really just want off this plane," Blaze laughed, to which Silver joined in with a light chuckle of his own. The two were startled as the plane made contact with the ground. The cabin rattled around roughly as the breaks were applied and the wheels slowly screeched to a stop, signifying the end of their journey.

A sound emanated through the plane and the gruff, raspy sound of the captain's voice resonated from the planes inbuilt speakers. He informed the passengers that they had made a safe landing in Central City and they were now all able to turn on their electronic devices.

"I wonder if the others have texted us any deets for the party tonight," Blaze thought aloud, holding down the button on top of her phone to switch on the device.

"Are you sure you're up to going tonight? It was a pretty long flight and I'm kind of tired," Silver admitted. Blaze shook her head.

"We haven't seen any of them since we left. We can't flake on the party anyway."

"But I don't think I'm ready to face either of… them, yet. I still need some time, y'know," Silver rubbed his sore neck as he spoke. Blaze went to her messages and saw one from the black and white bat. After reading it, she turned to Silver.

"Don't worry. Neither of them are going to be their tonight. It's the whole gang except those two, and obviously this will be Sally's first gath with us so we can't not show up," she nudged Silver, giving him her signature puppy dog eyes. Silver couldn't help her intense stare and melted under her radiant beauty.

"Low blow," he pouted playfully. "You know I can never resist that face."

"I know," she laughed, planting a kiss on his cheek before stepping out into the isle. She opened her overhead locker and began fiddling around with the bags, throwing Silver's to him whilst hoisting out her own.

'Finally home,' she thought to herself. 'I can't wait to see all of them tonight.'

"Blaze?" The feline turned behind her, her ears straining to hear the familiar sounding voice.

"Sally?" she questioned, slightly confused at the sight of the squirrel that weaved her way through the crowd to meet up with the violet feline. "What are you doing on this flight?"

"I just returned from Mobotropolis," she said, waving to Silver when she saw him leaning back in her seat. "What are you two doing here?"

"We just got back from our romantic getaway to Mobotropolis," Silver laughed as he scooched across the seats to stand up next to the two girls.

"No way! How did I not know you were going to be there too! We totally could have hung out," Sally mentioned, however if she was disappointed that she missed the two, she was good at hiding it.

"How come you were there?" Blaze asked as the trio began to walk down the aisle as the animals ahead of them had already begun exiting the aircraft.

"I used to live there. I just went back to visit my parents. I only moved to Central City recently to live with my aunt and got to Mobius High, remember," Sally said, reminding the two of how she had only just recently began going to the same school as the other.

"I totally forgot you were still a newbie," Silver winked jokingly.

"Yeah, same here," Blaze added. "You're just such a pivotal part of the group now that it's weird to think that we only just met a couple months ago."

"Thanks," Sally beamed that signature heartwarming smile of hers. "I can't wait to see Amy again. Do either of you know how she's been?" Silver and Blaze exchanged awkward glances, not knowing how to answer her question.

"Oh, right… sorry," Sally muttered as she recalled what the pink hedgehog had done to them last semester. She had completely forgotten about the fake pregnancy incident that plagued the lovers.

"No, it's alright. It was in the past. So are you going to come to our gath tonight?" Blaze asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm not so sure…" Sally admitted. "I got a text from Sonic and he seemed annoyed that Amy wasn't invited. I guess he is just a little frustrated that the group isn't giving her a second chance."

Silver raised an eyebrow at the squirrel, the gears turning in his mind. He wasn't sure if Sally was doing it intentionally or not, or even if she knew what she was doing, but the guilty sensation that was being forcefully applied to the two felt horrible.

"No, it's not like that," Silver started defensively. "We just need a little more time is all. She did something pretty horrible."

"Yeah, but she is a changed person now," Sally added.

"We know, but we would still like a little more time. Baby steps," Blaze finished.

"Okay… sure… But yeah, I guess I'll see you at the party tonight then. I promised Sonic I would come tonight, even if Amy isn't invited," she yelled as she walked passed them and exited off the plane, waving goodbye to the two.

"Well… that was awkward," Blaze whispered to Silver, who nodded in agreement as the two began to descend the steps that were connected to the exit of the plane.

…

"Aaaaaand… there!" Amy squealed with delight as she pressed the full stop key on her laptop, signifying the end of her sentence, chapter and book. She leaned back in her desk chair, marveling at her work. The pink curtains were drawn, blocking out all the sunlight to shroud the room in darkness. Dust billowed around the room, upset from its dormant blanketed layering from the sudden movement from the hedgehog.

Amy had tried to hang out with a couple of her friends throughout the break but all of them seemed to be to… _busy._ Apart from that one dinner with Sonic and occasional brunch with Tikal, the orange echidna that had spent the better half of the break doing nothing either, Amy hadn't left the house.

Instead, she decided to try her hand at writing. Throughout her young childhood, she was always drawn to the sappy, unbelievable situations that buff, handsome males and innocent, attractive females would get into in her fantasies. Her favourite author, Aleena Hedgehog, had written a multitude of famous romance novels that Amy used to get lost in. She would always imagine herself as the damsel, brought into a romantic lead because of a strong country man, or a suave business tycoon, which she used to always picture as Sonic.

Amy sighed, saving her word document onto her laptop as she recalled the one time she was lucky enough to meet her idol when she was only 15 years old…

 _"Next," The regal looking hedgehog sitting behind the desk called. I smiled, dashing up to the desk and placing my favourite book down on her desk. The front showed a strong echidna wearing black leather, standing on what appeared to be a pirate ship with a small lynx in his arms._

 _"Can you please sign this for me? The name's Amy." I asked, flashing my smile at her. Aleena took the book off of my hands and took out her black marker. She opened the page and began to sign when she paused, and looked up at me._

 _"Who is this Sonic person?" she asked, her glasses falling down her face slightly. I suddenly froze up, completely embarrassed. In my rush that morning, I completely forgot to double check which version of the novel that I picked up. I sat there flabbergasted as a crimson colour began to light up my face._

 _I winced as Aleena chuckled slightly as she read the little message scribbled in quite bad handwriting on the front page. 'Dear Ames, Have a great 15th Birthday. You'll always be my number 1 girl. Love Sonic' It was clear that the additional heart drawn around the boy's name was an addition that I had made when I got the birthday present from him._

 _"Is this your boyfriend?" she asked. I shook my head._

 _"I wish," I admitted, casting my glance downwards. Aleena looked up at me, pausing a moment as she thought before scribbling a little note in the back of the book, leaving the page Sonic had scrawled his message un-touched._

 _"Love comes in many mysterious ways. Although I glamorize it in my fictional books, that doesn't mean true love and happiness isn't real too. It is clear just by looking at you that you love this boy, and if I had to guess, I'd say you have for a long time. Don't give up, Amy. Keep chasing him, and don't give up. You deserve this boy, Amy, and if you work hard enough at your goal, I know he will fall in love with you. Love is something special, precious, never forget that and don't give up on your dream of snagging him," Aleena spoke as if she was an expert on the topic, which to me, she was._

 _"T-Thanks," I stuttered._

 _"Good luck with this boy young lady," Aleena said as she handed the book back to me and waved me off, calling on the next person in line. I looked at the book in confusion before opening it up to see what she had written._

 _'Dear Amy, never give up on love, Sonic is one lucky guy. Aleena.'_

 _I hugged the book close to her chest as I squealed in delight. Aleena chuckled as she saw my reaction and I ran straight home, intent on finally making Sonic my own…_

Amy laughed to herself as she read over the little note that her idol had once written for her.

'Wow, I think I took that to heart a little too much,' Amy laughed to herself, thinking back to all she tried to do to keep Sonic. Amy thought about how a squirrel from the Mobotropolis countryside rushed into her life and stole her for her own. Although her love for Sonic still burned deep within her, for the first time since their horrible break-up six months ago, she was content.

Amy's phone buzzed as she contemplated her current, strange situation with a girl, despite what she always thought about herself.

Rouge: _Sorry Honey but the party is cancelled tonight._

Amy: _But it's tradition_

Rouge: _I know but with Blaze and Silver still in Mobotropolis and Tails still away it doesn't feel right. Besides, Knuckles is feeling quite sick so I'm going to stay and look after him._

Amy: _Oh… okay, I'll see you Monday?_

Rouge: _Of course._

Amy sighed as she placed her phone on the desk. They hadn't missed one of their party's since it was created by her. Something seemed wrong, but Amy shook off the feeling. She didn't mind, since Sally was still set to return that afternoon and if she couldn't hang out with the squirrel at the party, Amy thought she could still invite Sally over to spend the night.

Amy: _Hey, you landed yet?_

Sally: _Yeah, a few minutes ago. You'll never guess who I saw on the plane!_

Amy: _Who_

Sally: _Blaze and Silver!_

Amy: _You sure… Rouge said she had to cancel the party because those two weren't scheduled to return until tomorrow…_

The time ticked by as Amy stared at her screen, waiting for Sally to send a message. After a couple minutes, Sally finally returned the message.

Sally: _Oh… yeah… they caught an earlier flight. But they are still rly tired so they probs just wanna sleep, y'know?_

Amy: _Yeah, I guess :( Anyway, since the party is cancelled, do you wanna come spend the night?_

Sally: _Sorry, I'd love to but I've got a thing on tonight_

Amy: _What thing?_

Another minute passed as Amy eyed her phone suspiciously, waiting for Sally's reply.

Sally: _Sorry, it's a dinner with my Aunt. She wants it to just be the two of us_

Amy: _Oh, okay_

Sally: _Rain check?_

Amy: _Yeah, sure_

Amy tossed her phone on her bed and sighed loudly. She really wanted to see Sally again. They still needed to talk about their… complicated relationship. Amy still wasn't sure if there was something between them or not. After hearing Sally's confession of love and the kiss that they shared, Amy thought a lot about how she felt. She had never really considered anybody else besides Sonic, especially not a girl. But she couldn't deny that the feelings she had for Sally were deeper than friendship.

She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts of Sally and Sonic, along with the feeling that Sally and Rouge were hiding something from her. Instead, she decided to throw on her gym clothes and let out some of her frustrations with a jog on the treadmill.

…

The green arm passed the bottle to the red fox, who greedily swiped it out of his hands and took a sizable swig, wiping her mouth after removing the bottle from her lips. Scourge chuckled to himself as he took back the bottle of vodka and took a swig for himself.

"That's the good stuff," he sighed contently as he looked over to Fiona and grinned at her. The two delinquents were sprawled out on the bonnet of Scourge's car, situated in the parking lot of their high school. Scourge glanced upwards, his eyes twinkling with the stars.

"Gimme another shot," Fiona said, taking the bottle from Scourge before he had anytime to answer. Upon downing another gulp of the liquid, Fiona accidently let too much of the stuff down her throat, burning her esophagus as it washed down into her stomach. She hiccupped, closing her eyes and sticking out her tongue in a gaging motion against the burning sensation that the spirit had given her.

"You're such a weakling," Scourge chuckled as he was handed back the bottle, smiling at the vixen's pain. "Let me show you how a pro does it." Scourge lifted the bottle up to his mouth and took three big gulps of the liquid, giving a satisfying sigh after he pulled it away.

"What won't guys do to satisfy their egos," Fiona cackled to herself as she leant over and pushed Scourge backwards, climbing on top of him as he now lay on his back on the car bonnet.

"Hey," Scourge barked accusingly. "You pretended to have trouble to get me more drunk."

"Guilty," she hissed seductively into her ear. "I'm not that weak. Just face it. I'm tougher than you, smarter than you," she paused. "And more flexible than you." Scourge smirked back at her as she ducked her head and crashed her lips against his.

"We'll have to see if that's true," Scourge said as he pulled away from the kiss. "And too bad that I don't get drunk," he smirked. Fiona grinned evilly as she began to straddle Scourge, causing his pants to grow steadily tighter until his uncomfortable expression showed on his face.

"About time," Fiona smirked as she began to slide herself down his body, her head dipping lower. As her head fell lower, positioned over the zipper on Scourge's pants, she paused to begin slowly unzipping his black jeans, taunting him with her slowness.

However, the sound of a tin can clashing against the pavement caught her attention for a split second, eliciting a groan from Scourge.

"What was that?" Fiona asked.

"Who cares?" Scourge whined.

"You boys only think with your dicks," Fiona shook her head as she glanced around her surroundings until her blue eyes fell upon a purple chameleon who was kicking a small can across the parking lot, his gaze downcast. She smiled, reveling in his depressed facial features and his slumped over posture.

Espio skulked across the cemented area, hands in his pockets and face staring at his feet. The chameleon was lost deep in thought, as he had been throughout most of the winter holidays. He thought back to the love of his life, Tikal. He had spent the better part of his second term of year 12 hanging out with the wonderful girl, slowly falling deeper and deeper in love. He remembered back to how ecstatic he felt when she finally began to reciprocate the feelings, and that only left him in a worse state. He thought about sending her another apology text, but seeing as she hadn't responded to the other 4 he sent off, he decided against it.

Fiona smiled to herself. 'I told him that he would regret ever crossing me. Looks like the fag got what he deserved.'

"Fiona, come on," Scourge whined. He felt like he was almost in pain as the temptation and anticipation was killing him since Fiona had paused for a very long time.

"Heh, okay. Just enjoying a bit of karma," she laughed as she finished unzipping the hedgehog's pants.

…

Central City mall began to quiet down as the hustle and bustle of the busy Saturday afternoon had wound down slightly. The many shoppers were beginning to head home and the many stores that lined the interior of the large building had begun their nightly rituals of counting up inventory and closing up their shops, removing precious valuables from window displays for the night.

Tikal picked up her cup of piping hot coffee and took a small sip of it. She immediately placed it back down and stuck out her tongue, fanning air on it with her free hand.

"Hot?" a green pronghorn asked her, tilting her head sympathetically.

"Yeah," Tikal admitted, smiling her thanks at Clove. Clove and Tikal had been friends for as long as Tikal could remember, ever since they were in diapers together. However, although Clove did attend Mobius high, she was forced to go to the boarding campus out in the country, situated next to Emerald Lake. Since their campus didn't go back until two weeks after the city central campus did, Clove was able to come back and hang out with Tikal for the winter.

"I can't believe you start school in two days!" Clove mentioned, feeling slightly bad for her friend, but relieved that she still had the extra two weeks.

"Don't rub it in," Tikal sighed, wishing that it was only the start of her break. "You have no idea how ready I am to leave school."

"I know right! It's almost over, and then you and I can move into an apartment in the city together like we always planned to," she squealed with delight. "By the way, do you wanna stay the night tonight?"

"I'd love to but you know I have the party with the gang," Tikal muttered sadly.

"Oh… yeah," Clove tried to hide her disappointment but Tikal couldn't help but notice it. The echidna thought about what she could do to help her friend but in the end she opted to just allow the silence to fall upon the two like thick fog as she didn't want to make the situation worse.

"Well, at least we got you a kick ass dress to wear for the night," Clove piped up, determined to remove the damper on their conversation.

"I'm going to look amazing in this," Tikal giggled, hugging the box to her chest. "Thanks so much for helping me pick the best one."

"Hey, what are friends for," Clove asked before reaching over the table and giving Tikal a quick hug.

"Best friend selfie time," Tikal laughed, relieved that Clove moved on. She smiled as Clove walked over to her side of the circular table and pulled a funny face. Tikal mirrored her facial features and snapped the picture, clicking all her contacts in her snapchat. (Snapchat)

"Wait, didn't you and Espio break up?" Clove asked.

"Oh… yeah, I guess I forgot to change his name on snapchat," she sighed as she pressed the contact entitled 'XxEspioxX' with love hearts on either side of his name. She removed it and just replaced it with his name, before unchecking him so the snap wouldn't send to the chameleon.

"Don't worry, he didn't deserve you anyway," Clove placed a sympathetic hand on Tikal's shoulder as she thought back to the dreadful night of the dance. She swiped her phone sideways and glanced at the screen, reading all the pleading messages that Espio had sent her. Suddenly her phone buzzed and she read the new message.

Knuckles: _Hey, got your snap. Are you still coming tonight?_

Tikal: _Yeah, I wouldn't miss it_

Knuckles: _I talked with Rouge and she still doesn't want Clove to show up, sorry. She just isn't part of the group, understand?_

Tikal: _Yeah Knux. It's cool. (This is clove by the way :P)_

Knuckles: _Hey Clove! Sorry again. We need to catch up some time._

Tikal: _Tots._

Knuckles: _Cya tonight_

"How is old Knuckles going? I'm glad you guys are still good friends," Clove smiled.

"Yeah, it was a bit rough but Rouge has really been a good influence on him, despite all their fights and their constant off again on again relationship. I think they have finally settled on 'on again.'" Tikal laughed, thinking back to their turbulent relationship last semester. Clove frowned slightly at the mention of the bat, never really liking her all that much.

"As long as he is happy," Clove frowned. "Anyway, I gotta go. See ya later Tiks," Clove yelled as she got up and ran off, waving back to the lone, confused echidna who just sat at the table alone.

…

Rouge's house was decorated to perfection. Neon lights were strung around the room, flashing on and off in a multitude of all the colours of the rainbow. She had a set of tables next to the eggshell white coloured wall of her house. A sizable collection of beers, ciders, wine and spirits were sat atop the counter. The table adjacent had a wide variety of snacks, from chips to chocolate.

"Wow babe, you really went all out today," Knuckles gaped as he walked into her house early. She rushed down the stairs, her dress flowing behind her slightly as she draped her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug.

"I need to let everybody know that I can throw a better party than Amy," she winked before breaking apart. "How do I look?" she asked, giving Knuckles a slight twirl.

"Great as always," Knuckles nodded in approval before he heard another knock at the door. "Don't worry, I'll get it," he called as Rouge rushed off to kick her dog out of the house into the backyard, not wanting her puppy to interfere.

Knuckles wrenched open the door and saw the orange echidna standing at the door, her hair braided in such a way that made the lighting dance off her dreds. The azure coloured gem situated in her headband practically shined.

"Knuckles!" she called in delight as she threw her arms around him and pulled him into an awkwardly long hug. She quickly pulled away, coughing into one hand when she saw Rouge return and raise an eyebrow at her.

"Ahem… Nice place Rouge. I can't believe I'm only just now seeing it," she gawked as she walked into the house and picked up a crisp bottle of apple cider off of the table and opened it with the silver bottle opener.

"I don't normally allow guests to my house except Knuckles and…" Rouge trailed off, her smile suddenly wiping off her face. Knuckles saw Rouge's sudden tonal shift and placed a consoling hand around her shoulders.

"I know Rouge. I never really saw eye to eye with him but I miss him too," Knuckles spoke softly as she buried her face into his neck, willing the tears back into her eyes so that her make up wouldn't get ruined. Tikal locked eyes with Knuckles, tilting her head slightly to show her confusion. Knuckles mouthed the word 'Shadow,' and Tikal nodded in understanding before she tried to change the subject. However, before she could speak, Rouge piped up.

"I know I shouldn't be mad with Shadow, but he didn't leave on purpose. It was all _his_ fault," Rouge balled her fist angrily.

"Whose?" Tikal asked but suddenly, a voice at the door stopped Rouge from answering and from the way Rouge seethed with rage as she heard the name spoken, answered Tikal's question.

"Hey Rouge, you in there? I've got Tails with me," Sonic called out as he opened the door. Rouge took a deep breath in and out before she strolled open to the door to greet the sapphire hedgehog and golden fox.

"Hey guys, how are you?" Rouge sung, wrapping her arms around Sonic in an affectionate hug as Knuckles fist bumped Tails. Before Tails could do a thing to greet Rouge, the bat turned and walked back over to Tikal, leaving a stunned fox at the door.

"What are you guys waiting for? Shut the door and come over to party," Rouge called nonchalantly as she walked.

"You guys want a beer?" Knuckles asked walking in front of the two.

"Sure thing Knux," Sonic called, walking behind him until he felt Tails' hand grab his and pull the hedgehog back slightly.

"Did you see the way Rouge acted to me just then? Why does she hate me?" Tails whispered. Sonic just chuckled in response before kissing Tails on the forehead and pulling him into the main part of the room.

"Just because she doesn't love you as much as I do doesn't mean she hates you."

"But-"

"Tails, calm down. She is fine. I know you're a bit tense from your extra studies but you need to chill. Let's get a drink," Sonic soothed to Tails who nodded in compliance.

Blaze and Silver were the next two to arrive, followed closely by Jet and Cream. Niceties were exchanged as the group stood in a big circle, catching up on the events in each other's lives over the break.

"I still can't believe you two are actually dating. Until you guys showed up tonight I just thought Knuckles and Sonic were playing a prank on me," Rouge laughed to a blushing and flustered Cream.

"If you asked me at the start of the year that I'd be dating little Cream I would have signed you up for an insane asylum," Jet chuckled as he placed his arm around her shoulder. "But now I can't imagine life without her."

A collective 'Aww' emanated through the room as the other three couples placed their hands in each other's. Tikal looked around the room, sighing as she realized she was the only one without a date. Silver looked over at Tikal with remorse in his eyes and thought he would try to cheer her up.

"Don't be sad Tikal. Espio was bad news. You're better off without him, and besides, you'll find somebody new eventually."

"Yeah… I guess," she sighed. "I just thought that he really had changed for me, y'know."

"Well don't give him all the credit. Amy sure helped him become a dick head too," Rouge added, ignoring Sonic as he winced, saddened that his friends were talking so negative about the others.

"Come on guys," Tails suddenly spoke up. "Espio used to be a bad person because he was under Fiona's thumb. He really did try to change after he broke free, thanks to you, Tikal."

"Fiona didn't tell him to trick me!" Blaze snapped. "That was all Amy and him trying to break Silver and I up for no reason. Fiona might be a horrible, cold person, but I don't think even she would go that far."

"Espio also went around with that picture of you and Blaze, and Sally and Tikal, and Rouge and Shadow. He broke so many of us up!" Knuckles added angrily. "Redemption or not, it's going to take more than a sappy speech in a cafeteria to win me over."

Sonic's gaze darted from one friend to the other, not knowing what to do to keep everyone from hating the pair more than they did Fiona. He couldn't comprehend how the chameleon and hedgehog had become more hated than the fiery vixen that had plagued their lives for the past three and a half years.

"Rouge?" a voice called out from the doorway. "I knocked but nobody answered so I just let myself in."

"Sally!" Sonic called, rushing over to give his friend a hug. "Please, come on in and enjoy the festivities." Sally was curious at why the hedgehog was acting strangely happy to see her but she just assumed it was because she had been away for three weeks. If only she knew that Sonic was just using her to get the others to stop talking badly about Amy and Espio.

"Anybody up for some beer pong?" Jet asked, narrowing his eyes at Knuckles and shooting him a glare that screamed for a challenge.

"You're so on!" Knuckles laughed, grabbing a bunch of bottles in his arms and walking over to another large table, setting up the cups in the same arrangement as bowling pins. The guys poured their cups full of beer, adding a shot of vodka to each glass for that extra penalty.

"So, you guys want to play truth or dare? Sonic tells me that you guys play that every one of these parties," Sally asked, trying to be as included as possible. Sonic and Tails just looked at each other before the group all laughed.

"Maybe not this time. Let's just try to avoid drama as much as possible," Sonic chuckled.

"How about we just dance instead?" Cream offered, to which the group all nodded eagerly to.

"I'll put my playlist on!" Blaze cheered, rushing over to the speakers and plugging her phone into the dock. She pressed shuffle and a random song begun to play as the remaining eight guests begun to spin and dance as a group to the pumping music.

Slowly, the night drew long as the group chatted, danced and had fun. Jet destroyed Knuckles in the first round but the stubborn echidna wanted a re-match. They let Silver and Sonic have a round first before the two battled it out again, with Jet cleaning up again. The four decided to play doubles, with the loser of the other round (Silver) teaming up with Jet. With Knuckles' third loss, he had begun to get very drunk, along with most of the other guys and the girls who had all but annihilated the bottle of tequila. It was late in the night, and all ten guests just begun loosely, drunkenly dancing to the songs. Suddenly, one of Blaze's favourite songs began to play and she took center stage, dancing and singing loudly and out of tune with the words. She grabbed an empty cider bottle and pretended it was a make-shift microphone.

"Beware, beware, be skeptical. Of the smiles, the smiles are plated gold. Deceit so natural, but a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning," Blaze belted at the top of her voice. Tails and Cream, who were the least drunk out of the group as neither of them drank much, looked at each other. The irony of the song that Blaze sung to wasn't lost on them.

Silver joined in with Blaze, loving the band almost as much as she did. He began to join her as the chorus finally rolled around.

"So could you tell me, how you're sleeping easy, how you're only thinking of yourself? Show me how you justify, telling all your lies like second nature," he sung. Rouge waltzed over mid verse and took the empty bottle of cider that the two pretended was the microphone to finish the chorus.

"Listen. Mark my words one day. You will pay, you will pay. Karma's gonna come collect your debt!" She glanced towards Tails, before turning back to Blaze at the end of the chorus. Blaze snatched the bottle off Rouge as she sang the second verse, being the only one of the three who actually knew all the words.

"Aware, aware you stalk your prey. With criminal mentality. You sink your teeth into the people you depend on. Infecting everyone you're quite the problem!"

As the song continued and the three began to sing in unison in the chorus, Tikal decided to join in on the singing. She grabbed the bottle from Rouge and begun to sing alongside the interlude.

"Maybe you'll change. Abandon all your wicked ways. Make amends and start anew again. Maybe you'll see, all the wrongs you did to me. And start all over, start all over again."

"This probably isn't the best song for this group to be listening to," Tails whispered out of the corner of his mouth to Cream whilst watching his friends sing louder and dance more frantically.

"Don't worry Tails, I'm sure all the drama is behind us now. We went through hell and came out of it mostly stronger," Cream reassured him. "What's the worst that could possibly happen?"

* * *

 _A/N: Well there you have it, the first chapter of my brand new story, and the sequel to Sonic High! I really hope you all enjoyed it and are excited for the up-coming drama, romances, heartbreak and everything inbetween. This story will be a lot, lot longer than my original, including over 50 chapters so get ready. Also if you are enjoying it so far, please conisder leaving a review as they give me motivation and really mean a lot to me. ANyway, I hope you all enjoyed this and have a nice day :P_


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

_A/N: Welcome back to Sonic High: Emerald Lake. For those who made it past chapter 1 and are still here, I guess I did something right in the previous chapter :) In that case, I won't keep any of you waiting any longer. Please enjoy chapter 2!_

* * *

Chapter 2

Introductions

Sonic rushed through the front door, bursting it open with so much force that the sturdy door almost fell off of its hinges. Tails walked behind him in step a little more tentatively.

"Uh… Sonic… Maybe you should calm down a little bit?" he mumbled as he walked through the doorway, kicking off his shoes as he entered the house.

"Nah, the door will be fine. Besides, I'm glad we are finally done!" he beamed, letting his backpack slip from the shoulder that it was slinging from to slam into the floor carelessly.

"Sonic, it's only been a day, and it wasn't even a full day today," Tails reminded the eager hedgehog but Sonic seemed undeterred.

"Yeah, but anytime away from school is good time. Besides, with less time at school means more time I get to spend with you," he winked, laughing when he saw the crimson appear on Tails face.

"Sonic, honey, can you come in here?" a voice called from the other room. Tails recognized the voice as Sonic's mother, but there was a hint of hesitation and regret in her voice.

"Yeah, by the way, Tails is here too," Sonic called in reply. Not a mere second passed before Bernadette responded.

"Tails, dear, can you please go home? Thanks." Something sounded wrong, but Tails complied and gave Sonic a quick goodbye kiss before exiting the house. Tails had always liked Bernadette, and she was so supportive when Sonic came clean about his relationship with Tails. He wanted to know what had her so wound up, and be there to support the sapphire hedgehog but he knew better than to interfere and just left without a word, shooting off a text on his phone to somebody, leaving Sonic standing alone in front of the door.

Sonic closed it slowly, swallowed deeply and began to shuffle over to the kitchen. He steeled his nerves, preparing for the worst but what awaited him in the kitchen was something that Sonic could not ever have imagined in his wildest dreams. There, sitting at the table next to his mother were two hedgehogs that he had never seen in his life.

"Sonic… darling," Bernadette began. "I'd like you to meet Sonia and Manic. Your… brother and sister!"

…

"Hello Master Prower," Ken the monkey greeted Tails as he walked into the house. "I thought you would be over at Master Sonic's place for the evening?" he questioned. "Oh, and also, your father would like a meeting with you on Wednesday at the academy so you will have to miss school to go out to visit him."

"Nah, something came up Ken. Tell father that I'll be there," Tails nodded. "Hey, is it okay if I have my friend Cream come over? I need to help her out with something," Tails asked.

"Certainly, but make sure you keep that bedroom door open," Ken added slyly before he turned to leave, laughing at the blush that crossed the fox boy's face.

"Keeeeen, you know it's not like that," he groaned in annoyance as the monkey left to go prepare some dinner for the night.

"It's not like what?" a quiet voice asked from the doorway. Tails turned with a start, noticing the little rabbit standing on the other side of the wire door.

"Oh, hey Cream… it's nothing. Please, come in," he gestured into the house and Cream obliged thankfully. Cream noticed that Tails seemed quite worked up and angry, but didn't want to press anything. She noticed him quickly send off a message before he turned off his phone.

"Sorry about that. I just had to deal with something. Wanna come upstairs?" He asked. Cream nodded and together, the two removed their shoes and hustled upstairs into Tails' bedroom where they got down to business.

"Tails… I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," Cream began finally after a few awkward seconds of silence.

"Come on Cream, there is nothing to be nervous about. I know you have wanted this to happen ever since the start of the year," Tails smiled, shuffling a little closer to where she was sitting on the side of his bed, her feet dangling off the side.

"I just don't know if I can do this," she squeaked. "What about Jet?"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Trust me. Jet will understand. Just practice with me and everything will go smoothly," he gave her that innocent, heartwarming smile that used to always make her melt. She took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. Tails moved closer to her, staring into her eyes as he began.

"So, Cream the Rabbit, tell us why you think that you are Mobius Academy material?"

Cream and Tails practiced Cream's interview for the next hour. Tails, having a father as the most prestigious and respected lecturer and head examiner at the academy, knew a lot about the application process and offered to help Cream practice for her big interview on Wednesday. After many failed responses, Cream finally became confident enough with herself to answer appropriately and make herself seem like a worthy applicant.

"Well Miss Rabbit, I think you are exactly what this academy needs. We are happy to announce that you have been accepted," Tails announced finally at the end. Cream let out a happy scream before covering her mouth, embarrassed for her ecstatic outburst. The two fell back onto the bed, holding their stomachs as they let out uncontrollable laughs.

After the giggles finally ceased, Cream rolled over onto her side to face Tails, as he did the same to her.

"Thanks for helping me out like this. It really means a lot," Cream smiled.

"What else are friends for? Besides, I need to go see dad on Wednesday anyway so we can take the bus to the academy together tomorrow and come back together Wednesday night," he stated.

"I'd like that," Cream agreed, bringing Tails into a tight embrace.

"Master Prower," Ken called from downstairs. "Dinner is ready! I made enough for your little friend if she would like to stay." Tails looked expectantly at Cream, awaiting her answer. She pondered her decision for a few seconds before nodding eagerly at the offer and the two rushed down stairs to enjoy the delectable food prepared by the monkey caretaker.

…

Sally lay on her back lazily, sinking deeper and deeper into the comfortable couch situated in the middle of Amy's living room. Her legs were thrown up over the side of the couch and she was lying in a rather un-flattering position but she didn't mind, seeing as Amy was the only other person in the house. She held up a small binder to her face.

"This is actually really good!" Sally found her voice finally, looking over to Amy.

"I just wish publishers would think so," Amy sighed exasperatedly, pushing back from the desk and getting up from her chair. "I've sent it off to so many publishers but none of them will even look at it. Something about needing a literary agent or something."

"Well, if I were a publisher, I'd publish this in a heartbeat," Sally laughed, closing the binder and putting it on the table nearby. "I can't bring myself to put it down." Amy looked from the squirrel to the table, a frown appearing on her face. She wasn't sure if the squirrel was being legitimate or not.

"You just put it down then…" Amy mentioned flatly.

"That's only because I have something even better to keep me entertained," she smiled, opening her arms in a gesture for the pink hedgehog. Amy sighed, admitting defeat to the publishers as she walked over to Sally and lay down next to her.

"I just wish they would at least give it a chance," Amy complained. "I know romantic novels aren't as popular now as they used to be but I just think mine is worth a read."

"I know," Sally admitted, letting her hand fall through Amy's pink locks. "If anybody knows romance, it's you."

"Tell them that," Amy whined, before nestling into Sally.

"Why don't you just ask Rouge?" Sally asked, sitting up slightly.

"Why would I ask her?" Amy asked.

"Isn't her aunt like that super popular editor that is renowned around Mobius?"

"Wait… You're saying that Rouge is the niece of THE Zouge the Bat? Aleena's publisher?" Amy asked, dumbfounded. Sally just stared back plainly at her, giving her a dead pan expression.

"Seriously? Zouge the Bat… Rouge the Bat. They share the last name and look like they could be twins, apart from the 15-year age difference," Sally muttered.

"You think Rouge could snag me an interview?" Amy asked hopefully.

"I don't know…" Sally admitted. "She is still kind of pissed at you after all the shit you pulled this year." Sally said, but quickly finished her thought when she saw Amy's spirits fade. "But I'm sure she will if you just apologize."

"You think so? Thanks Sally, you're the best," Amy cheered, closing the gap between their faces, allowing their lips to touch in a deep kiss.

"I know I am," Sally giggled as she pulled back slightly. "Besides, that party that she threw was probably just a one off anyw-" Sally suddenly froze, her eyes widening as she realized what she had just said.

"What party?" Amy asked, sitting up next to Sally.

"Party? I didn't say anything about a party," Sally dodged the question, trying to cover her tracks. "Now, where were we?" She wrapped her hands around Amy but the pink hedgehog swatted her arms away, pressing the issue.

"Do you mean the Beginning of the End? Rouge told me it wasn't on!"

"N…No, it wasn't," Sally replied, getting quickly flustered.

"And you told me that you were at your Aunts that night!" she pointed an accusing finger at the squirrel.

"Amy… I'm so sorry but they made me promise not to tell you and I'm still new to the whole group. Blaze, Silver and Rouge really just didn't want to have to deal with you after the pregnancy stunt you pulled and how you tried to break Knuckles and Rouge up countless times for Tikal. I just wanted to stay neutral and didn't want to cause any trouble."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Amy threw up her hands in anger.

"Amy, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to cause even more conflict," Sally replied.

"You're my girlfriend! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Amy, I am on your side. It was just one little party, that doesn't mean I'm taking sides. Besides, there aren't even sides! This will all blow over by next week." Sally tried to calm Amy down but she was getting too worked up.

"I'll give them all a piece of my mind tomorrow! As for you. Can you just leave me alone for a bit?" Amy yelled, trying to stop herself from losing her temper. Sally opened her mouth to argue but thought it fruitless. She just nodded her head and slipped out of Amy's house, mentally scolding herself for that idiotic little slip.

…

Knuckles and Blaze walked side by side down the street, as they usually did after school seeing as their houses were only a street away from each other. They exchanged basic small talk, mainly complaining about the new teachers they had both received for the new semester. Slowly, talk shifted from school and studies to their friends, and eventually, to Sonic and Tails.

"I'm just glad that they are happy together. It took Sonic long enough to confess his feelings and give up on his stupid popularity," Blaze sighed.

"Yeah, but it seems like that has kind of been forgotten. Sonic seemed like he was back on his throne as king of the school today. Hopefully that doesn't go back to his head, considering all Tails gave up to be with Sonic after his little confession," Knuckles added, shoving his hands into his baggy pants.

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked, turning to him. Knuckles simply shrugged.

"Y'know. How Tails got a position at that super prestigious academy up north but refused the place because it would mean that he wouldn't be able to be with Sonic," Knuckles replied nonchalantly like it was common knowledge.

"He what?!" Blaze blurted out suddenly.

"What's the big deal? I think it's kind of cute," Knuckles said before realizing what he had just uttered. "And if you ever tell anybody I said that, I won't be scared to hit you!" he warned, only half-jokingly.

"Okay, whatever. I need to go. See you Knuckles," Blaze waved as she ran off. She flung her scarf tighter around her shoulders and removed one of her gloves as she sped up, taking out her phone. She typed a frantic text message, sending it off to the fox.

Blaze: _Tails, are you busy? I really need to talk to you_

Tails: _Sorry Blaze but Cream is about to come over. I'm helping her for her big interview on Wednesday. Can we talk when we get back on Thursday?_

Blaze: _It needs to be now!_

Tails: _Can't you just text it? I have no time!_

Blaze sighed angrily as she busted through the door of her house, ignoring the hello's from her parents in the kitchen. She rushed up stairs, removing her other glove, scarf and jacket as she fell down onto her bed, engrossed in the conversation.

Blaze: _Fine. Why the hell did you give up on the scholarship to Mobius Academy?!_

Tails: _I didn't want to leave Sonic_

Blaze: _That was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Are you crazy?_

Tails: _Dad is one of the most prestigious staff up there. I'll easily get a spot next year. I just want some time with Sonic since we only just started going out._

Blaze: _For somebody super smart, you can be a real idiot sometimes_

Tails: _What's your problem? You're supposed to be my best friend!_

Blaze: _Oh, that's rich coming from you! Who was the one that almost gave me a bloody concussion last semester? Some friend you were!_

Blaze pinched herself, instantly regretting her last message. She tried to retract it as soon as she typed it out but she already pressed send. She stared at her phone, awaiting a response as her heart beat faster than it ever had.

Tails: _Cream is here. Bye_

Blaze: _Tails I'm sorry_

Blaze: _Tails?_

Blaze: _Tails?_

Blaze threw her phone down on her bed as hard as she could and picked up her pillow. She screamed her heart out, annoyed at herself for the conversation that just transpired.

…

"My what?!" Sonic repeated, still awe-struck.

"This is your brother, Manic and your sister, Sonia, from over in Westopolis," Bernadette repeated, pointing to a pink hedgehog with long hair falling down her back wearing a lovely dress and a green hedgehog with messy, wild hair sporting a red jacket.

"H…How?" Sonic babbled, still not being able to fully comprehend how this was happening. How could he have siblings? He was always an only child. And, above all else, how could they be in the same year as he was?

"Well… you see, your father and I," Bernadette began but Sonic interrupted her before she could say anymore.

"No! Not how it happened. How could you have known about my siblings and not told me about them?! You told me dad died!" Sonic bellowed, his voice getting louder and louder.

"Sonic, you need to calm down," Sonia spoke, her voice shaky indicating that she was still trying to get to grips with the knowledge of a second brother but she seemed to be handling it much better.

"We just found out about you as well but we didn't take it out on our father!" Manic stood up, challenging Sonic as he walked over to him.

"Your father," Sonic poked.

"What?" Sonia asked.

"Your father, not mine. I don't have a father. And I don't have any siblings!" He narrowed his eyes, staring the smaller, messier green hedgehog that stood before him.

"Well that's fine with us," he fought back. "We are only sticking around for a week until the Emerald Lake campus opens up. Come Sunday, you won't have to deal with us ever again!"

"Good!" Sonic screamed, turning around and stomping outside.

"Sonic…" Sonia breathed, not knowing how to process anything that just happened. She knew Bernadette wanted this to go smoothly, but even she was still hesitant. She wanted things to go smoothly with her brother, but even she couldn't understand why their parents hid Sonic from her and Mani.

Sonic slammed the door behind him and as soon as broke off into a sprint down the road. He didn't stop until he made it to a small park a couple blocks down. He rushed over the large oval and stopped just short of a large tree with a small circle of tanbark surrounding it.

Sonic reeled back and punched the trunk of the tree as hard as he could, wincing when a jolt of immense pain shot through his arm.

"How could Mum not tell me?" He yelled to the sky, letting another fist slam into the trunk, ignoring the excruciating pain.

"At least I know why mum was always sad. At least I know why dad left that day!" he yelled again, winding up and sending his fist flying into the tree. Strands of bark stripped off the trunk, falling to the floor. Sonic, after the pain got too intense for him, fell to his knees, shrieking in pain and agony.

"Dad never loved me…" he cried through tears that fogged his vision, clutching his hand that was throbbing with pain.

…

Jet whistled to himself as he enjoyed the warm water that cascaded down from the shower head, soaking into his green feathers. He reached over and squeezed a dab of shampoo onto his hand, smoothing it all over his body as he continued his shower.

Jet's mother smiled to herself as she pushed on Jet's bedroom door with the heel of her boot. She cradled a white basket full of freshly washed, ironed and neatly folded clothes between her hands. She walked into Jet's room, dodging around all of his crap that littered the floor and plonked the basket on his bed. She opened his shirt drawer and placed all of the shirts inside. She did the same with pants, shorts and underpants. Finally, she moved to his socks drawer and opened it up.

She winced, pinching her nose with her thumb and forefinger. The smell that emanated from inside was horrendous. She opened one eyelid to take a peek inside, noticing a small, dirty, dirty sock peeking out from underneath the others. Jet's mother reached in and pulled it out, throwing it into the basket when she felt something sharp prick her.

"Ouch," she squealed quietly, looking at the small prick of blood that appeared on her finger. She reached down into the basket to pull out the sock, thinking that there must have been one of her bobby pins stuck inside it. She couldn't have been further from the truth.

She shook the sock, trying to dislodge the thing when a small, slightly rusty razor blade covered in dried blood fell out. Her eyes widened in shock as she held the thing in the palm of her hand, her heart breaking at just the sight of it.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of the bathroom door open and she quickly closed her hand around the blade and hid it behind her back as Jet walked into the room.

"Oh, hey mum, thanks for doing the washing," he grinned, picking up a pair of black boxers from the drawer.

"Jet… Honey. Are you… feeling okay? How is school going?" Jet's mum asked, trying to keep a calm outer composure.

"Oh, I'm fine. School was a bit tough but it's year 12 so what do you expect. Why do you ask?" he replied, completely oblivious of her strained tone or her strange stance.

"Oh, no reason," she waved his question of with dismissal, picking up the white basket and rushing off down the stairs.

"That was weird," Jet said aloud, scratching his head as his mother fled out of the room. He shrugged his shoulders and dived onto this bed, whipping out his phone to send off a text to Cream.

Once Jet's mother was sure that he wasn't going to come back downstairs she opened her palm to study the blade. She couldn't believe in a million years that her son would do this to himself. Suddenly, her mind turned back to a few weeks earlier when Jet was checked into the hospital after the rabbit friend of his brought him in.

'He said the mirror shattered and that's how he got those marks,' her mind reasoned.

'You know that made no sense. Besides, the cuts down his arm were to precise to be random cuts,' her brain fought back. She stood up, took a deep breath and walked over to the phone hanging on the wall. She knew exactly what she needed to do. She dialed the number of the school and waited until the melodic voice of the school receptionist r emanated out of the receiver.

"Mobius High, Gold speaking. How may I help you?" the tenrec on the other line asked.

"Hello, this is Jet the Hawk's mother. I'm calling to say that I want to take my son out of school. Permanently!"

…

The morning bell chimed as Espio rushed through the large double doors at the entrance of the school. It was only the second day of the new semester and he was already running late. As of late, the purple chameleon had been finding it harder and harder to convince himself to come into the school. He had lost all of his friends, he had lost his girlfriend, and nobody seemed to want to talk to him anymore.

As he stalked through the hall, heading over to his locker, he thought back to the torment he had to endure yesterday. He remembered noticing the snickers of the guys as he walked past them and the quiet whispers and giggles from all the girls as he looked their way. He didn't know what was going on, but he assumed the whole school had learnt about what he did last semester.

However, despite all the stray looks, rumors and names that he heard the other kids call him behind his back, he still only wanted one thing. He wanted Tikal. He wasn't going to give up until she at least let him talk to her. He stayed resilient and didn't give up last semester and that worked out for the best in the end. He sure as hell wasn't going to give up this time.

He turned the corner, heading over to the locker when he noticed her. The long, flowing green dress she wore billowed around as she twirled, opening up the door to her locker. He felt his heart skip a beat just looking at her again. All his affection flared up and he couldn't control his feet as they drew him towards the echidna. He was completely at the mercy of his body, obeying his legs will until he stood next to her locker. There was no turning back now. It was now or never.

"H-Hey Tikal, can we talk?" Espio uttered, his voice cracking slightly due to his nervousness.

"E-Espio… hi…" she trailed off, unable to meet his gaze.

"Tikal, please," he said in earnest. He felt like he was jumping off a cliff, reaching out for an overhanging vine to halt his descent. However, Tikal didn't give him that vine.

"I'm sorry… I have to go," she said, turning her back to him as she closed her locker. She took a step forward, trying to leave when she felt Espio's hand clamp around her wrist. He wasn't going to let her go again.

"Tikal, just let me say what I need to say," he begged, tears brimming in his eyes. "If you still never want to talk to me again then I'll leave you alone for good." Tikal stopped, contemplating his words. She took a deep breath and turned around.

"Okay Espio. What did you want to say?"

"Tikal… I… I'm so, so, so, sorry. I used to be a horrible person. I used to just tell myself that it was because I was under Fiona's thumb, but we both know that isn't the full truth. Part of me liked it. Part of me liked breaking people apart, because I could never find true love. I used girls and then tossed them aside, never thinking. I did the same thing to Blaze. I thought I loved her, but that wasn't true at all. But did I accept that? No, I wanted to get revenge on Silver and when Amy came to me with a plan… I jumped on board without a second thought…" Espio admitted, rambling quickly.

"Espio… Espio please, stop-" Tikal tried to calm him down but he was having none of it. The dam he constructed around his heart had already been broken by Tikal, and all the pent up emotion was flowing out faster than a raging waterfall.

"But that all changed when I met you. You were the only person who has ever been able to tear down the walls that I constructed around myself. You helped me when I was at my worst. You showed me a better life. When I'm around you, my heart flutters. My knees go weak, I get a shortness of breath and I feel a tightness in my chest! Tikal… I know I messed up in the past, but I changed. I swear it. Just let me prove it to you. Tikal… I love you…" he was breathing fast now, a look of desperation in his eyes.

"Espio… I just… I don't know if I can believe you. What you did was unforgivable," she said, although she felt a slight pain in her heart just by saying it.

"But that was old me," he reasoned, trying against hope to get her to change her mind.

"You keep using the 'old me' excuse. How do I know what the real you is if you're always acting like the old you."

"Let me prove it to you. What if I can get Blaze to forgive me? She was the one I wronged the most."

"Okay Espio, I'll give you another chance if you can get Blaze and Silver to forgive you for what you did to them," Tikal nodded. "Now I really must get to class. Goodbye." Without another word, Tikal was off, leaving a lonely Espio standing by himself in the hallway.

"I will Tikal… I will."

…

After the lunch bell rang, all of the students eagerly filed out of their classrooms, all making a V-line to the cafeteria to get the piping hot food first. After the initial rush, the hustle and bustle began to settle down.

The gang took their seats at their old, familiar table that they always sat at in the back corner of the cafeteria. Sonic, Knuckles, Silver, Jet, Blaze, Rouge and Tikal all sat, wolfing down on their food and exchanging small talk. However, Blaze had her head in her phone. Silver was worried about her. Ever since her fight with Tails the previous night, she hadn't stopped staring at her messages, hoping that the fox would return one.

"Where's Tails and Cream?" Knuckles asked, looking between Jet and Sonic for any answers.

"It's Creams big day tomorrow so she went to the academy earlier this morning. She'll be back by Thursday," Jet replied, bread crumbs spewing from his mouth with each word.

"Yeah, and Tails went with her. Something about a meeting with his dad or something?" Sonic shrugged, clearly not paying much attention to the group. Rouge raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. She noticed his glance wasn't off into space, but instead was trained at something. His eyes were following something. Rouge turned her head to see a pink and green hedgehog appear in the entrance of the cafeteria.

Sonic locked eyes with the two, and they saw him with his group of friends. Sonia contemplated going over to join him but Manic grabbed her hand, shook his head and led her to another table in which some other students were sitting at, eating their lunches.

"Who are the new hedgehog's in town, Blue?" Rouge asked, breaking Sonic out of his trance.

"Wh-what? There aren't any new hedgehog's," Sonic lied, trying to shift the conversation away from that topic.

"Please," Silver chimed in. "We've all noticed that you haven't taken your eyes off them since they walked in. Who are they?" Sonic looked around, noticing that all pairs of eyes were trained on him. He knew he couldn't avoid the topic and his friends knew him all too well.

Sonic gulped down the lump in his throat and muttered his answer quietly. "They… they are my… siblings." Gasps emanated from his friends as surprised and shocked looks crossed all of their faces.

"Your siblings?" Jet repeated in disbelief.

"Since when?" Blaze asked, this new news being enough to pull her head out of her phone.

"How come you never told us about siblings?" Knuckles asked.

"Did you even know they existed?" Tikal jumped in. Sonic was bombarded with question after question. He was already a bit touchy on the subject but the immense amount of questions being thrown his way was too much for him to handle.

"I can't deal with this now. I got to get to class, goodbye," he stood up and stormed out of the room. Two pairs of black eyes followed him out of the room.

"He can be so dramatic sometimes," Rouge rolled her eyes, standing up. "I'll go get him." Rouge rushed out of the cafeteria, following the frustrated hedgehog. Just like clockwork, as those two left, a frazzled squirrel rushed in, addressing the table frantically.

"Quick, get ready, Amy is on her way and she is pissed," Sally panted heavily.

"What's wrong with the princess this time?" Jet asked sarcastically.

"I may have accidently spilled the beans about the party…" Sally admitted. The rest of the table groaned loudly. Mere seconds past before a screaming Amy burst into the cafeteria, turning a couple heads of the other students as she stormed over to the table.

"Sonic and his friends sure do know how to make a scene," Manic whispered to Sonia as he saw yet another new face either storm away or towards the table.

"Good thing we won't be here for long," Sonia agreed as the two watched the fireworks explode.

"Are you guys all kidding me!" She screeched at the table.

"Hello to you too Amy," Jet replied, his cocky nature shining through as he grinned at Amy's frustrated face.

"How could you all have the party without me? I was the one who originally made it a thing! There wouldn't even be a party without me!" She screamed, attracting even more stares.

"Amy, please calm down," Blaze tried to reason with the pink hedgehog, although she knew from experience that it was a harder task than it seemed. "We just need a little more time before we can forgive you for that stunt you pulled on me this year."

"So why the hell did the rest of you not want me to come?" She looked towards the others.

"It's because you kept trying to break everybody up. Not cool," Jet challenged her, his aggressive and domineering nature taking control of his better judgement. Not many were brave enough to stand up to Amy when she lost her temper, but the hawk showed no signs of backing down. This time, Cream wasn't there to calm him down.

"Why the fuck are you even here? You weren't even part of this group until you and Cream got together," she hissed at him.

"Amy…" Sally tried to defuse the situation but Jet jumped in with a response.

"Yeah, that's true. But now look at me. I'm sitting here talking with my friends about a party while you were home alone crying in your pillow," he spat back.

"Why you little…" Amy grumbled. She looked ready to attack.

"Amy, calm down. Come with me," Knuckles instructed, taking her hand and pulling her out of the room. "And Jet," he addressed the hawk. "Cool your jets a bit." With that, Knuckles and Amy left the room, allowing an exhausted Sally to fall down at the bench next to the table.

"Well… that could have gone worse," she breathed.

"I don't know what you see in her," Jet commented before taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"I see the girl behind the anger. I see the girl that I wish you all could see too," she sighed before reaching over to grab the half eaten burger that Sonic had left after he stormed off.

"That's Sonic's…" Tikal looked at her.

"I know Sonic and when he storms off, he doesn't come back for a while. I used to steal his food all the time when he was little," she winked.

"Amy just needs to back off for a bit," Silver ran a hand through his quills, still pursuing the conversation about the hedgehog. Luckily, the topic of conversation begun to change to other things. However, Amy wasn't the last person to storm up to the table that lunch time.

"Sonia, look," Manic tugged her sleeve, pointing to the door. The two watched as a red fox, joined by a green hedgehog, who were both clad in black leather jackets marched over to the table.

"More people? What is it with Sonic and drama?" Sonia asked rhetorically.

"I hate to admit it, but it's kind of entertaining," Manic smiled, watching the new conflict unfold.

"Guys, Fiona, three o clock," Tikal warned them all seconds before Fiona walked up to the table behind Scourge, who addressed them all.

"So, you guys are the losers that Fi has been telling me about," Scourge smirked, eyeing them all down.

"Aww, that's cute. Fiona talks about us," Jet mused, grinning at Fiona.

"Watch your tongue, bird," Fiona hissed.

"A feisty one over here. I'll have fun breaking that spirit," Scourged laughed. "Any prey of Fiona's is a prey of mine," he wrapped an arm around Fiona, bringing him in close.

"Oh no… we have to deal with a male Fiona. This can't be good," Silver groaned, eliciting a snarl from Scourge.

"And what's that supposed to mean you little brat…" Scourge froze, his eyes straining at the sight of Silver. Everybody looked at Scourge, confused by his sudden change of tone.

"S-S-Silver…" Scourge breathed.

"Yeah… how do you know my name? Didn't you like just move to this school at the end of last semester?" Silver asked.

"I-I gotta go," Scourge muttered, fleeing the cafeteria.

"Way to go weirdo. You scared him off just by being yourself. You're such a dork," Fiona hissed at him, picking up a fry and hurling it at his face before racing off to find Scourge. She wouldn't want to admit it to any of them, but she was curious. She had no idea what that little encounter was, but she knew she was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Don't listen to her Silver. You're perfect just the way you are," Blaze smiled, cuddling up next to him. However, Silver didn't seem to pay any attention to her. He was watching the green hedgehog exit the cafeteria.

'I know him… Where do I know him from?' Silver thought as the rest of the table went back to their normal business.

…

Rouge chased the sapphire hedgehog down the halls. He was quick, but trying to make his way through the crowds of students who loitered in the hall was no easy task. Rouge used her agility and finesse to finally catch up to the hedgehog, stopping him in his tracks.

"I don't want to talk about them right now," he barked, turning to face the bat.

"Well neither do I," she corrected him, giving him a slight surprise.

"Then why'd you follow me?"

"We need to have a little talk about Tails," she said. Although hidden rather well under her confident demeanor, Sonic could pick up trace amounts of malice and anger in her voice.

"What about him? He is away with Cream at the Academy, can't you just talk to him when he gets back?" Sonic asked, rather oblivious to her true intent.

"This isn't about me wanting to see Tails. This is about me wanting to see him again," she bit her lip, still unable to bring herself to say his name.

"You mean… Shadow?" Sonic asked, scratching his head in confusion. Rouge nodded, trying to stop the tears from streaming down her face. Although being with Knuckles and Sonic so much throughout the holidays, the wound that her best friend left still remained. When somebody you care about so much just leaves suddenly in the night without any warning or reason, it's hard to go on. But she still wanted answers, and she wanted somebody to blame.

"Yeah, I know I already asked you if you knew anything about why he left, but did Tails say anything about him when he got back from the academy on Saturday?" she asked, desperation in her voice.

"No, he didn't mention Shadow at all," Sonic admitted.

"Figures. Why would Tails care about him anyway," Rouge hissed.

"Whoa, where is this coming from? You know as well as I do that Tails loved Shadow as much as I did. Neither one of us wanted him to run off," Sonic defied Rouge, standing up for his boyfriend.

"So what? It was all Tails' fault that Shadow left!" Rouge yelled, breaking her charade finally.

"Rouge seriously? Cut the crap."

"You know it's true. It's all that little brats fault that my best friend left!" she retaliated.

"And that's _my_ best friend you're talking about. Tails didn't do anything!"

"It's all his fault and you know it!" Rouge bellowed, finally breaking down.

"You know what Rouge. I can't deal with this shit right now. I've had so much shit happen to me in the past two days that I can't deal with and I don't need you taking your anger out on me or Tails. I loved Shadow, still do, so stop acting like this!" He bellowed, turning to storm off.

"GET BACK HERE!" Rouge screamed, anger completely seizing hold of her normally calm and collected nature. All the pent up aggression and rage at Tails, coupled with her desperation of being deserted by her only true friend was erupting out of her at an alarming rate.

Sonic turned, stormed up to Rouge and looked her right in the eye. All the weight of the knowledge of his new siblings had weighed on him all night, taking away any possibility of sleep. He was in no mood for this.

"Rouge, you need to get your shit together and stop blaming others for your own problems. Until you do, just fuck off." Sonic stormed off down the hall, refusing to acknowledge Rouge's angry cries.

"Shadow… I miss him so much…" she sniffed as she fell to her knees in the middle of the hallway, not caring that she was in public. Shadow had always been there for her when she needed him and she did the same. So why did he suddenly abandon her at such a pivotal moment in her life.

"It's all that stupid fox's fault!"

…

"Is that Espio?" a girl whispered to her friend.

"Oh my god, what a weirdo," another laughed behind the chameleons back.

"He's such an idiot. I can't believe he would send that to her," a guy chuckled as Espio walked past. At first it was just an annoyance, but this was really starting to beat down on Espio's already destroyed self-esteem.

'What is everybody's problem? Why are they all laughing at me? What did I do?' he thought to himself, breaking into a sprint to get away from the all the teasing. He didn't want to go into the cafeteria, knowing there would be no escape from all the torment. Instead, he opted to turn into a vacant room and hide out there to eat the packed lunch that his mother made for him.

He closed the door behind him, breathing out a sigh of relief as nobody else tried to get into the room. However, he wasn't alone.

"Somehow I knew that you would end up in here?" a voice mused from the bench up the front of the classroom.

"Fiona… is that you?" Espio asked, confused as to how she knew he would be here and why she was here. "How did you-"

"I saw you running down the halls. I knew you wouldn't go into the cafeteria so my best guess was that you would turn in here to avoid it. Guess I'm not just a pretty face," she laughed as she interrupted him.

"What do you want? Can't you see I've been tormented enough for one day?" He barked at her.

"Come now Espio. Why would I want to torment my old partner?" she asked, a smirk growing across her face and she skulked over to him.

"We're not partners anymore. I've changed my ways, thanks to Tikal," he said defiantly.

"Ah yes, good old Tikal. I bet she wasn't nearly as good as me. I always knew just how to please you," Fiona mused, taking out her cellphone and scrolling through her images gallery.

"I'd rather take my chances out there with them then in here with you," he spoke plainly, turning to leave. "And Tikal and I never went _all_ the way. She actually has some class, unlike your slutty ass," he cursed angrily, unable to stomach the sight of the vixen anymore.

"You can go, but don't you want to know why they are all making fun of you?" Fiona asked. Espio's ears pricked as he turned and rushed over to her. Fiona laughed to herself. Espio took the bait and all she had to do was hook him.

"You really should be more careful when you use snapchat," she cackled. "And also less trusting of little miss perfect."

"What do you mean?" Espio asked.

"Look at what Tikal sent to everybody in the school?" Fiona turned her phone around to show Espio. His eyes widened and his face grew redder than a ripe tomato.

"Wh-Wh-where did you?" he stammered, causing Fiona to chuckled to herself. She was ecstatic. She warned him that nobody would be able to leave her without paying a price, and since her last gamble in the previous semester didn't pay off, she was glad that somebody else did her job for her.

"Somebody who had this on their phone sent it around to everybody in the school. I'm sure you remember taking this photo. It is a selfie after all. I wonder who you sent it to? Who was the only person who would have had access to this photo?" she kept asking questions, knowing that the name 'Tikal' was repeating over and over in the chameleon's head.

"That Bitch!" Espio screamed, storming out of the room. Fiona lay back, admiring her handy work, basking in the chameleon's negativity

"Nobody escapes me without having to pay a price," she mused to herself, taking another look at the photo. There, on her and everybody else on the school's phones, was a nude selfie of Espio.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, there is the second chapter. How did Sonic not know about his brother and sister? What history do Scourge and Silver share? How will Tails and Cream's meetings go? What will Jet's parents do? Who sent the picture of Espio to everybody in the whole school? Espio just can't seem to catch a break. No matter how hard he tries, his past of bad deeds and womanizing just wont leave him alone.  
Also I just wanted to take this time to say thank you all for the reviews, follows and favourites for the first chapter. It means a lot. Please, if you are reading this and enjoy my stories and are already following them, please, please consider leaving a review as well. It hardly takes up any of your time (it doesn't have to be long. Only a couple sentences to tell me what you liked, didn't like, thoughts etc.) because you guys don't know how much reviews mean to me. I know a lot of authors can agree. Reviews are the driving force of stories. They keep me, and others, motivated and they are a driving force behind my writing. The more reviews I get, the more I push myself to write in my spare time and the quicker the updates come. Not only that, but a lot of the time, I have tweaked arks, characters and plots, including some pairings, because a reviewer suggested a scenario or interaction which I had never even considered. In all honesty, in the original story, Sally was never planned to be in it! A reviewer asked me to include Sally and I realized I had completely forgot her, and now she is one of the main 14 and is included in so many plots. So please, it doesn't take long, but after each chapter, if you could just leave some thoughts on what had occurred, what you liked, what you didn't like, what surprised you or anything like that, it means more than you could even imagine. I know I always leave reviews when I read other authors things because I know personally how much they really affect a story, the long ones especially. It's also a great way to interact with me if you would like. I like to respond to reviews in these authors notes to clear some things up if you have questions, but also I have made a few friends on this site who I talk to often, just from them reviewing, leaving me P.M's and us starting a conversation. (And if you just want to leave a review to let me know how awesome I am, I'll take it :P) Anyway, PSA over, I really hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I will try to stick to a schedule of a new chapter about every 4 days, but it's hard to do. (Remember, reviews help me :P)_

Next time on SH:EL

Sonic takes a trip down memory line

Tails and Cream experience Mobius Academy

Amy and Rouge butt heads

Jet gets an ultimatum

Tikal has a date with death

All this and so much more in Chapter 3: Family


	3. Chapter 3: Family

_A/N: Hello everybody. I just want to say thank you so much for all the support for the first two chapters. I've received a bunch or reviews and favourites/follows in only 6 days so I decided to release chapter 3 a day early just to show my thanks and show how much all your support means to me. Anyway, enjoy the chapter._

* * *

Chapter 3

Family

 _It all happened a day before my 3_ _rd_ _birthday. I can't remember much of what happened in my life before about 4 years old, but this is the one day that I can never get out of my head._

 _I had been put to bed, tucked in and kissed by both my parents and fell asleep quickly. That was when I heard some yelling. I stumbled out of bed and walked, well tried to walk, into the other room. My instincts kicking in. I could hear my mother crying, and I couldn't stop myself from trying to find her. Even back then I was fast and got to the room just as a door was slammed closed._

 _I'll never forget that image, even now when I'm 18 years old. Mum, on her knees in the kitchen, her face buried in her hands. I walked over and looked up at her._

 _"_ _Sonic?" she sniffed, trying to cease the tears that were flowing._

 _"_ _Mama?" I asked, grabbing the sleeve of her shirt in my hand._

 _"_ _Go back to bed sweetie," she croaked._

 _"_ _But mama?"_

 _"_ _GO!" she shouted, pointing back to my bedroom. Fear took a hold of me and I rushed, stumbling a bit, back to my bed and shoved my head under my pillow, crying my heart out. However, I wasn't the only one who spent the night crying their eyes out._

 _The whole next day, and for about a year afterwards, it was like a dark cloud was constantly looming over her head. My birthday party the next day wasn't how I wanted it at all. All of my friends were brought over by their parents, but while we played in the back yard, all of the mothers were crowded around Bernadette. I didn't understand it at the time, but I figured she was sad._

 _When it was time to have some cake, mum put on a brave face for me, trying to show me that she could be happy for my 3_ _rd_ _birthday. She told me to make a wish._

 _"_ _Why isn't daddy here?" I asked. I could see the pain in her eyes, but my young mind couldn't comprehend what that meant._

 _"_ _Please, Sonic baby, just make a wish," she forced the words out, struggling to be brave. For me._

 _"_ _I wish daddy was here," I said as I blew out the candles. That was the tipping point. She couldn't take it any longer. She rushed off, followed by a few of the other mothers while the rest stayed to look after me and my friends._

 _I tried searching for my father when I was older, but I could never find him. Mum told me that Jules had died when I was young, but part of me never believed it. More people in my life would have talked about him if he was dead. It used to always be a mystery. Until my siblings came into my life…_

"How could you grow up with dad?! He was such a douche to my mum!" Sonic yelled at Manic and Sonia. The trio were walking to school. Bernadette was unable to drive them in and forced Sonic to show them the way to the bus stop. Even though he still couldn't stomach the look of his mother, he obliged. He couldn't stop himself from bringing up their parents again, and like usual, they were heated in the middle of another raging fight.

"Yeah, well he was perfect to our mum!" Manic challenged, meeting my gaze with a menacing one of his own.

"He was a horrible person and you both know it!" Sonic screamed.

"Don't you ever talk shit about my dad again," Manic retaliated, sending a fist straight into Sonic's gut. Sonic doubled over in pain, falling to one knee as he tried to steady himself. Sonia gasped, watching the ensuing fight without knowing what to do.

"Dad walked out on me, stole you away and destroyed my mum!" Sonic screeched back, tripping Manic down to the pavement with a kick. The green hedgehog got up and was about to send another barrage of punches when Sonia finally stepped between the two.

"STOP IT!" She yelled, holding out her hands in front of them both. She turned to Sonic and looked him dead in the eyes, trying to explain what Bernadette was going to say the other day before Sonic stormed out of the house.

"Sonic, we are not Bernadette's kids. Jules didn't steal us from her and she didn't hide it from you on purpose. Aleena, is our real mother. We are only paternal siblings," she explained.

"And you think that makes any of this better?!" Sonic bellowed, anger seething from his pores. "Not only did he leave and hide my fucking siblings from me, but he also cheated on mum and had other kids for 2 whole years? I'm done!" Sonic turned and sprinted away as fast as he could, knowing that he could easily out run both of them. Sonia sighed and turned to Manic, saddened by their interaction.

"Are you kidding me, Sonia?" Manic breathed, turning his head from her.

"What? I wasn't going to let you guys kill each other. Sonic is our brother, whether we like it or not and we need to treat him like one," she nodded, sticking to her guns.

"That's just like you, isn't it? You never take my side, ever! Even against somebody who is a total dick! You're so frustrating," he said exasperatedly, tossing his hands skyward as he turned and walked off.

"Manic, don't leave me. Not again…" Sonia pleaded but he simply waved a hand at her and kept walking, refusing to stop. "I don't want to fight anymore…"

…

Cream looked around her, marveling at the grand designs of the old, bluestone buildings that dotted the courtyard area. A large, decorated marble fountain stood in the middle, causing the brick path to diverge around it and meet on the other side. Cream noticed a small path leading through two gigantic buildings that led to a large, grassy oval and another that led to what looked like a cathedral of some sort.

She felt so overwhelmed. Everything seemed so much bigger than at Mobius High. The buildings towered over her, extending to floors in the ten's. She followed close behind Tails, afraid that if she lost sight of him then she wouldn't ever be able to find him again. She was thankful for Tails' father to give the two of them a room where Tails had been living throughout the break for the night but part of her just wanted to shy away from it all and run back to the bus stop.

Tails had to admit that when he was little and visited his father at work, he used to feel just as insecure and scared of the looming presence of the academy but after so many countless visits, not to mention having to do extra work at their facilities over the break, he knew the place like the back of his hand.

Tails led her into the main building which was situated right in front of the main, of 5, different entrances to the academy. A large spire protruded from the top with a large, brass bell concealed at the top which rang on the hour, every hour.

"Okay, the interviews take place just up those stairs," he let go of Cream's hand and pointed to a set of black and white pristine stairs that snaked their way to the second floor of the building.

"Oh, where are you going to go," she asked, slightly reserved and nervous for having to travel the area by herself.

"My dad's office is down the other way, but I'll meet you back here in half an hour, okay?" he beamed her a warm, encouraging smile. She nodded, swallowing the lump that was in her throat. Tails lowered his eyebrows, giving her a half frown. He stepped over to her and cupped her face in his hands.

"Don't be nervous Cream. Just remember everything we practiced. Besides, no matter what happens, I will always be right here for you," he gave her his trademark, cute smile that used to always made her melt into him before he turned and walked off to his father. Cream let out a sigh before she turned and began to mount the stairs. She tried to shake the thought of Tails out of her head but she couldn't help herself. She loved Jet and was so glad of their relationship, but she still couldn't forget about the young fox that swooped in and stole her heart. She was still in love with her first real love. Tails.

Tails continued down the hallway and took a left turn, heading to his father's office. As soon as he was out of sight of the rabbit, he let his own nerves get the better of her and he leaned against the wall.

"He's going to lose it at me!" Tails remarked aloud, fear in his voice. He hadn't seen his father since earlier in the previous semester. Sure, he had talked on the phone with Amadeus but he hadn't had a personal meeting in over three months. Tails was nervous enough when he told his father that he rejected the invitation to stay at the school but Amadeus seemed calm. Tails thought he got off easy by just having to do extra work over the winter holidays but he also knew that his father reserved all of his anger, letting it well inside of him until he could see his son in person and really grill him.

Tails pulled out his phone and read over the text conversation he had with his mother, the previous night after calling her turned out to be a failure.

Tails: _Mum, can we talk. Dad called me in about rejecting the invitation and I think he's gonna kill me_

Rosemary: _Sweetie, your father wouldn't do that. He might get angry at times and puts education above everything but he still loves you dearly_

Tails: _Yeah, I guess. When can I see you again? I miss you_

Rosemary: _I know darling; I miss you too but there was an accident on set. Filming will continue at least until October._

Tails: _But you've been gone for ages and it's only the start of July. Why do you always have to be away? Ken is great but it's not the same_

Rosemary: _You know mummy is very busy with her movies but that doesn't mean I don't love you._

Rosemary: _Oops, they are calling for me on set. I've got to go. Kisses_

Tails sighed down at his phone. He did love Ken like an uncle, but it just wasn't the same. Between his father's job at the academy and his mother always off on location shooting for her next big movie, he felt so lonely. He was thankful that Cream used to be able to fill the void that his parents left, and now Sonic was there to help him whenever he needed it. Unfortunately, it was also because of Sonic that Tails was standing here, about to face the beast himself.

Tails took a deep breath, steeled his nerves and knocked on the door. The wooden door had a freshly polished, silver strip on it that read Dr. Prower over it.

"Come in," a gruff voice bellowed on the other side of the door.

'Great… I caught him in a bad mood,' Tails thought as he pushed open the door and strode into the office.

"Ah, Tails, nice to finally see you again. Take a seat," he gestured towards one of the scarlet chairs that stood in front of his mahogany desk. Tails hopped up onto one of them and sat down, facing his father.

"H-Hey dad," he squeaked.

"So, I know I said that the extra work would suffice, but that simply isn't the case," Amadeus began, jumping straight to the crux of the matter like he so often did. Tails felt his heart beat faster in his chest. He knew that his dad was still pissed about his rejection and was just saving all his anger for when he could see Tails in person.

"W-What do you mean?" Tails muttered, looking down in his lap.

"What have I taught you? Always look at somebody when they are addressing you!" Amadeus snapped. Tails quickly wrenched his head up as fast as he could, staring his father in the eyes, spluttering out a quick apology.

"Now… I need to know why you didn't accept the invitation. You knew how many strings I had to pull for make you eligible for that scholarship," he began, guilting his son.

"Yeah dad… I-I know," Tails said apprehensively.

"So… after everything I did for you… why did you betray me?" Tails' eyes widened. The words he chose stung the young kit's heart.

"I didn't betray you at all!" Tails snapped, finding the nerve that he so often lacked in similar visits to his father. If being with Sonic had taught him anything, it was to not just roll over and let others take advantage of you.

"I busted my butt to get you that position, putting my job on the line, and you spit in my face," Amadeus challenged, slamming his fist down on the desk for emphasis.

"I had a good reason!" Tails replied defensively.

"And what, pray tell, was that?"

"I did it for love!" A shocked look fell over Amadeus' face as he sat back. He contemplated what Tails had just said, not knowing how to respond. Tails watched his father nervously, surprised at his reaction.

"I…I…" Amadeus stuttered. For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words.

"Dad, I think I'm in love. I've never felt this way before but something just feels right. My life feels… complete," Tails urged his father.

"I…I know the feeling. I was once a youth like you believe it or not. Before I devoted my life to education, I fell in love with a young, attractive fox who stole my heart. She was an aspiring actress and I was studying for my PHD. We were total opposites, but something inside me controlled my decisions," Amadeus sang out, recalling back to his youth.

"You told me that you dropped your studies to go with her to Mobotropolis for her big audition. You made sacrifices for love."

"That I did son. I remember pulling out when I almost had attained my goal and dropped everything for her."

"I know dad. Mum told me how it was your support that helped her land that first audition. Without you, she wouldn't be the star she is today," Tails reminded him. "You always told me that you went back a couple years later after she finished her first shoot and finished your PHD. Why can't I just come back next year and start fresh with everybody else?"

"I guess you're right son. I accept," Amadeus concluded. Tails was surprised that he had won his father over. It was a rare occurrence indeed, but he didn't push his luck.

"She must be one lucky lady, eh son? I can't wait to meet her," he cooed. Tails paused momentarily, causing Amadeus to raise his eyebrows inquisitively at his son.

"Um Y-Yeah, yeah, she is," Tails lied.

"So, what's her name?" Amadeus asked.

"Her name? Her name is… her name is…" Tails racked his brain, trying to come up with an answer. He knew his father was old fashioned and telling him the truth would only end in pain. That's when a name flew into his head. "Cream the Rabbit. Cream is my girlfriend."

…

"I still can't believe he gave us all this homework. It's only the second day back," Tikal sighed as she walked side by side with Sally out of their science class.

"I've heard of cruel teachers, but this is ridiculous," Sally agreed.

"Did you see his hair today though?" Tikal smirked at the squirrel.

"As if he actually thought that toupee would fool anybody." The two girls joined in hysterical laughter. After calming down from their giggling fit, they stared at each other, a large smile plastered on their faces. It had been a while since the two had truly had some private time together.

"I missed this, us just hanging out," Tikal sighed sadly.

"Me too. We've just both had so much stuff going on in our lives that we've both been so busy. I want that to change. Do you remember when we first met?" Sally asked. Tikal nodded in response, awaiting Sally to continue. The squirrel obliged.

"I remember that, apart from Sonic, I knew nobody. I had all these guys drool over me, which is nice but I couldn't stand it. That's when I met you and we just clicked. You supported me and helped me transition into this new school and I can't thank you enough for that," Sally smiled.

"Yeah, sorry that led to the whole lesbian thing…" Tikal frowned, remembering more of the bad things that Espio had done in his past.

"Don't be glum! That helped me find Amy and everything worked out for the best," Sally cheered, before the smile was wiped off her face as she remembered the fight that the two were currently in. "Sorry Tiks, I've got to go. We should hang out again thought," Sally said before turning to leave.

"Yeah, I'll text you later," Tikal called out to Sally who had already begun to walk out of the building. Sally just held up a thumbs up to the echidna before exiting the double doors. The squirrel darted her head right and left before darting into a small area behind one of the school's buildings.

She was shaking and beads of sweat began to form around her brow. She reached into her pocket, fumbling as she struggled to pull out the object of her desire. Quickly and expertly, she pulled out a cigarette from a box and flicked her lighter. The orange flame sparked to light, igniting the cigarette before the dissipating away.

"Ahhhh," Sally breathed in delight as she sucked up the smoke from the cigarette, blowing it out into the air as she was finally able to relax and feel the stress leave her body.

Little did she know that somebody else had been walking past when Sally ducked around the corner. A careful, crafty cat snuck around to make sure her friend was okay, covering a gasp when she saw Sally light the stick. Sally stood, enjoying her smoke, completely oblivious of the golden eyes that cast their judgmental gaze upon her.

…

Rouge the bat loitered around the bathroom, applying a new coat of blush on her face for the afternoon classes. She waved goodbye to the black haired cat who tranced seductively out of the room, red dress dragging behind her.

"Later Rouge," Honey waved as she exited the bathroom, leaving the bat alone to finish freshening up alone. Rouge turned her attention back to the mirror, starting to add a little more eye-liner to accentuate her teal eyes.

"Rouge, I need to talk to you," Amy burst into the bathroom, taking the bat slightly off guard.

"Amy…" Rouge sighed, not turning away from the mirror. "What a displeasure."

"Look, Rouge, I'm really sorry about all the shitty stuff I did to you and Knuckles last semester but-" Amy begun but was interrupted by the annoyed bat.

"You mean like trying to break us up like 4 times?" she snapped.

"Yeah… BUT," Amy annunciated the word. "I am trying to be better. I'm really, really sorry about that."

"Okay pinky, what's the catch?" Rouge rolled her eyes before reaching into her purse to pull out a pink shade of lipstick, popping off the cap.

"There's no catch," Amy replied, trying to act insulted. Rouge puckered her lips and applied the lipstick, kissing the mirror when she finished to make sure that it was perfect before turning to give Amy a deadpan stare. Rouge wasn't having any of Amy's crap today.

"Okay… I might need a tiny favour," Amy grinned sheepishly, batting her eyelids at Rouge.

"Of course there is," Rouge replied sarcastically, packing up her things.

"I just heard that Zouge, the famous publisher, is your aunt. And I just finished writing a book. And I need a publisher but nobody wants unsolicited manuscripts at the moment and I can't afford a literary agent. And…" Amy trailed off when Rouge finished her sentence.

"And you want me to put in a good word about your book for my aunt?" Amy nodded eagerly in response. "Okay, deal, on one condition," Rouge looked at Amy seriously.

"What condition," Amy asked skeptically, narrowing her eyes.

"I want you to find out where the hell Shadow is!"

"That's impossible," Amy replied. She knew that Rouge missed Shadow dearly but it just wasn't something that Amy was capable of doing.

"Well then I guess you don't get a book published," Rouge scoffed.

"That's not fair!"

"You don't deserve a book anyway!" Rouge yelled. Things started to get slightly out of hand.

"Well you're just a cold, jealous bitch!" Amy responded bitterly. "You just had to steal my party, didn't you?"

"Take the hint Amy! Nobody wanted you there!"

"You didn't have to throw it anyway!"

"That wasn't even my idea. I was fine inviting you, despite everything because it was a tradition but Tails was the one that said he wouldn't come if you did," Rouge lied, her temper failing as she returned to an inside speaking voice.

"T-Tails?" Amy gasped, shocked that somebody who she thought she was best friends with had betrayed her. Rouge didn't know why she said it, but her hatred for Tails driving Shadow away took control of her, blackening her compassionate side. The whole Shadow's absence had created in her life had affected her and the only thing that seemed to fill it was her hatred of Tails. Although it was no fault of his own, she blamed him for everything.

"Yeah… and if Tails didn't come then neither would Blaze or Sonic which meant neither would Sally or Silver, so don't go getting mad at me! Blame him," Rouge finished defensively.

"I can't believe him. He knows how important those parties are to me. Sonic and Tails have been lying to me this whole time. They think they have a perfect romance… we'll just see about that. Bye Rouge," Amy replied bitterly as she stormed out of the room, passing by a curious echidna.

Rouge exited the bathroom after, feeling slightly guilty by what she had stirred up, but not enough to stop anything. She felt Knuckles grab her arm as she passed by him, but dodged his questions about what her and Amy were talking about. Rouge pecked him on the cheek before rushing off to her next class.

"What was that all about?" Knuckles asked himself, scratching his head before turning to chase after the angered pink hedgehog.

…

Silver sat at his small desk near the center of the room, a large goofy grin plastered on his face. Blaze, his lovely girlfriend, sat next to him. The two laughed, talked and worked together throughout the whole science class. Silver, at that moment, didn't have a care in the world. As long as Blaze was with him, and he had all his friends around him, he felt like king of the world. It also didn't sour his mood that they were learning about Astronomy, seeing as he dreamed of being an astronaut when he grew up, always being fascinated about space.

In his care-free world, he completely missed the set of cold, angry eyes staring at him from the back of the room. The blue pair of eyes didn't leave the silver hedgehog's figure once during the whole fifty-minute science period.

'It can't really be him,' Scourge thought to himself, studying the hedgehog. He listed to the way Silver spoke. He watched Silver's mannerisms and studied his laugh, hoping against hope that it was just a case of identity mishap. Alas, Scourge knew the truth. He had indeed found Silver the hedgehog.

'Why is he here? Of all schools I had to transfer to, why did it have to be the one where he was? If I had just lasted one more week before being expelled, I wouldn't even be here,' Scourge's mind raced, listing off all the negatives about his situation.

'He's going to ruin everything. He knows too much…' Scourge narrowed his eyes, wracking his knuckles on the desk in front of him as her toiled away the rest of the class.

…

 _"_ _Amy, calm down. Come with me," Knuckles instructed, taking her hand and pulling her out of the room. He led her out of the cafeteria and into an empty classroom, sitting her down on one of the chairs to look at her._

 _"_ _Amy, what are you doing?" He asked, seeming slightly mad at her._

 _"_ _Get off of me," she squirmed out of his grasp. "You're as bad as them. You all had the party without me."_

 _"_ _And do you want to know why," Knuckles asked in a toneless, flat voice._

 _"_ _Enlighten me," Amy spat._

 _"_ _Because of this. You acting this way. Remember when we were all friends. Back when you were…" he trailed off, realizing what had happened._

 _"_ _I was what?"_

 _"_ _When you were still with Sonic… That's what happened to you. We just assumed you would have gotten over him by now but you haven't. You ruined everybody's love life by trying to break them all up, going as far as tricking Blaze into thinking she was pregnant just to fill the void…" Knuckles finished, looking on the pink hedgehog in a suddenly knew light._

 _"_ _Not true. I'm so over that hedgehog," she stated defiantly, but her eyes said otherwise. Knuckles raised an eyebrow at her, indicating that he knew she wasn't telling the truth. "You don't know anything," she stomped off, leaving Knuckles standing alone, thinking about the sudden revelation that he made._

 _"_ _How did I not see it sooner…"_

Knuckles raced after Amy, catching up to the disgruntled pink hedgehog in no time at all. He reached out his arm and placed in on her shoulder in an attempt to get her attention.

"I'm not in the mood, Knuckles," Amy slapped his arm away before marching off. Knuckles didn't let that deter him. He had to stop Amy from doing something stupid. He knew how much of a short temper Amy had and, although he had no idea why, he could see that Rouge had lit her fuse and she was clearly about to blow off at somebody. He knew she was already on thin ice with a lot of their friends and assumed she was about to make another big mistake.

"Amy!" He commanded, grabbing her arm and spinning. "We need to talk."

"Why? You're full of shit," she barked. Knuckles tightened his grip on her. Escape was impossible.

"Amy, you need to listen. I've thought about how to help you all night and there is only one way. You need to accept this. Once you've accepted it, you can start to put your life back on track," he said wisely.

"I don't still love Sonic," she crossed her arms.

"So what are you storming off to do," he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to go break up Tails and Sonic…" she stopped when she realized what she had just uttered. "It's not for the reason you think…"

"Amy… it doesn't matter if you still like him. But you can't keep doing this to people. You can't keep inflicting the pain of your broken heart on other couples. This is why people didn't invite you. You haven't moved on from that relationship. You just get mad at everything and constantly hate other romances," Knuckles finished.

"If that's true then why don't you hate me like the others? I sure helped break you and Rouge up countless times," she said angrily. She had reached her last nerve.

"I know the real you is still in there, Amy. The you that I chose to be good friends with. I know Sonic hurt you, but you need to move on. You can't keep hurting yourself, and others, by constantly trying to break people up "for others"," he said, putting air quotes with his fingers around the 'for others' part.

"But… but… but…" Amy whimpered before she fell down onto her knees and burst into tears. The sudden weight of Knuckles words hit her hard like a ton of bricks. She knew it was true but she had spent the good part of 5 months trying to tell herself that she had moved on. It was only with Knuckles words that her wound fully opened and her true, pent up emotions were able to flow out freely like blood.

"There, there, Amy," Knuckles soothed, rubbing her back as she fell into his open arms.

"I-I-I didn't m-m-mean to," she cried, trying to form coherent sentences through her sobs.

"I know you didn't Amy. Just let it all out."

"B-B-But what do I d-d-do?" she gasped through her tears. "Everyone h-h-hates me."

"They don't hate you Amy… they hate the things you've done and what you've become. But this isn't the real you. I know that, they know that and you know that." He squeezed her tighter.

"But how do I move on?" She wailed.

"Do you love Sally?" Knuckles asked. Amy nodded, tears still falling from her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes… I do love her… but I still love Sonic too," she sniffed, hating herself for still not being over Sonic.

"I completely understand Amy. You guys were together for a very long time. It is hard to get over somebody, especially when they move on so quickly. But you need to try. Go to Sally. Be with her. Let her mend your heart," Knuckles smiled, wiping her eyes with his thumb to dry her tears. "And I'll always be here for you if you need."

"Thanks Knuckles… you're a really great friend," Amy gave him a weak smile.

"Come on… let's get you cleaned up and ready for class." Amy gave Knuckles one last hug before she tried to clean up her ruined make-up. She really did owe him a lot. However, she couldn't go on like this. She needed closure. She needed to face Sonic one last time.

…

Espio was livid. He used to think Tikal was above petty games. He thought he knew Tikal after all the time they ended up spending together last semester, first as friends and then as partners. He just couldn't believe that the echidna could screenshot something so personal that Espio sent her when he was slightly intoxicated and spread it around the whole school!

He rushed through the halls, his gaze fixated solely on the ground as if it would make any difference or protect him from the horrible, hurtful comments that the other students spat at him. The words berated him and each syllable uttered by the students felt like punches to his gut.

Espio wanted nothing more than to flee. To get out of that school and run far away where he could find peace and be happy. But not until he settled something first.

Espio spotted Tikal standing next to the water fountain, blabbing on about something or other whilst Sally, who was standing next to her, dipped her head down and was guzzling down the cool, refreshing water. Rouge the bat was standing to the other side, obviously partaking in some form of gossip.

"Watch out Tikal. Looks like your hubby is angry," Rouge smirked as she saw Espio approach. Tikal elbowed Rouge in response but didn't say a word. She just watched as the chameleon stomped down the hallway with balled fists. Espio opened his mouth and spoke with as much restraint as he could, addressing Sally and Rouge.

"Rouge… Sally… please leave us alone," Espio breathed, trying to calm his temper.

"Tikal?" Sally asked, raising her eyebrows and sending Tikal a concerned glance. Tikal just nodded at the squirrel who shrugged before walking off with Rouge in tow, leaving the two alone.

"What now Espio? Did you talk to Silver?" Tikal asked, assuming this was still about wanting to re-kindle their relationship that was abruptly ended at the dance.

"How could you do that to me? What did I ever do to you?" Espio suddenly lost all resolve and raised his voice at the startled echidna.

"We've been over this," Tikal rolled her eyes, assuming this was still about 'them'. "I broke up with you because-"

"Not that!" Espio interrupted rudely. "The picture! Why'd you send it to everybody?"

"What picture?" Tikal asked, genuinely confused about what he was talking about. She heard about a picture of Espio that had been spreading over social media but she didn't want to look at it out of respect for her once loved chameleon.

"Cut the crap!" He snapped. "I know you spread it around because you were the one who I sent it to originally."

"What picture?" she repeated.

"Trying to act innocent? Isn't it enough that you made me the laughing stock of the school, you're now going to try to make me out to be an idiot too?" he yelled, pulling out his phone and opening his text messages. He had about 30 un-read texts from a whole multitude of people, most of them girls that he had slept with during his rampage over the last two years. He opened one of many and showed her the mean message, coupled with the picture.

"What the fuck?" Tikal shielded her eyes when she saw the picture. "Not cool!"

"You're the not cool one," he retorted bitterly. "I sent this to you when we were dating and you must have saved it and sent it out to the whole fucking school." Espio knew that he sent it to her over snapchat and so if it spread, she was the only one who could have started it.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Tikal suddenly exploded, causing Espio to take a precarious step backwards to steady himself from the sudden outburst. "After all the shit you did, after all we did, you don't trust me? How could you honestly think I would do this to you?"

"You were the only one who had the picture," Espio added defensively, although his aggressive tone was still quite prevalent in his voice.

"You never sent me that fucking picture! If you meant to, you were probably too drunk and sent it to somebody else by mistake. Besides, even if I had it I would never spread it around. I'm not horrible!" she bellowed loudly, completely hurt, annoyed and furious.

"T…Tikal I…" Espio stammered, finally taking a moment since hearing the news from Fiona to think clearly. He never even entertained the idea that he might have accidently sent it to somebody else because he was so blinded by rage and embarrassment.

"Fuck off Espio," she turned coldly.

"I'm sorry… I just thought…" he muttered before she cut him off again.

"You thought that I hated you, despite everything we went through, so damn much that I would do that? You should know me better than that… like I thought I knew you," she began to walk off, unable to look at the chameleon at that moment.

"Tikal wait!" Espio called out desperately, reaching out to grab the sleeve of her baggy, dark-grey hoodie.

She shrugged him off and stared him straight into his eyes before speaking. "And to think… I was actually going to give 'us' a second chance… you really haven't changed at all," she turned and walked off, unable to be around Espio without fear of breaking down in tears of both anger and sadness. "Goodbye, Espio," she whispered to herself as she turned the hall and out of his sight.

…

Sonia had already headed off to her English class and Manic roamed the halls alone. He shoved his hands into his red hoodie and pulled out a pair of drum sticks. He grinned to himself as he twirled them around between his fingers, exploring the school.

'So glad I'm only here for 2 more days,' he thought, wishing that he could be back home in Westopolis with all of his friends. Manic wandered into the school library, finding a loan table near the back corner and took a seat, kicking his feet up onto the table top.

He began rhythmically tapping his drumsticks on the side of the table, like he used to always do when he was thinking. He couldn't help but think back to the fight that he had with his… with Sonic. Manic still found it hard to entertain the thought of brother so he normally just addressed him as Sonic when talking to Sonia.

"Hey," he heard somebody whisper from next to him. Manic turned his head to see a buff, red echidna looming over him. "You're new here, aren't you?" Knuckles asked, extending his hand to the hedgehog. "The names Knuckles."

Manic looked the friendly echidna up and down before placing his hand in his for a quick, firm shake. "I'm Manic. Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar."

"Maybe. I'm friends with your brother," Knuckles smiled, taking a seat next to the hedgehog. The wires in Manic's brain finally made the connection and he recalled seeing the echidna sitting and laughing with the group of them at the table before rushing off after the angry pink hedgehog.

"That's right. You were chasing after that pink hedgehog at lunch," Manic grinned, but he wiped his expression off of his face when he noticed the slight frown cross Knuckles' face. "Girlfriend troubles?"

"Who, with Amy? Not at all," Knuckles couldn't help but laugh and the ignorance of the new kid. "Not in a million years. She might be one of my best friends but the girl has baggage that I just couldn't deal with in a relationship." Knuckles put a hand over his mouth when he realized how readily and freely he talked about his friends. There was something about this hedgehog, something similar to how he is with Sonic, that made it so easy to speak his mind.

"Oh. Well, I guess that's good then," Manic laughed awkwardly. He had tried to stay as far away from Sonic's friends as possible to extend the separation between them as much as possible but there was something about this echidna that was so… inviting.

"I am going out with the bat that rushed after Sonic today, though," Knuckles smirked.

"The smoking hot one?" manic asked. Knuckles nodded with a wink. "Nice," Manic laughed genuinely this time, extending out his fist. Knuckles instinctively bumped it with his own.

"You're alright, Manic," Knuckles joked.

"Yeah, for somebody who's friends with my broth… with Sonic, you're alright," Manic suddenly lowered his tone half way through the sentence. Knuckles immediately picked up on the sudden tonal shift and change in facial expression.

"Hey, it's cool. If you and Sonic have some issues, I won't judge or try to talk you into talking with him or whatever. It's your life," Knuckles waved his hand in the air, seemingly dissipating the awkwardness that had started to descend over the two.

"Thanks," Manic nodded. That was exactly what he needed to hear from somebody. He tried to make an effort not to make any new friends at this school since they would have known Sonic but it was as if Knuckles had already been a friend for ages by the way his body language and voice were.

"So… you play drums?" Knuckles asked, noting the drumsticks that Manic was un-knowingly twirling between his fingers.

"Oh, these? Yeah. I used to be in a band," he dismissed like it was nothing.

"That's really cool. I've always loved the drums."

"You play?" Manic asked hopefully. He always wanted a friend who played drums like him to exchange tips or techniques but he was always the only drummer in his friendship circles.

"Nah. I'm a guitar man myself. Maybe we could jam sometime?" Knuckles offered, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

"Uhhh, sure, but I'm leaving to the Emerald Lake campus on Sunday…" Manic admitted.

"Well there's this new music store that just opened up in the mall the other day. We could go check it out. After school tomorrow?" Knuckles offered.

"Um… okay, definitely. Here's my number so just text me the deets," Manic quickly tore off a small piece of paper from one of the library books, hiding the damage as he put it back in the shelf, and scribbled a sequence of numbers on it.

"I gotta go, but I'll see you around," he waved, handing the paper to Knuckles before walking away. Knuckles smiled as he watched Manic leave. He thought back to when he was the new guy on campus back when he transferred to Mobius High in his tenth school year. He remembered sitting alone in the library, just like this, when a friendly blue hedgehog came over and offered to hang out after school.

'I hope they make up soon,' Knuckles thought, reminiscing about the good times when he first met Sonic the Hedgehog in a similar fashion all those years ago.

…

Clove: _Where are you?_

Tikal: _Sorry, I had to deal with some shit at school today_

Clove: _Espio again?_

Tikal: _You have no idea_

Clove: _Well I know just how to cheer you up_

Tikal: _And how you gonna do that?_

Clove: _Just get over here. I'm sick of waiting_

Tikal: _Five mins_

Tikal stashed her phone back in her pocket and picked up the pace. She was planning to go shopping with Clove one last time before the pronghorn had to go off to the Emerald Lake campus of Mobius High and was running a bit late for being kept in after school.

Tikal darted around the hustle and bustle of all the animals strolling the streets of Central City, coming home from their work donning their black suited business clothes. She was supposed to meet Clove outside their favourite smoothie place at half past five but, after quickly glancing at her phone, Tikal realized that it was almost six.

She broke into a slight sprint, not wanting to keep her best friend waiting any longer when she felt another buzz emanate from her phone. She reached into her pocket to look at who was texting her.

Clove: _Hurry up Tiks! They are about to close the smoothie place_

Tikal: _Can you get me a banana blitz and I'll pay you back when I get there_

Clove: _You still have my loyalty card from Saturday so I can't get cheaper price._

Clove: _Just hurry up!_

Tikal sighed exasperatedly at her phone before shoving it deep into her pocket and breaking out into a full sprint. She saw the looming complex of shops and restaurants grow steadily bigger on the horizon.

Tikal was puffing by the time she arrived at the mall and took the small time waiting for the little green hedgehog to start flashing, signaling that she could cross the road to catch her breath and stop her panting.

Tikal tilted her head to look at Clove, waving her over to the smoothie place, tapping her wrist. Tikal couldn't wait any longer and, although the light had not yet turned red, she saw an opening in the traffic and took her opportunity.

She quickly darted onto the road, running into the middle before realizing her big mistake. In her haste, Tikal hadn't seen the small Sedan pull out of a park and start roaring off down the street.

All Tikal had time to do was scream and shield her body with her hands before the car smashed into her. Her screams were drowned out by the frantic beeping of the car and the loud, ear piercing screech of tires on pavement as the car tried desperately to stop. Tikal scrunched her eyes shut and braced for impact. But none came.

Suddenly, like a guardian angel from above, a dark streak darted out from the sidewalk and scooped her up off the road. The two rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding the car as she came to a finalized stop on the pavement. A crowd of onlookers rushed over to see if the two teenagers were alright.

"Oh my Chaos, kid, you're a hero," one man said, placing a hand on the back of the kid.

"You saved that young girls life," a woman added.

The strange, black and red creature crawled over to Tikal and grabbed her hand.

"Hey. You alright?" he asked in a dark, mysterious tone. Tikal's eyelids fluttered open and she stared at her rescuer.

"Y…Yeah, I'm good. Thanks to you," she stuttered, still completely overwhelmed by the sudden events. "Who are you?" she asked, wanting to know the name of her hero.

"Tikal, Oh My Chaos! Are you alright?" Tikal turned to see Clove rush over to her, trying to make sure that her best friend was alright. Tikal turned her head back to the stranger but blinked. He was gone.

"Where did he go?" Tikal asked aloud.

"Where'd who go?" Clove asked. "There is nobody here, Tiks. Are you sure that you're alright? You didn't hit your head did you?" Tikal sat up, searching around the crowd.

'Who was that?' she thought to herself, not noticing the hidden pair of orange eyes hiding amongst the crowd.

…

Jet threw his school bag against the wall, kicking off his converse shoes as he began to trance up the stairs, like he did every day when he got home from school.

"Honey, can you come in here?" his mother's voice called out from the kitchen. Jet paused on the staircase and paused. He shrugged, thinking nothing of his mother's strange tone and slid down the banister, bounding into the kitchen.

He saw his mother and father sitting next to each other, hands entwined on the table as they stared at him from the breakfast table.

"Please, son, take a seat," his father commanded kindly. Jet tilted his head in confusion but complied with his parent's demands.

"What's this all about?" Jet asked.

"How have you been feeling lately sweetie?" his mother asked.

"Fine."

"Anything you want to tell us. Maybe something from school is happening that you'd like to talk about?" his father added.

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Mum, dad, what is this all about?" Jet demanded an answer, confused and slightly worried about this strange behavior. Suddenly, a horrid thought crept into his brain and he blurted out instantly, "Oh no! You guys aren't getting a divorce are you?"

They both shook their head sternly before his mother reached into her pocket and fished out a small, metallic object coated in dried blood. She placed the small blade on the table and pushed it along the smooth surface to that it lay between Jet and his parents. He swallowed hard as the colour drained from his face.

'I thought I disposed with all of them,' he cursed himself.

"How long have you been doing this?" Jet's mother asked, holding back threatening tears.

"I'm not doing anything mum, honest," Jet replied in a soothing tone.

"Don't lie to us son. We just want to help," his dad said sternly.

"I'm not cutting myself… anymore," Jet finally admitted.

"So you were?" Jet's mother, upon hearing the confession, couldn't keep her composure anymore and began wailing into his dad's shoulder. His father rubbed a comforting hand on her back but didn't shift eye contact with his son.

"Why?"

"It was just some crap with school, but it's all over now, promise," he said with a smile, only causing his mother to wail slightly louder. Jet felt awful. He never wanted his parents to find out the truth. He thought back to that night in the hospital where Cream told his parents about the mirror, convincing them that he wasn't hurting himself. He wished more than anything that she was by his side again.

"We knew it had something to do with school. Your mother and I have been talking and we decided to pull you out of the school for the time being until you're feeling better. We also placed a few appointments with a counsellor," he spoke softly but to the point.

"Dad, you can't do that!" he protested.

"It has already been arranged with Gold, the secretary. She told us to call her back tomorrow after talking with you before she finalizes the papers."

"We are just trying to help," his mother sniffed, slightly controlling her cries. "We only want what is best for you."

"But I'm not like that anymore. Cream saved me," he said.

"Cream? You mean that rabbit girl from the hospital who lied to us?" Jet gulped, hearing the malice in her voice and noticed the emphasis she put on the word 'lied'.

"Yeah, she is my girlfriend and I love her. She helped me through the hardest point in my life and helped me be happy again. You can't take me away from her," he argued further, starting to get desperate.

"She was there when this all happened son. She might not be good for you," his father began.

"SHE SAVED MY LIFE THAT DAY WHEN SHE FOUND ME!" Jet screamed, losing his temper at his parents.

"Calm down. Let's just take this all one step at a time," his father said. Jet knew his dad. He knew that when he put his mind to something, it was very hard to change it. Jet was starting to get desperate. He didn't want to leave the school. He had finally made a steady group of friends, he was back on good terms with Sonic and he had found the love of his life. He couldn't leave it all behind.

"Let me introduce you guys to Cream. Properly. Dinner. Tomorrow night," he blurted out quickly. "If you guys like her and I can prove how great she is for me, you'll let me stay."

"And what if we disapprove of her?" Jet's dad asked.

"Then… I'll leave the school on my own accord," Jet sighed. Jet's parents seemed to exchange a few whispered before they turned back to her and nodded.

"Deal. Tomorrow night it is then," they said in unison. Jet quickly excused himself from the table and rushed up stairs, collapsing on his bed in a huff before he dialed the rabbit's number.

…

The hedgehog walked into a dark room, his eyes scanning all around, struggling to see through the pitch blackness that had descended upon his surroundings. Suddenly, a masked animal dropped from the ceiling, wielding a sharp edged sword. The hedgehog quickly rolled out of the way before jumping back onto his feet. He charged at the masked assailant, un-sheathing his own weapon and clashed it against the other sword.

The hedgehog stepped back and grabbed the animal's arm, holding it back as he sent a blow to his head. He then brought up his leg and sent a powerful kick to the animal's stomach, sending him flailing backwards.

The hedgehog's ears picked up the sound of two other things dropping to the floor behind him. He quickly jumped skywards, flipping backwards over the heads of the two other assailants that had dropped from the roof and landed behind them. He made quick work, with a barrage of punches and kicks, of the two and in no time at all they were unconscious on the ground.

The hedgehog suddenly realized that he was surrounded by another five animals. In no time at all, he quickly dispatched of them all and escaped the room. He was met with a blinding white light that burned his retinas. As his eyes finally adjusted to the new change in light levels, he noticed a man dressed in a black suit walked over to him with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Amazing stuff. You completed your training faster than anybody we've ever had, just like your father did back in the day. You'll make a fine agent," the commander began.

"Thank you, sir," the hedgehog bowed courteously.

"Since you showed amazing skills in the physical, mental and stealth departments, you will carry out duty as a full time agent for the Guardian Units of Nations. However, we will allow you to carry out your studies and complete your schooling before you become a full time agent, like your father would have wanted," the commander smiled. "You will return back to Central City immediately, Agent Shadow."

* * *

 _A/N: Well I hope you all enjoyed Chapter three. Yes, Sonia and Manic are only Sonic's half siblings, only related paternally by Jules. What could Silver and Scourge's past relationship possibly been? How will Jet and Cream's dinner go? Who was the mysterious person who saved Tikal's life? Espio really screwed that encounter up, but if Tikal wasn't the one who spread the photo, then who did he actually send it to? It looks like Knuckles is cleaning up everybody's lives one person at a time but will any of it come back to bite him in the end? And yes, Shadow is about to make his return! Thank you all so much for reading and don't forget to leave a review :D_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Shadow returns to school_

 _Sonia breaks down_

 _Silver confronts Scourge_

 _Cream meets the parents_

 _And something happens that will change everyone's schooling lives forever..._

 _All this and so much more in Chapter 4: Tragedy_


	4. Chapter 4: Tragedy

_A/N: Hello everybody. I hope you are all enjoying the sequel so far. Please tell me what you like and dislike and which characters you like and dislike :) We are heading into a big shift in the story so I hope you all enjoy chapter 4!_

* * *

Chapter 4

Tragedy

The principal stalked back and forth in his office, pacing behind his desk chair. He periodically glanced back to the hedgehog who stood in the middle of the room, his thoughts running wild inside his head.

"This is highly irregular, Mr. Hedgehog," the principal stated, reaching inside of his desk drawer to pull out the forms that Shadow had only previously signed a month prior. "In this document your… employers… wrote up, it stated that you would not return to finish your final semester at this school."

"I know, sir, but I finished my training early," Shadow interjected politely.

"Five months early?" the principal retorted, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "We can't allow students to join this late into the year."

"It's not that I'm joining. I have already done all my classes and have only missed three days. I had a perfect attendance last semester as well," Shadow replied calmly. Although not invulnerable, Shadow did have a rather impressive immune system and hardly ever got sick like the rest of his friends and students.

"Very well. I'll grant you permission to continue on two conditions." Shadow nodded in compliance. "Firstly, you must catch up on the work you missed. Secondly, I would like to meet with your parents to discuss your sudden departure and return."

"I'm sorry. I… don't live with my parents. My mother died at child birth and my father died when I was little," Shadow sighed, looking downcast at his feet as he thought about his sorely missed parents.

"I'm very sorry to hear that, but I will need to speak to a guardian," the principal persevered.

"That isn't possible," Shadow informed him. "I live alone. I am 18 and it is legal for me not to have a guardian. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. May I please leave now?" he asked bluntly, clearly wishing to leave as quick as possible.

"You are dismissed," he finally complied, stroking his chin in thought as he watched the ebony hedgehog exit his office. The principal collapsed in his chair, exhausted by the day's work and pressed a button on the intercom. "Gold, come in here please."

Moments passed before a flustered, golden tenrec quickly entered into the office.

"Yes sir?" she asked. "What do you need?"

"Can you please look into Shadow the Hedgehog for me. Check all records we have on him. Who originally enrolled him in this school?" he instructed. Gold fled the room, returning a couple of minutes later with a school file with Shadow's name plastered over the top of it.

"Shadow originally came from a foster home on the other side of town and lived with a nanny until she passed away earlier this year. It appears that he has lived alone ever since," Gold replied, skimming through the papers contained within.

"Why would a foster home on the other side of town enroll him here when there are hundreds of schools closer? This is all quite strange," the principal pondered. "Good work Gold, please keep a close eye on Shadow for the time being and do a little more digging."

"Understood, Sir," Gold said before turning to retreat back to her own secretary's desk outside his office.

…

 _Cream and Tails both exited their respected rooms in the large building and walked silently to the meeting place that they had agreed to be at earlier. Both of them arrived at the same time and looked at each other. They had both known each other so well that they didn't need to say any words. Just the look they exchanged when they locked eyes said more than a thousand words could._

 _Tails simply held out his hand, waiting until he felt the comfort of Cream's little paw press against his. He wrapped his hand around her and squeezed it for comfort as the two walked down the path and retreated back to the small room that they were to share for the night before returning home the next morning._

 _They both slipped into their pajamas and fell backwards onto their separate beds without another word. The exhaustion of the day's activities, plus their evening meetings was enough to completely zap all of their energy out of them. In seconds, Tails and Cream were both out like a light._

 _Tails had horrific dreams about his homophobic father finding out about his relationship and completely abandoning Tails. The poor kit tossed and turned in his sheets before sitting up with a start, beads of sweat forming on his brow._

 _"_ _Couldn't sleep either?" an innocent voice asked. Tails squinted through the darkness to see the outline of Cream, sitting up with her arms wrapped around her knees._

 _"_ _Not really. My meeting with dad didn't go too well," he finally admitted._

 _"_ _I completely bombed my interview," Cream sniffed. They both looked at each other and spoke in unison._

 _"_ _I'm sorry." There was a moment of silence before Cream heard Tails shuffle around and suddenly felt his weight press down next to her on the bed. She jumped with a start._

 _"_ _Oh, sorry Cream. I didn't… I mean…" he trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence._

 _"_ _No… It's okay… stay," she said after a pause. She could almost feel Tails' smile as the fox lay down next to her in the small, single bed, draping the blankets over the two. Cream rolled over onto her side and Tails placed a warming arm around her, bringing her into his embrace as the two fell asleep together._

 _No words needed to be said. Nothing else needed to be done. They both just really needed somebody to be there for them after the horrible afternoon they had. Together, the fox and rabbit just closed their eyes and slept in each other's embrace, eliciting happy dreams from the both of them._

…

The gang all sat around their signature table in the back corner of the cafeteria. Sally, Rouge, Blaze, Silver, Knuckles, Tails, Tikal, Jet and Cream all were chatting away.

"Where's Sonic today?" Blaze asked, flashing her glance over in Tails' direction.

"He has to go talk with his sister about something, I'm not quite sure," Tails replied bitterly, not bothering to look at her.

"Tails… I-" Blaze began but was immediately cut off.

"Blaze, can we not talk about this now. Not in front of everybody," he sighed, not wanting everybody to try to 'solve' their problem.

"Okay, but I just wanted you to know that-"

"I said not now, okay?!" Tails slammed a fist down on the table, causing all the occupants to stare at him, startled.

"Ahem… It must be hard for Blue to have to deal with his siblings. I mean, they just showed up out of nowhere," Rouge chimed in after a few moments of awkward silence in an attempt to lighten the mood and suppress her smile at seeing the saddened fox. She thought back to how blissfully happy Sonic and he had seemed. Despite what they said about loving Tails, they sure didn't show it. If they really loved him, they wouldn't have been able to move on so quickly and just forget about the ebony hedgehog.

"Well, maybe you should think about how hard it must be for them as well," Knuckles suddenly said defensively, not realizing what he did until he saw all the quizzical looks flashed his way. "What? I'm just saying."

"He's right. Sonic said they are only going to be here until Sunday anyway so we should treat Manic and Sonia right if we run into them," Silver concluded, ending the topic of conversation.

"So," Jet suddenly chimed in, changing the conversation. "How was the Academy Cream and Tails?"

Cream and Tails looked at each other before suddenly looking away, neither one speaking about the day since they woke up in the same bed.

"Not good?" Knuckles offered, seeing how disgruntled they looked.

"Yeah, you could say that…" Cream trailed off sadly. Jet leant over to her and placed a quick peck on her cheek. After the short silence, Sally excused herself from the table, looking quite anxious as she rushed off. Blaze quickly gave Silver a kiss before following Sally to see where she was going, leaving the others exchanging confused glances.

"So… Did you guys catch the latest episode of strangest animals last night?" Tikal decided to speak up after another moment of silence. "I can't believe that-"

"NO WAY!" Rouge suddenly gasped, dropping her forkful of food, not moving from her gaze as it clattered against the table.

"What is it Rou…" Tails trailed off as he turned to see what she was looking at. There, making his way over to the table like nothing had even happened, was a familiar black hedgehog with red stripes.

"Shadow!" Tails mouthed. He couldn't even help himself. He quickly shot up from his seat and sprinted over to the hedgehog, crashing into his arms. Shadow couldn't help but let out a small chuckle that escaped his lips as he folded his arms around the fox in an appreciative hug. Cream couldn't help but feel a slight wave of jealousy wash over her.

"I thought you were gone forever," he sniffed as his tears stained his black body. "I m-missed you so much. I'm so sorry I drove you away."

"It wasn't your fault, Tails. It was a choice I made," he tried to sooth the fox as Tails looked up to him. "I'm not going to leave you again, Tails," he cooed, squeezing the fox tight before Tails finally let go, brushing a tear out of Tails' eye with his thumb. He looked over to Rouge, mouthing an apology before stepping back from Shadow and allowing him to walk up to her.

"… Hey Rouge…"

"Hey… HEY! Is that all you have to say after completely abandoning me that night?! I tried so hard to find you! I looked everywhere! What kind of friend just leaves his best friend alone in a smelly parking lot on the night that is supposed to be the best of her life?! How could you ditch me?!" Every sentence that she bellowed, she took a step closer to Shadow until she squared up to him, barely a centimeter separating the two.

Shadow opened his mouth to reply but before he could say anything, Rouge fell into him, encasing him with her arms as she sobbed into him.

"Please don't ever do that to me again," she sniffed, burying her face into his chest so that the others in the cafeteria couldn't see her tears. "Don't leave me."

"I promise, Rouge, I won't ever leave again without telling you," he smiled as he squeezed Rouge tighter, remembering how much he missed her comforting hugs.

"SHADOW?!"

…

Sally hastened through the school, taking the left turn out through one of the many hallway exits, making her way over to one of the small classrooms that lay adjacent to the old wired fence. She slunk around the side and stopped when she emerged into the small little space between the building and the fence.

The area was completely invisible from the pathway or flowerbed on the other side of the building unless you purposely walked off track. The tree from the other side of the fence hung low, its thick foliage covering out the sun's rays, plunging the small enclosure into shaded darkness.

"Just need one more and then I'm done for the day," Sally tried to convince herself as she shakily fished out a lighter from her pocket. She cupped her hand around the small flame, once ignited, to block out the prevailing winds that howled through the wind tunnel and brought the lighter up to one end of her cigarette.

Once lit, she inhaled deeply on the other end, exhaling out the smoke in a satisfied sigh as her nervous, anxiousness left her, along with all her stress. However, this calm didn't last for more than a couple seconds as a nosy violet feline who had followed Sally from the cafeteria suddenly made her presence known.

"Sally, you've got to stop smoking!" Blaze howled as she stepped out from behind the corner she was lurking around.

"Blaze!" Sally said astonished, jumping back a couple feet in surprise. "You startled me. Where do you get off stalking people?" she added defensively, instinctively moving the hand with the cigarette behind her back.

"Don't try to hide it. I already saw it. Since when were you a smoker?" Blaze asked, taking a few tentative steps forward. Sally sighed, revealing the cigarette.

"Nobody else knows, not even Amy. I know it's a bad habit but my old friends from Mobotropolis all smoked and I had a couple puffs from them and…" she trailed off as Blaze finished her sentence for her.

"You got addicted," she stated, seemingly knowing her answer. Sally nodded in defeat.

"I know it's bad but I need it. I need the relief it gives."

"You don't need this. You're stronger than this," Blaze said, swiping the cigarette from Sally's hand and stomping it out underneath her boot. Something inside Sally snapped and her instincts took over.

"What the fuck was that for? These aren't cheap you know!" she snapped, the urge for another smoke taking hold of her.

"Sally, you need to quit before it's too late."

"What do you know? You're just a little innocent cat. You don't know me or the stress I'm under. Amy refuses to talk to me, Sonic and I are drifting apart and he keeps blocking me out about this whole sibling thing when all I want to do is help. My aunt is breathing down my neck to fix my life and I'm just so… ugh!" she yelled out angrily, opening the pack of smokes to take out another cigarette. Blaze narrowed her eyes and pounced, snatching the packet from Sally. Without a moment to spare, Blaze hurled the packet over the fence, watching as they all spilt out from the box, falling in the dirt.

"That wasn't cool," Sally hissed.

"I'm doing it for you," Blaze urged.

"Thanks, but if I needed your help or opinion, I would ask. Leave," she stated plainly, anger getting the better of her.

"Sally…"

"I said leave. Now," Sally stood her ground, staring down the cat. She lit the last of her cigarettes that she had retrieved from the box before Blaze had thrown them away and smoked it spitefully in front of the cat.

"You know what. Fine, I'll leave. Kill yourself with those things. See if I care," she cried out defensively before turning to storm off. "Cigarettes sure as hell aren't going to kill me," she cried as she disappeared.

"What is her deal?!" Sally cried out exasperatedly. Suddenly, as if to curb her anger, the bell rang. Sally flicked her last cigarette to the ground and walked off, muttering to herself, "Now I've gotta go buy a new packet."

…

Sonic looked down at his phone, re-reading the message that his 'sister' had sent him. She had asked him to meet her in room 203 at lunch time.

Sonic: _Why should I do as she says?_

Tails: _Sonic, I know that things are shit but she is still your sister_

Sonic: _Half_

Tails: _Half. Okay. But I think you should at least hear her out._

Sonic: _Okay, fine. We still on for this afternoon?_

Tails: _Wouldn't miss it_

Sonic sighed as he approached the room with the small, silver numbers nailed to the door reading 203. He took a deep breath in and pushed on the blue plastic door. As Sonic entered, he saw the pink hedgehog turn around and smile before jumping off of the desk that she was lounging on.

"I didn't think you would actually show up," Sonia admitted, thanking Sonic for his understanding.

"I mightn't have if my boyfriend didn't suggest it to me. So, I'm here so what did you want," Sonic huffed. Sonia raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"You have a boyfriend?" Sonic's angered steadfast look told Sonia that he wasn't going to even dignify that with an answer. She decided to forget about that detail for now, despite her surprise. "Well, remind me to thank _him_ later. Anyway, I just needed to talk to you."

"Get on with it. The quicker you take, the quicker I can go get lunch," Sonic disregarded her spitefully.

"What is your problem?" Sonia suddenly exploded, annoyed that despite everything, he was still acting so cold towards her and Manic. "It's been almost three since we got here. Why do you still hate us? We didn't do anything."

"Yeah you did. You ruined my family and broke my parents up! Also Manic punched me in the gut!" Sonic fired back angrily, getting worked up himself.

"How was that our fault? All Manic and I have tried to do was try to connect with you. This is new for both of us as well and I just want my brother back. Besides, Manic is really sorry about that and just got lost in the moment," she defended her brother.

"Half-brother," Sonic corrected her spitefully. "And do you want to know why it was your fault? You were born!" As soon as the words left Sonic's mouth, he instantly regretted them. He could see the complete hurt and pain on Sonia's face. She had never felt so hurt before, especially coming from her own blood.

"S…Sonia… I didn't mean…" Sonic tried to defuse the situation but it was too late.

"Just leave," Sonia gasped as she burst into tears. She fell to the floor, stabilized by her hands and knees, as she let the tears explode out of her eyes like waterfalls. She had never felt so defeated in her life.

"Sonia…"

"LEAVE!" she yelled, hurling her back pack at him. Sonic quickly stepped out of the way, hearing the pack smash against the wall of the room. Something in Sonic suddenly changed. Seeing Sonia in the state that she was in. So vulnerable. So… real. This was the first time Sonic saw her as something other than the demon that ruined his family. He saw her as a real person. As somebody with feelings. As a… sister.

Seeing her sad made him feel sad himself. Sonic frowned, walking up to the blubbering pink hedgehog, despite her earlier warnings not to. Sonic felt a sudden love wash over him. Seeing his sister saddened awoken a primal feeling aside of him and his brotherly love took over as their shared blood coursed through his veins. He bent down and wrapped his arms around Sonia, bringing her into a hug.

Sonia wanted to push him away so badly. She wanted to distance herself from the hurt he caused her but she couldn't help but melt into his hug as the tears continued. That's when Sonia finally broke down.

"I just… things were falling apart by the day back home in Westopolis. My boyfriend Shard had broken up with me, my best friend moved far away and Manic and I were drifting apart so much. I felt so alone… so lost," she sniffed, opening up to Sonic who just held her as he listened.

"I began shutting myself in, abandoning my other friends. I tried so hard to talk to Manic, but all he wanted to do was go off and play with his band. We got into fights more and more often until…"

"Sonia… it's okay," Sonic soothed her.

"We didn't talk for ages. It was only when mum found out about Bernadette and you that we actually started talking. Aleena wanted to send us to Mobius High and Jules decided to tell us all the truth because he knew we would run into you… We left angry and came here. I finally got Manic back in my life… but it was at the cost of my father… I can't forgive him, Sonic," she burst into another round of tears. "I want to forgive him. I want to love him but after learning about what he did, was doing… I just can't."

"I know Sonia. I'm sorry I blamed you and Manic. I just lost my temper. I know dad is the only one to blame. He ruined everybody's life," Sonic hugged her close.

"There is one good thing that he did," Sonia breathed deeply, trying to gather her composure. "He gave me two wonderful brothers." Sonic smiled, the walls he had built around his heart after seeing Manic and Sonia had finally crumbled and he let her in completely.

"I'm so sorry, Sonia, for treating you and Manic how I did. I promise you, I'll be the best brother ever to both of you."

"It's not just me you should apologize to. You hurt Manic and Bernadette as well," she replied.

"Just look at you… my little sister… already helping me," he grinned, giving her his trademark smile to lift her spirits. "I'll apologize to them… I just hope they can forgive me," he sighed, helping Sonia stand up so he could go and properly introduce her to the group.

The two walked together into the cafeteria, Sonic intent on giving his sister a proper introduction to the group but suddenly froze when he got close. Sonia looked at him inquisitively when she saw his mouth drop open when he laid eyes on a certain midnight hedgehog.

"SHADOW?!"

"Hey," Shadow said, glancing over to Sonic. "I'm back…" Sonic just stood there, staring at Shadow, who returned with a gaze just as intensely.

…

"Do you have any 3's?" Charmy asked.

"Go fish," Vector replied. Charmy sighed as he picked up another card from the top of the deck. The yellow and black bee and the green crocodile sat cross legged, opposite each other in one of the small gardened areas inside the school grounds.

"This game is no fun with just two people," Charmy complained, putting his hand of cards on the ground and lying back in frustration.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But it's just the two of us from now on. We can make this work," Vector agreed, stating the fact that was far too obvious for Charmy to not have known.

"But don't you ever want to forgive him?" Charmy asked, sitting up to stare at Vector. "Go back to how things were?"

"Charmy… don't forget what happened," Vector muttered, waving away the pleasant idea that the optimistic bee place in his head. "Things change… bonds break… relationships end. That's just life."

"I know he did horrible things but we can't forget all the good times… I just miss him, Vector. I miss…" Charmy trailed off and turned to glance at the sky. That was when he noticed somebody out of the corner of his eye. "Espio?!"

"Hey guys," Espio jogged up to them, stopping in front of them. He was greeted by a happy, beaming smile from Charmy and a skeptical, cynical glare from the angry crocodile.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Vector hissed with all the animosity he could muster, although secretly, deep down, he was pleased to see the chameleon.

"So we're still not talking? I said I was sorry like a thousand times," Espio snapped back angrily.

"We just need a little more time," Vector mumbled in response, not really sure why he hadn't forgiven the chameleon like his friend had.

"Oh, so your giving me that bullshit now? I can't believe it was you guys who did it!" Espio yelled, raising his arms in the air for emphasis as little wads of spit flew from his mouth, drenching the cowering bee.

"What are you talking about?" Charmy shied away, frightened by the sudden outburst of pent up aggression.

"I thought we were friends. How could you guys spread that naked picture of me? I'm the fucking laughing stock of the whole school! Nobody wants to be seen anywhere near me," he replied. Instead of an apology, like he was expecting, it was the small, pacifist bee that surprised Espio which his sudden explosion.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YOU THINK IT WAS US? YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Charmy bellowed, louder than anybody had ever heard him before. He jumped up from his position and lunged at the astonished chameleon with a fist outstretched. If it wasn't for Vector's quick reflexes, Espio would have been knocked to the ground. But instead, Vector quickly shot out his arm and held Charmy back, trying to sedate the bee.

"Whoa, whoa Charmy. What has gotten into you?" Vector grunted as even the large muscly crocodile had trouble holding back the bee.

"I believed in you. I kept trying to convince Vector to forgive you so we could go back to the three of us. The Chaotix, remember. All for one and one for all. How the fuck could you think we would… no… that we _could_ do that to you," Charmy exploded again, all his pent up angst coming out, targeting Espio as sudden tears began to poor down the bee's face.

"I didn't mean… I thought that… I…" Espio stumbled over his words, too taken aback to correctly and efficiently process a thought in his mind.

"I think you should go," Vector turned away, pulling the disgruntled Charmy with him.

"Vector… I-" Espio began but was cut off.

"You know, throughout the break, Charmy never stopped wanting to forgive you but I was just too stubborn. He never gave up hope on you. He didn't think you had changed and I almost believed him. I almost gave you a chance…" he trailed off before finishing his sentence. "I'm glad I didn't."

Espio opened his mouth to reply but Vector didn't want to hear it. Instead, the duo turned around and walked off, Vector hurrying so that Charmy didn't suddenly have another breakdown from the betrayal he felt.

"I…I…I…" Espio repeatedly stammered, unable to comprehend his usually bubbly friends attack.

…

Knuckles and Manic walked through the crowded city streets of Central city, heading down to the new music store that Knuckles had noticed when he went to the mall with Rouge the other week.

As the two walked, Manic couldn't help but keep looking at Knuckles, intrigued by how nice the echidna was being to him.

'Surely Sonic had talked to Knuckles about me, right?' he thought to himself. Manic continued to stare at the red echidna, the gears turning in his mind for some rhyme or reason for why he would want to hang out with him. Manic didn't think he was special, cool, or somebody to make friends with seeing as he was only going to be staying for another day.

"Do I have something on my face?" Knuckles asked when he noticed Manic staring intensely at him, pulling the hedgehog out of his inner thoughts.

"Huh? Wha? Oh, right… no, I was just thinking…" Manic waved away Knuckles question. However, the echidna had been friends with Sonic for the better part of six years and he knew Sonic's facial expressions too well. Unluckily for Manic, he shared those facial expressions and mannerisms without even realizing it.

"I know you're thinking about me," Knuckles added, shrugging at Manic's bewilderment. "Lemme guess… you're wondering why I'm trying to make friends with you since I'm Sonic's friend, right?"

"Yeah… how did you know?" Manic responded, looking at the ground slightly embarrassed.

"I know Sonic too well, and you and him are quite similar whether you like it or not," Knuckles chuckled, giving Manic a playful punch on the shoulder when the green hedgehog pouted. "Well, I was once like you, alone in the library when I was new. And just like I did for you, a certain sapphire hedgehog came up and invited me out to do something I wanted to do. I don't care if you're related to Sonic. I want to get to know you for you before I judge."

"Thanks man," Manic smiled before suddenly bumping into Knuckles as the echidna came to a sudden standstill.

"Where here," Knuckles smiled as he gestured to the quaint little music store. Manic marveled at the professionalism of the store. The window was lined with displays of all sorts of instruments and when they entered through the small glass door, it only opened up to a wonderful world of music. Small black speakers in the corner were blaring out rock music whilst a young orange porcupine was jamming out, quite well, on an electric guitar.

"This one sounds cool. Thanks for letting me try it out," the young porcupine called out to the owner sitting at his desk.

"Anytime Spike," the owner waved as Spike rushed out of the store as fast as he had entered.

"Reminds me of somebody we both know, eh?" Knuckles laughed, elbowing Manic in the ribs. The green hedgehog had to admit, the way that kid acted did remind him of his br… of Sonic, but he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind as he walked over to the wall of guitars, each one more magnificent and kick-ass than the last.

"You said you needed a new guitar yeah?" Manic called Knuckles over. Knuckles finished his quick conversation with the store owner before joining Manic at the wall.

"Yeah, and I wonder if the one I saw through the window is still… Here it is!" Knuckles jumped for joy as he grabbed a slick blue electric guitar with red flames glazed on it. Knuckles placed the strap around his shoulder, walked over to plug the guitar into the practice area that already had amps set up and began to strum.

Manic watched in amazement as Knuckles began playing a familiar rock tune that Manic was familiar with. Without a second to lose, Manic rushed over to one of the drum kits that were set up nearby for young kids to practice with and pulled out his signature drum sticks. He began drumming out to the same song, knowing the drums part of the song off by heart. Knuckles look at Manic, and Manic returned the stare as they both nodded at each other, enjoying the jam session together.

"You two aren't half bad," the owner chuckled to himself, strolling over from the desk.

"Thanks. I used to be in a band for a while back in Westopolis before I moved here for school," Manic responded without stopping his rhythmic drumming.

"Rock on little dude!" The owner shouted out enthusiastically, raising his hand with his index and pinkie fingers raised. "So…" he began, turning to Knuckles who had finished his guitar riff. "You going to buy that beauty?"

"It plays so well," Knuckles marveled, sparkles in his eyes before his face turned to a frown when he looked at the price tag stuck onto the side. "But I can't afford this…"

"Oh, sorry little buddies. Feel free to come back anytime to jam out and maybe eventually you'll be able to buy it," the owner winked at Knuckles who returned the gesture with a smile.

Both Knuckles and Manic enjoyed the rest of their afternoon trying out different guitars, as well as trying out some of the more whimsical instruments that were on display in the small music shop. They were completely engrossed in the fun to notice that the sun had already set by the time they left the store and headed home.

…

Amy walked through the outside paths that crisscrossed around the schools exterior, humming to herself as she watched the rest of the students climb into cars and roar off towards their homes, glad that the school day was finally at its end. She had already tried to meet up with Sally but something had the squirrel in a really bad mood so she had decided to see if Knuckles wanted to hang out with her instead.

Amy: _Hey Knuckles. You free to hang out?_

Knuckles: _Sorry Amy but I'm actually going to a music store with Manic today._

Amy: _Isn't that like Sonic's fake brother or something?_

Knuckles: _Half… but yeah. Gtg, cya later_

Amy sighed, texting away a response before her phone buzzed in her hand.

Rouge: _Thanks for getting Shadow to return. I don't know how you did it but I owe you. I talked to Zouge and she is willing to look at your manuscript_

Amy couldn't believe her eyes. Rouge being nice? Her script being read by the most influential publisher, the same publisher who published the fabulous Aleena's books? She couldn't take her eyes off her phone in her bewilderment. However, she wasn't watching where she was going and accidentally bumped into somebody walking the other direction. She squealed in fright, dropping her phone to the ground.

"I'm so sorry," she said to the stranger, bending over to pick up her phone but the person she bumped into had already retrieved her phone and she ended up placing her hand right on top of his. "Sorry…" she blushed as she removed her phone to look up at the person. However, when she saw his face, her heart skipped a beat in her head.

"You don't need to be sorry, Ames," Sonic chuckled, flashing her his trademark smile that used to always make her melt into his words. "Here," he handed her phone back to her. "I think you dropped this." Amy was so flustered, not really talking or having seen Sonic alone without being angry at one another in the longest time. She didn't have time to think and just blurted out the first word that came into her head.

"Hey, I was just talking about you." She instantly went read, face palming herself.

"Still can't get me out of your head, can you?" Sonic joked, smirking to himself. He instantly saw the shame and embarrassment on Amy's face and quickly retracted his statement. "Oh, I'm sorry Ames. I didn't mean that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's good to see you."

"Really?" she couldn't help but feel a spark of hope ignite in her heart as she looked up to Sonic, lost in those calming pools of emerald. He nodded in return, placing both his arms on her shoulders.

"I know shit kinda hit the fan last semester, but through the break I realized that I still don't want to leave you. We were great friends before we started dating so why can't we be great friends after?" Amy looked at him, marveling at how simple and easy he made it all seem.

"I guess I got a little bit overbearing during our relationship, didn't I?" she sighed, thinking back to their past.

"Yeah. When you started getting mad when I would hang out with Tails, that's when I realized that it wasn't going to work out," Sonic admitted.

"But look what happened when I backed off! I was right in a weird way," she giggled, bringing out that magnificent smile that she loved so much.

"Yeah, I guess I should thank you for that," he chuckled. "And I wasn't exactly the best boyfriend either."

"But if this was what you wanted, then why did you hide the party from me?" Amy asked, secretly trying to gain some information. She wanted to know if what Rouge had said was true. If Tails really did still have something against her. She needed to be sure.

"Amy, c'mon. Despite everything, I was the one who fought for you. Both Sally and I did. It was…" Sonic paused, contemplating whether to oust Blaze and Rouge for being the ones who campaigned so profusely to exclude Amy from the party. "Others that didn't want you there," he concluded, deciding against it.

Hearing the squirrels name sent a pang of guilt through the pink hedgehog's body. She thought about how great it had been with Sally and how genuinely delighted she was when she got to see Sally again after she returned from Mobotropolis.

"That's all I ever needed to hear," Amy managed to smile back at him. Relief washed over her as she finally got her closure that she desperately needed since their horrible break up not six months prior. However, being back here with Sonic, talking and hanging out like they used to do together, something just felt… right.

"Friends?" Sonic said, extending his hand out to hers.

"Friends," she repeated, pushing Sonic's hand aside and falling into a hug with him. She held her breath waiting, only breathing a deep sigh of relief when she felt him squeeze back. The thrill of hugging Sonic again. The warmth of his body so close to hers, the heat of his breath on the back of her neck and his touch. She missed it all.

"Well, I've gotta be off. I'm hanging out with Tails so I shouldn't keep him waiting. I'll text you tonight," he waved as he ran off, leaving a confused Amy behind.

'Tails… I thought he was my friend. It wasn't enough that he stole Sonic, but now he is trying to turn everybody else against me?' she thought to herself, cursing the name of the fox as she walked away. Thinking about her anger towards Tails was all that was keeping her to think about what she already knew was true. She had fallen in love with Sonic all over again.

…

Jet stood in his bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He picked out one of his many combs from a small cup and combed back his green feathers. No matter how many times he tried to change his hair style, it never felt right. In reality, he just needed something to preoccupy himself before Cream arrived.

Jet didn't want to tell Cream the real reason he invited her over, just telling her that he wanted to introduce her to his parents. If she knew that this one dinner would be a defining point in his life, the do or die moment for him being able to continue at the school he is currently at, she would freak. Jet loved Cream too much to put that kind of pressure on her, and he knew she wouldn't have done it to him.

He ran his tongue along his front teeth for the second time in as many minutes, trying to make sure there was no left over food when it happened. The sound of the doorbell sent him flying out of his shoes in angst. Jet quickly gathered his composure and sprinted down stairs, arriving at the door before his parents had even bothered to exit the kitchen.

"Hey Cream, welcome in," Jet beamed a smile filled with false confidence as he opened out his arms. Cream fell into him, wrapping her own arms around him as they shared in a brief kiss before Jet heard his father clear his throat behind him.

"Oh, Hello Mr. Hawk. My name is Cream. It is so very nice to meet you," she said with the same false confidence that Jet had given her previously. Although she wanted to shrink in fear at the seemingly judgmental stare Jet's father was giving her, she managed to keep herself composed enough to pass the introductions and make it to the dinner table without any slip ups.

"This dinner smells delicious, ma," Jet complimented his mother before digging in.

"It was very thoughtful of you Mrs. Hawk. This looks scrumptious," Cream chimed in. The two teens breathed a sigh of relief when she saw genuine pleasure on his mother's face.

"So Cream…" Jet's mother began. "Tell me about yourself…"

Cream, Jet and his parents began a nice, civil conversation whilst they dug into their meals. Cream detailed her schooling, the subjects she was enrolled in, facts about her own family and other basic things. Jet began to get more comfortable. He knew his parents well enough to read their facial expressions and they seemed to genuinely like Cream. Everything was going exactly how he hoped.

'If this keeps up, they'll let me stay for sure,' he thought happily. However, it was his dad who suddenly shrouded the entire conversation in a dark atmosphere with one simple question.

"So, why did you lie to us in the hospital about our son's injuries?" Jet's father said plainly after a moment of silence. Cream's eyes bulged in her head as she turned to Jet, screaming silently for help. The beads of sweat that emerged on his brow told her all she needed to know. That he wasn't expecting this to happen.

"What do you mean?" she mumbled shyly, falling back into the shell that she often concealed herself in when she got nervous or anxious.

"We know about Jet's… issues that he was struggling with and learnt of the real reason he went to the hospital. You were the one who found him and sent him to this hospital correct?" He asked sternly. Cream gave a weak nod in reply before he continued. "So when we rushed to the hospital, why did you lie to us about the exploding mirror?"

"I…I…I…" she stuttered, looking to Jet for any help. The look he gave her made her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. The pleading in his eyes and the pout on his face. Clearly this was a make or break response, and she could tell from his expression that whatever she said next would have horrible consequences for him. Cream took a deep breath, letting her mind run back to that night that she often had nightmares about for Jet.

"When I saw Jet lying there… on the ground. He begged me not to tell anybody. I didn't know what to do because I was so distraught. Imagine seeing somebody you love at near death. You'd do whatever they asked just so that they could be back with you. If I told you guys, Jet would have never forgiven me and I cared about him too much to let him go," she admitted, letting her head hang low.

Jet's father hummed, thinking over her response for a few moments before addressing her again.

"So what you're saying is that you thought your love for him was more important than his own parents?"

"No! Not at all. I was just so sad. I've constantly had nightmares of that night for weeks. But do you know what gets me through it?" she lifted her head, staring the elder hawk straight in the eyes for emphasis. "Seeing your son every day. Seeing how much happier he is now. Seeing how much he has changed since that horrible night."

"You don't have the right to tell a mother what she can and can't know about her son!" Jet's mother suddenly piped up.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Jet exploded standing up from the table. Suddenly, all eyes were thrust to his direction and he had the attention of all three in the room.

"Don't you yell at her that way. She saved my life, and then stuck with me. She broke down my walls when I wouldn't let her in. She never gave up on me when the rest of the world had… when you guys had. She is not just my girlfriend… she is my best friend and I love her and I don't care what you guys say. You can take me out of school, but you'll never take me away from her," Jet finished confidently.

"J…Jet…" Cream said, tears of joy in her eyes.

"That's all we wanted to know," Jet's mother smiled, eliciting confused glances of bewilderment from the two teenagers.

"We just wanted to make sure that you were serious about this girl and if she was serious about you. We can see that both of you really love each other and that we trust that you will be happy with this girl and won't keep doing… that stuff. We trust you," Jet's father smiled as his tough façade faded away.

"Thanks, guys," Jet smiled, giving them a big hug. Cream grinned as she watched the family, happily share and embrace. Until something stirred around inside her and she felt like the scum of the earth. She had just said all these feelings, which were all true, but there was something she couldn't shake out of her mind. She truly did love Jet, with all her heart and he clearly loved her too. But… that night last night with Tails… just being in the same bed with him and snuggling… She felt so much better in bed with him rather than Jet, despite the lack of intimacy. With Tails she felt something she never did with Jet no matter how hard she tried. She felt… right.

…

Fiona and Scourge were chilling on the large, flat stones that lay in the corner of the nearby woods. The large apple tree that served as Shadow's favourite spot filled the skyline, after the row of trees dipped away. The sun shone bright as Scourge and Fiona lay together, a bottle of Vodka shared between them. Although it was Friday, neither of them could deal with school for a moment longer.

"You always know where to get the good stuff," Fiona purred happily, taking another swig of the spirits.

"That's because I am the good stuff," Scourge smirked wickedly as he took a deep puff of his smoke. Scourge had been caught smoking weed on campus before so he tried to be more careful from then on, sneaking out to this hidden spot in the gardens. It was close enough to school that he could make it back before fifth period but concealed enough to not be spotted.

However, what he didn't realize was that he wasn't the only one who like to watch others. Whilst he had been studying Silver from afar, trying to figure out what to do about his problem, the silver hedgehog had done the same thing. Secretly, in a little alcove adjacent to the small field that Scourge and Fiona were chilling in, Silver sat and watched with annoyance.

'This isn't Scourge,' Silver mumbled in anger. 'He was never like this.'

Silver had had enough. He needed to know what happened to the old Scourge. He needed to know if it really was the green hedgehog from his past. That same green hedgehog.

Silver clenched his fists and stormed over to the opening, marching straight up to the relaxed hedgehog. Fiona noticed his presence first, shifting into a sitting up position as she narrowed her eyes.

"What are you doing here, loser?" she taunted, taking yet another swig of the almost empty bottle of spirits.

"Scourge, what are you doing with somebody like this?" Silver shouted, tears of anger filling in his eyes. "You used to never be like this!"

"Scourge… baby… what is this dweeb talking about?" Fiona flashed a confused glance at Scourge.

"I have no idea who this weirdo even is," Scourge mention, staring angrily at the silver hedgehog.

"How could you say that? Don't pretend that the past never happened! After everything I did for you! After all the shit we went through, after I let you-" Silver began but was silenced by a hard, precise punch straight to Silver's jaw. Silver howled in pain as he dropped to the floor, clutching his face in agony.

"Scourge… what was he going to say?" Fiona tilted her head at Scourge, curiosity running rampant in her head. She had never really known about Scourge's past before he showed up to the school late last semester and he never talked about his past.

"He wasn't going to say shit, were you," Scourge stared daggers at the cowering Silver on the ground. Silver looked at the green hedgehog, hurt plastered all over his face and pain emanated from his eyes. Part of Scourge couldn't handle seeing Silver that way, but he knew things were different from how they used to be and he knew pushing Silver away was the best way to handle things.

"Yeah… I wasn't going to say anything at all," Silver breathed, his words weak and meaningless. Silver sent one final glance Scourge's way before hobbling off back to school.

"Scourge… what was that about?" Fiona repeated, trying to figure out the enigma that was Scourge the hedgehog.

"Nothing babe… now, where were we," he lunged at Fiona, knocking her back onto the grassy ground as the two finished what they had started.

As soon as Silver was out of sight, he broke into a sprint, rushing all the way back to school. He found an empty classroom and locked the door behind him. He fell in a heap on the ground and let the tears finally come out. He hugged his knees close to his body as he scolded himself for trying to talk with Scourge.

"He isn't the same person." Silver told himself. "Just forget about him, like all those years ago."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Silver whipped his head up. The loud siren sounds whooping through the air. Silver looked around frantically, slightly disoriented by the sense consuming sounds. Silver opened the door and looked out into the hallway. The sight he saw took his breath away as he screamed in fright.

The familiar hallway that he had often walked, multiple times a day, was shrouded in a deep orange hue. He felt his fur begin to melt as the immense heat raged at him. The wall at the end of the hallway was engulfed in a tremendous flame, fueled by all the papers, books, posters and all sorts of other things on the boards and lockers in the area. The flame grew fiercer and fiercer, moving slowly though the school, decimating everything in its path.

Silver could hear the faint screams of teachers telling kids to walk quickly and calmly to the meeting place so they could make sure everyone was accounted for. All students that had free periods, and others who rushed out of class without the teacher, ran frantically around the hallways like headless chickens.

Silver broke into a sprint, heading away from the flames and towards the exit. He turned the corner in a rush and smashed into somebody coming the other way, sprawling out on the floor in pain.

"SILVER?!" Sonic screamed as he helped the pink hedgehog next to him.

"Sonic? Sonia?" Silver asked, disoriented from the sudden blow to his head.

"GET THE FUCK UP!" Sonic yelled again, reaching out his hand. Silver placed his hand in Sonic's and was immediately pulled from the floor onto his feet.

"Come on, we need to go!" Sonia shouted, pulling her brothers arm.

"SILVER! THE SCHOOL IS ON FUCKING FIRE! WHEN NEED TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE NOW!" Sonic yelled over the roar of the fire and the loud sirens that continued blaring incessantly. Silver suddenly snapped back into reality, nodding to Sonic as the three hedgehog's sprinted for the door. They emerged outside and sprinted to the nearby cemented parking lot where the rest of the students and faculty met.

Lines of teachers looked over their students, marking names off the list to make sure everybody was accounted for. The whole school stood in the nearby area, watching the school that they had all grown up in explode in a fireball. All but one student…

…

The stubborn door finally broke free when the ceiling from above collapsed in on itself, smashing the door to bits, allowing her to escape. The air was thick with smoke as black as night. The flames raged throughout the school, blocking off most of the escape routes. The smoke from the fire slowly made its way into her lungs, cutting off the air and causing her to cough excessively, falling to one knee as she struggled to breath.

Blaze looked left and right, crawling along the ground as she tried to find a way out. Each exit was blocked by falling debris or a raging flame. Blaze was trapped inside with no way out.

"HELP! I'M STILL IN HERE! IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?!" Blaze yelled, coughing after each word. Blaze crawled around a corner. Suddenly, a ray of light shone through the black, heavy smoke, illuminating one of the schools exits that was free of the flames. Blaze yelled out in relief as the adrenaline that coursed through her body kicked in.

She jumped to her feet and sprinted as fast as she could towards the exit. The smoke grew thinner and the air cooler as she gradually made it closer and closer to her exit. To safety. She was almost there… almost…

Suddenly, mere meters before she made her escape, there was a loud crunch as one of the support beams gave way from the heat and the ceiling caved in on itself. Blaze screamed as a wooden beam crashed down on her back, knocking her to the floor. Blaze was knocked out instantly from the impact and all her senses went dark.

The fire raged on, completely consuming the entire school in a fantastical blaze that destroyed the whole building, and adjacent buildings, including everything inside of it. Blaze lay there, unconscious underneath a wooden beam as the fire engulfed her, singing off all her fur, skin and burnt her nose, eyes and tongue. The only positive was that Blaze had been knocked out and couldn't feel the pain of being burned alive as she, too, went up in flames with the building that they all loved…

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you all so much for reading. So many questions raised, but most importantly is what happened to Blaze? Did she die? And what will happen to the students since the school has been burnt down? If you have been following along, the answer is there, but please leave me your theories. Next chapter marks the end of the first part of this story, so don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought about this chapter and this part so far :)_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Gold starts her mission_

 _Bernadette finally opens up to Sonic_

 _Charmy approaches Espio_

 _Rouge wants answers from Shadow_

 _Final goodbyes are said to a beloved character..._

 _All this and so much more in Chapter 5: Farewells_


	5. Chapter 5: Farewells

_A/N: Hey everybody, I hope you have all been enjoying this story so far. I know I left the last chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger so I won't keep you, please enjoy chapter 5: Farewells._

* * *

Chapter 5

Farewells

The principal stood amongst the rubble and ashes of the school. Hours had passed since the horrible incident. Firefighters had come and gone, parents had rushed to the school to make sure their children were okay and a less than happy conversation with a certain violet feline's parents had him in lower spirits than ever before.

"Sir, I've rounded up all the students in the courtyard like you instructed," Gold announced, rushing up to the principal with a clipboard full of names clutched to her chest.

"Okay, it's time to get this over with…" he sighed as he strutted over to the hub of students and parents squawking amongst themselves.

"Hello everybody. Thank you for your patience in this horrific and tragic time," the principal cleared his throat as he began to address all the students. "As you can see, our beloved campus that most of you have spent your entire schooling lives at has been burnt to cinders. As such, we can no longer conduct classes and other schooling activities here. However, I have talked it over with Razor and, seeing as the second semester doesn't start until Monday at our boarding campus over on emerald lake… I have moved all of you to that campus."

Scattered chatting began to emerge slowly after the silence descended on the crowd and suddenly the whole crowd was a buzz by the implication.

"Does that mean we all have to go board?" Sonic called out.

"Does this mean we all have to go live out in the country for a whole semester?!" Rouge asked, horrified.

"Does this mean we can't see our children for half a year?" Vanilla, along with many other mothers called out, sending saddened glances at their children.

"Yes, yes and yes. I'm sorry if this has caused any inconvenience but we can't let students take half a year off, especially our seniors who will still have to take finals at the end of the year. We are lucky enough to have a second campus to send all the students to, with no extra cost to school fees, and Razor's campus is more than big enough to hold all of you. All students must meet here at 9am on Sunday to catch the busses. If there are any further questions, check our school website or email me. Now there are serious matters I must attend to involving one of our students, good day everybody."

With that, the principal turned around and walked away, ignoring the concerned shouts of his students and their parents and guardians. Gold looked at the crowd, a frown crawling its way on her facial features. She quickly turned, pushed her classes back up to the bridge of her nose and hastened off to catch up to the principal.

"Sir, what will we do?" she panted as she caught up with him.

"I will see to the repairs and deal with the financial and legal problems that we will face while our school is being rebuilt. You, my faithful secretary, are being transferred. You are now Razor's new secretary at the emerald lake campus, effective immediately."

Gold allowed a gaps to escape her lips before she asked, "Why can't I stay here and help you?" The principal narrowed his eyes and bent down so his head was barely a feather away from her ear.

"I need you to go assist Razor. The firemen told me that this was no accident," he whispered. "Somebody burnt the school down on purpose. I need you to find out which student did it so charges can be pressed!"

…

Silver burst through the sliding doors as soon as the gap between them was big enough for him to fit through. He was sweating profusely and his brow, fur and white shirt were completely drenched but he didn't care. He sprinted over to the front desk and slammed his hands down.

"Blaze the Cat," he demanded between his pants and heavy breathing. "Which room is she in?"

"Sir, please calm down. Blaze is in room 301… she-" but before the little squirrel at the counter could finish her sentence, Silver had already darted off towards the lift. He pushed his finger into the button several times, willing the elevator to come quicker. After ten seconds, he could wait no longer and opted to take the stairs, skipping two at a time.

Silver's heart was beating hard in his chest, which burnt like fire. His wheezing made it hard to breath and his legs felt like cement. However, the thought of Blaze being burnt alive was causing more pain than anything physical could. In no time at all, Silver had found her room and steeled himself. Rouge, Shadow and the rest of their little group were all huddled outside the room, looking towards Silver.

"Silver…" Rouge soothed, feeling empathetic towards the hedgehog. "I don't think you should go in there. She isn't in the best-"

"I need to see her!" He urged. He was stuck in horrendous traffic, being the last of his friends to show up to her room. Clearly they had already been inside and by the look on their faces and their hushed whispers, it was clear that it wasn't a pretty sight.

He finally gave himself a moment to breath, taking in a deep breath before he tentatively pushed open the door. However, nothing could have prepared him for the sight he saw.

There, on the hospital bed, was a charred and blackened cat. Her skin smelt like burnt meat, singed beyond recognition. Most of her fur was charred off, including her eyebrows and eyelashes. Silver's heart fell in his stomach as he took in the sight. His eyes traced the paths of the tubes and wires that dug into her skin via needles.

"Blaze? Blaze?" he asked repeatedly, walking up to her. His heart skipped a beat when she didn't answer, or even stir. "BLAZE?"

"Excuse me sir, could you please quiet down, you're disturbing the other patients," a rather annoyed looking skunk walked in. Silver noted his name tag.

"Dr. Geoffrey, please, is she going to be okay?" he fell to his knees with his palms pressed together. "Please tell me she is going to be alright."

"Mr. Hedgehog, is it? Blaze is going to be just fine. The fire fighters found her and saved her from the inferno before the fire could do any permanent damage. We have her hooked up to life support and she is stable for the moment but hasn't woken up since we found her," Geoffrey admitted, looking down to his shoes in sadness.

"Please, can you contact me when she wakes up?" Silver begged, placing both his hands on the doctor's shoulders.

"I can tell you love this woman very much. I'll see what I can do, but please, you need to leave Blaze alone to let her rest for the time being," Geoffrey instructed. Silver nodded, taking out a scrap piece of paper and scribbling down an almost illegible phone number.

"Thank you so much doc. I won't forget all you are doing for her," he thanked the doctor before walking away. All his thoughts, dreams and nightmares that night were of the cat he loved, and the destructive fire.

…

 _Even to this day, I still can't believe he waited until Sonic was almost three to tell me the truth. How could he live two years, knowing that he had two separate, secret families. Even now, 15 years later, I still can't forget that conversation, and that fateful night._

 _"_ _Bernadette, sweetie, we need to talk," Jules called from the kitchen. I kissed Sonic on the forehead, marveling at how cute he was when he was sleeping. I switched off the light, the room only illuminated by the tiny night light by the door and slipped out._

 _"_ _What is it Jules? Do you have to go on another one of your business trips?" I asked, so oblivious._

 _"_ _Something like that," he admitted solemnly._

 _"_ _Honey, they work you too hard. How can you keep going on these weekly trips each month?"_

 _"_ _Bernadette… I can't do this anymore. There is something I need to tell you. I can no longer keep quiet about this." I looked deep into his eyes, waiting for whatever he was going to say. I loved Jules the Hedgehog so much, I knew that no matter what he admitted, I would stand by him. I never would have imagined what he said next._

 _"_ _Those business trips I go on each month…" he rubbed his neck, unable to meet my gaze. "They aren't actually business trips. When I go to Westopolis… I… go to see my other family."_

 _I froze, unable to comprehend what he was telling me. I just assumed I had misheard him, but each word he uttered, trying to explain himself, just made the crack in my heart wider and wider._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Bernadette, but I fell in love with another. Aleena the Hedgehog. Two years ago. We have two kids, about nine months younger than Sonic…"_

 _"_ _You… you have another family?" I stuttered. "You cheated on me right when Sonic was born?!"_

 _"_ _Bernadette, please, I am really sorry. I truly do love you, and Sonic, but I love Aleena more. That doesn't mean I am going to ditch you two. I still want to be a part of Sonic's life-"_

 _"_ _THE HELL YOU WILL!" I screamed, completely losing my cool. Get out! GET! OUT! I never want you anywhere near me or MY son again," I yelled at the top of my voice, pointing to the door._

 _"_ _Fine, be that way." Those were the last words he said. The way he gave up trying immediately proved to me how little he truly cared about either of us. I stayed strong, anger fueling me… until he slammed the front door closed. That's when I fell to my knees and began to sob._

 _I heard Sonic's voice beside me and instructed him to go to bed, not wanting him to see my breakdown. After he left, my head began to spin and I reached for a bottle of wine, downing the whole bottle in one, long sip._

 _That was the night everything changed for us. That was when I died a little inside. That was the night I promised myself that I would lie to Sonic and tell him how his father died. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let Sonic get hurt by Jules the way I was. I was determined to make sure he would grow up never knowing the truth about Jules, his whore or his bastard children. That was until Aleena reached out to me a couple weeks ago…_

"Hey mum…" Sonic breathed as he walked through the door, Sonia behind him.

"Hey Sonic, Sonia… where is Manic?" Bernadette asked, slightly worried. "I heard what happened today and was on my way to get you three."

"Manic and I had a little falling out on the way home from school today…" Sonic admitted.

"Sonic… why can't you three get along?"

"No Bernadette, Sonic was just trying to apologize to Manic for all the nasty things he said to him," Sonia explained, shooting Sonic a glance. "My brother… out brother can be a bit stubborn sometimes. He'll come around eventually."

"Yeah, I guess…" Sonic looked down at the ground. Sonic scooched a little bit over to Sonic before bumping his arm. "Ouch," he exclaimed, rubbing his elbow. He was met with Sonia's intimidating stare and nodded.

"Listen mum… can we talk, alone."

"Sure sweetie," Bernadette smiled weakly, although was genuinely happy to see the two teenagers getting along. The two waited until Sonia left before Sonic began. He walked closer to Bernadette until he was right next to her.

"How long did you know?"

"Know about wh-" Bernadette began but was instantly interrupted.

"You know what. About them."

"Oh… well I only knew who they were and what their names were two weeks ago when Aleena called out to me asking about the school and wanting them to meet you," she admitted. Sonic stared steadfast at her, his unflinching eyes burning her through her soul.

"But I knew about their existence right before your third birthday," she admitted. Sonic gasped silently, finally putting together the pieces about why his mother changed that night.

"All I want to know… is why did you lie to me about dad still being alive?" Sonic breathed, still not being able to fully look at his mother.

"I didn't want him to hurt you anymore… like he did me. I didn't want you to seek him out, even though I know you tried to seek him out. I thought a dead man couldn't hurt you, unlike a lost man but I was wrong. I'm sorry I lied to you, son," she sniffed, tears brimming in her mascara covered eyes.

"I understand, but when I was older, why did you never tell me the truth?" Bernadette breathed deeply and told Sonic, for the first time in his life, the true story about that fateful night.

"I… I'm so sorry, mum. I didn't know," Sonic said plainly with little inflexion. "I... I love you."

"That's all I ever ask from you," she smiled. Sonic wrapped his arms around her and brought his mother in for a soothing hug. It was at that point that Bernadette could no longer hold out anymore and burst into a fit of tears. She felt like an idiot for babbling like an idiot into her son's shoulder but she couldn't help herself. She had lived the lie for too long, always fearing the day Sonic found out.

"Our family isn't broken anymore," Sonic said finally before breaking apart. Sonia, sitting at the top of the staircase smiled to herself, wiping a stray tear out of her eye.

…

Knuckles stepped out of the car, removing the P plates from the windshields, like his dad often told him to when he forgot, and strolled across the lawn to the front door, looking at his feet in a saddened state as he thought back to the cat. Knuckles reached into his pockets to fish out his keys when the front door was wrenched open and Locke smashed into Knuckles, sending them both flying backwards to the ground.

"Ouch, what was that for," Knuckles whined, rubbing the bruise on his forehead that begun to develop from the impact. Locke just stared at Knuckles before helping him and up wrapping his arms around his son.

"I just found out about the fire. I was so worried. I thought…" Locke babbled.

"Dad, I'm fine. Everything is okay," Knuckles squirmed, wriggling out of his father's crushing embrace. "Rouge and I are both fine, you have nothing to worry about."

"That's a relief," Locke sighed, before recoiling back into the house.

"But… dad… did you get the email from the school?"

"Yes, and it is okay. I think boarding at the Emerald Lake campus will be a great experience. I'll wire over your money each month," Locke smiled. Knuckles couldn't help but emulate the smile, glad his dad was so understanding.

"And, since you're going away for the rest of the year… I think now is as good a time as any to show you this," he added ominously as he walked into the kitchen. Knuckles followed behind his father, but stopped when he noticed something on the kitchen counter. It seemed like an oddly shaped present with vibrant red wrapping paper covering it.

"What's that?" Knuckles asked inquisitively.

"I actually only got it today. I was planning on waiting until your birthday but since you will be away, we can call it a going away present."

"But… my birthday isn't for months. Why get it now?"

"Just open it and I'll explain later," Locke chuckled, enjoying the sight of Knuckles as he approached the present and ripped apart the paper in no time at all. Knuckles widened his eyes, which sparkled with happiness as he marveled at the gift he received. There, sitting in front of him, was the very same guitar that he spent the previous afternoon playing.

"Dad… How did you…" Knuckles stuttered, not being able to believe what he was seeing.

"That's why I bought it so early. Your little green friend told me he was going away on Saturday, which I guess you are joining him now, and I had to buy it while he was around to show me."

"You mean… Manic told you to get me this…" Knuckles trailed off, not being able to believe what was happening.

"The very same," a cocky voice chimed out from the doorway. Knuckles turned to see a beaming hedgehog waltz in, grinning wildly to himself. "I knew you'd love it."

"I'm so glad I decided to go talk to you," Knuckles laughed, fist bumping the hedgehog.

"You sure have great taste in friends, son," Locke joined the two boys in grand laughter. "I'd love to stay, but I need to go finish some work before the office closes. I'll be home for dinner," Locke sighed exasperatedly before saying his goodbyes and exiting, leaving the two alone.

"This is so amazing! You know what we should do?" Knuckles announced, turning to Manic who shrugged. "Form a band, of course!"

"Really? You mean it?" Manic asked. Knuckles nodded, causing a shriek of excitement to escape Manic's mouth. His face immediately turned red and his hands raced up to cover his mouth.

"Ahem… I mean, sure, whatever," he turned to face away from Knuckles, but couldn't help the smirk that remained on his face.

"All we need is a bassist and a singer and we're golden. Oh, and a name!"

"What about…" Manic pondered, thinking to himself. "Underground sound?"

"Love it. It's cool, but not dark or weird, like us," Knuckles concluded. The two teens continued to talk about plans for their new band, including possible ideas for songs, names, logo's and everything in between.

"Thanks, Knux. I really needed this after that fight I had earlier," Manic sighed.

"Despite how much you fight with him, you guys are very similar," Knuckles noted.

"How? He is a cocky, selfish dickhead," Manic spat.

"He's also one of the only people who call me Knux," Knuckles smirked. Manic frowned, his happy façade fading as he continued to think about his brother.

"Yeah… but he's just so… ahhh. Everything he says makes me want to punch him! His stupid cocky nature… he thinks he is king of the world but when something is going perfect for him, he just flips," Manic ranted.

"Manic… I know but," Knuckles tried to calm him down but Manic was having none of it.

"Did you know he fucked yelled at my sister just because she showed up and wanted a connection. She had no control over what happened to us but he treats us like shit. Like filth, worse than dirt!"

"Manic… I've known him for a while and although he is a bit frustrating at times… like a lot… he is still a good guy. I don't think you give him enough credit."

"Why should I? He hasn't shown he deserves any."

"Manic, despite everything, he is still your brother. Just give him a chance," Knuckles said sincerely.

"Look, man, this was fun. Really and I'm super stoked for the band but I gotta get going. See you around," Manic rubbed the back of his neck before he turned and strolled out of the house.

"They just need to give each other a chance. Chaos, they are both so immature," Knuckles sighed, falling back onto the couch.

…

Tikal sipped eagerly at her Tango-Mango smoothie, relishing in its wonderfully fruity taste. Across from their signature table at the mall sat the green pronghorn, Clove, who was feverishly slurping down her own Banana-rama smoothie herself. The two girls would often get smoothies together in the mall after going to their early morning yoga class every Saturday.

"Last Saturday classes for a while for me," Clove sighed as she took another sip of the smoothie.

"Yeah, same here," Tikal replied nonchalantly.

"What do you mean? You should still go even if I'm not here," Clove responded, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at the echidna.

"Well…" Tikal leaned close, a huge smile plastered over her face. "The school burnt down so all the city students are moving out to board in the country campus with you this semester!" Clove shrieked with glee as the two celebrated.

"Oh my Chaos, maybe we could be roomies this year?" Clove smiled, absorbing Tikal's positivity. "That means we don't have to use up all of our hours to gossip this time."

"Speaking of gossip…" Tikal began, instinctively darting her head left and right to make sure nobody was listening in, although there wasn't anybody anywhere near the two girls. "Guess what Espio said to me the other day."

"Are you still hung up over him? Tiks, I've told you, you need to let that guy go. He ain't nothing but trouble and you need to move on," Clove sighed, placing her hand on her forehead as she shook her head.

"No, no, no, I'm not still hung up over him. I took your advice and pushed him out of my life. But then he came to me the other day so sweetly and begged for forgiveness and-"

"Don't forgive him! From what you told me he doesn't deserve it. When you came crying to me that night of your dance and said what he did I told you that you were better than him. After all the stuff I had heard about him, he still acted that way. He doesn't deserve you," Cove reiterated.

"I'm over him," Tikal assured the persistent and slightly over bearing pronghorn. "You should have heard how he yelled at me, accusing me of leaking his nudes!"

"He sent you nudes!?" Clove gasped.

"No! That's the point. He still accused me."

"Well, forget about him. You have plenty of guys waiting for you."

"Like who?"

"That mysterious guy who saved you in the street?" Clove offered. Tikal blushed thinking back to the suave, mysterious man who literally swept her off her feet that day.

"But I don't even know who he is…"

The two girls continued to talk about the mysterious man, as well as making arrangements for what they are going to do now that they would be going to the same school, finally.

"C'mon, we have some work to do before tomorrow," Clove laughed about an hour later, after they had finished their ramblings.

"Where are we going?" Tikal asked, grabbing her smoothie container, chucking it in the recycling bin and chasing after the pronghorn.

"We can't just go to the mall or supermarket at the campus, Tiks… soooooo, we have to go buy all the chocolate and booze in the world for a secret stash!" Clove cheered as she ran ahead, leaving a disgruntled echidna in her dust.

…

Espio sulked around in his room. He was surrounded by a mess of papers, pencils and all things in between. His small, chained rubbish bin was full to the bin with crumpled up pieces of paper. He sat on his bed, plucking the strings of his bass, writing down some lyrics along with the music that he had already prepared.

"No, no, no, this doesn't go together at all!" he ruffled his hands through his hair frustrated. As of late, Espio had fallen further and further into his music and lyrics writing, using it as a gateway to escape the depression and anxiety that he was living on a daily basis. Although he didn't want to admit it, his lyric writings were the only thing keeping him from taking the full plummet into depression, especially after the week he had just experienced.

 _Sometimes I wonder if you've forgotten me on purpose  
But I'm not sure, no I can't be certain  
On the surface, our love was strong  
But I was wrong, in truth, the truth was that there was nothing all along  
So why was I nervous?  
My friends they said to me, you're living in a fantasy  
Was I crazy? Maybe. But as I drink I think back to pretty memories!  
Back to a time where you still loved me  
Every day I sink deeper, as the grim reaper stalks nearer  
I can no longer see clearer because I've lost my score keeper  
That's one point for me the day I first saw you  
Another point the first time you said to me, I love you  
But then you scored much more the day you walked out that door  
And as the last ball was tossed, the siren rang and I lost  
I know you want to come back, tell myself you love me too  
I say that you still miss me, but I know that it's not true, so_

 _Every day I still think about you  
And Every day I feel so down trodden  
And Every day I wish I had saved you  
But Every day I'm more forgotten  
I'm wishing I could have gone with you  
Took that flight in the dead of the night  
Phantoms and ghosts stalk in the haze  
As I try to move on but I can't on those rainy days_

He stared at the words repeatedly, slowly tweaking them here and there whilst playing along with the instrumentals that he made for the song. The fire he experienced on Friday had proved to be a greater inspiration than first thought, incorporating his isolating feelings into his carefully chosen words. He had finally perfected the first verse and bridge, but he couldn't get anything concrete down for the second.

"Why is this so hard? I've written so many other songs before, why does this one allude me so much?" he thought, scrunching up another draft and chucking it at the over flowing bin.

 _Knock. Knock_

"Go away, Mum," Espio called back, annoyed at the constant interference. The knocking continued, refusing to cease. Espio groaned as he rolled off his bed and trudged over to the door, opening the door slowly.

"H-Hey…" a small, nervous voice greeted him at the door.

"Charmy? What are you doing here? I thought you hated me?" Espio asked.

"Yeah… Look, I'm really sorry about my stupid outburst yesterday. I got a little emotional. You just kept ditching us for Tikal, and then you were kind of a dick to us. But throughout the summer, Vex and I were sitting at the diner we used to always eat at, you remember the one? Just the three of us, only this time it was just him and I. I kept saying how much I missed you but Vex didn't want to budge. He wanted you to come apologize to us, but you never did. Then the other day you showed up and I thought we were going to be the three of us, the Chaotix again, but you accused us of trying to make you the laughing stock of the school. I kinda lost it…" Charmy trailed off, taking several giant breaths after spewing out all of the pent up emotions he had been harboring for the longest time.

"I'm so, so sorry Charmy… I didn't know," Espio admitted, looking down at the floor. "I desperately wanted my best friends back, but I thought you both hated me."

"We were just pissed off. But c'mon Espio. Best friends are always here for you, no matter what happens. You should've had more faith in us, just like I should have had more faith in you," Charmy smiled, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes.

"Charmy… buddy… don't cry. You're the best friend a guy could ever ask for," Espio knelt down to give the little bee a hug, who fell into Espio's chest, crying his little heart out.

"These aren't tears of sadness. I'm just so glad we can put this behind us," he giggled, whipping away the tears.

"Don't worry Charmy, I'm not going to leave you again. Not for anybody," Espio soothed, the darkness that had been shrouding his heart lifting slightly after finally having a happy moment for the first time in Chaos knows how long.

"Ummm… about that… Vex and I aren't coming with you to Emerald Lake…"

…

 _"_ _I'm so sorry Blaze," I cried beside her bed, shuddering at the periodic beeping sounds that signaled her strained heart rate, scared that every beep would be the last._

 _"_ _This is all my fault. I was an idiot. You were just trying to help me and all you wanted was the best and I ignored you." I sat by her hospital bed, refusing to budge for the whole day. It wasn't until Silver showed up that I took my leave. I didn't want to go but my father called me, demanding that I arrive home. I knew he would never let me go to Emerald Lake campus if I disobeyed his order, so I legged it as fast as I could out of the hospital, waving my last goodbye to Blaze the Cat._

Tails heeled it as fast as he could down the street, swerving around corners and sprinting across roads, in too much of a hurry to wait for the little green hedgehog to flash, signaling that it was safe to cross.

I only narrowly made it to the house, crashing through the door and into the house before it was too late.

"Just on time," Amadeus announced, raising his eyebrow at the panting, exhausted, sweaty animal in front of him.

"I…I'm h-here… dad," Tails panted, his has placed on his knees in a bent over position as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up, grinning sheepishly at his father but upon seeing his dad's disappointed expression, he immediately shied away.

"Why were you so late?" Amadeus scolded.

"I was visiting a friend in hospital," Tails retorted. "One of my best friends was in a fire and is on life support. She needed me."

"You knew the time I was coming. You should have left your little friend. She wasn't even awake so she wouldn't have even known if you were there. Don't keep me waiting again," he growled angrily. Amadeus was always a very busy man, like his wife, and never liked being kept waiting by anyone.

"But Dad, She-" Tails tried to argue, disgusted by how cruel his father was acting but was cut off mid-sentence.

"Don't talk back to me."

"S…Sorry father," Tails replied, shying away. Tails retreated back to his shell, too afraid to speak out again. Tails had never been the most confident boy growing up, but his father had always been the root of his anxiety issues. If it wasn't for his friendship with Sonic, and the rest of his confident group, Tails wouldn't know what he would do.

"That's better. Now I came home because I heard about the school fire. You are lucky that his happened so soon. The cut of date for the academy is next Monday, so you still have time to enroll for the semester. Pack your things, we are leaving tomorrow," Amadeus instructed.

"No, father please. There is another campus that we can all be sent to, with no extra charge. Please," Tails begged, falling to his knees in front of his father.

"I let you stay at school because of your little girlfriend, but this is a sign sent from Chaos my boy. Fate wants you to attend my academy. The matter has already been decided," Amadeus commanded, putting his foot down.

"But Dad, I…"

"No buts. This conversation is over."

"O…Okay," Tails gave up, trying desperately to use the last of his mental strength to keep the tears from flowing. After Blaze's accident and the school fire, he had had just about all he could take.

"Go to your room. I'll call you down when dinner is ready," Amadeus turned to walk out of the room, leaving a distraught Tails to climb the staircase.

"Wait!"

"Tails, what did I say about talking back?" Amadeus snapped, truing around to stare intently at the boy.

"He didn't say anything. I did," Ken replied, stepping out from the doorway.

"Watch your tongue Mr. Khan. Remember, just because you were my long serving secretary and our faithful butler, doesn't mean you aren't replaceable," he hissed.

"No, father please. Ken didn't do anything wrong," Tails spoke up. Tails quickly shot Ken a pleading glance, begging the butler to stand down but he simply gave a shake of his head.

"Sir, if I may," Ken cleared his throat. "Whilst you and Rosemary-"

"That's Mrs. Prower to you," Amadeus snapped, infuriated by all of this back talk he was receiving.

"Sorry. Whilst you and Mrs. Prower have been away with your very busy schedules, you both entrusted me to stay here with your son and help him. I have helped raise this boy since he was only 5 years old. I watched him grow into the fine young gentlemen he is today."

"Get on with it."

"What I'm saying sir, is that I think it would be beneficial for Master Prower to attend the Emerald Lake campus, and hold off on attending the academy until next year. I know him personally, and I have met his little girlfriend before," Ken shot a knowing glance to Tails. The monkey had met Sonic, and Shadow, countless times throughout the semester. Tails mouthed the words thank you.

"And as such, I believe that for his wellbeing, and also for his life in general, it would be best if you allowed him to attend this school. Not only for his love life, but for his social life and mental well-being," Ken concluded.

Amadeus cocked an eyebrow, staring at the monkey that had been so faithful and trusting all these years. He glanced over to Tails, who shook in fear of his father on the staircase, looking like he was about to collapse.

"Alright," Amadeus said.

"Dad… you really mean…"

"Yes, you may attend this campus tomorrow, but I expect you to come attend my academy after you graduate year 12, and when I arrive for parent's day, I expect to meet this little girlfriend of yours."

"Thank you father," Tails cheered, rushing up to give his dad a big hug.

"That was very kind of you, sir," Ken nodded to Amadeus. "I'll go prepare dinner now."

"Very well, Khan. But, one last thing before you go," Amadeus announced, causing Tails and Ken to both look at him expectantly.

"Since Tails is leaving to a boarding school tomorrow, it would appear that you no longer need to stay here. I will be able to take care of the boy tonight and see him off at the busses when he leaves tomorrow. You're fired. I expect you to pack your things and leave," Amadeus announced.

"What?!" Tails screamed. "No dad, you can't fire Ken. He raised me my whole life!"

"Indeed. And he did a fine job. But since you will be boarding, you don't need anybody to raise you. And now that you are 18, you are responsible enough to take care of yourself. Khan's duties will no longer be required. End of story." With that, Amadeus turned and exited the room.

"Ken… why did you do that?" Tails blubbered, his eyes beginning to get hazy.

"I knew you wanted to stay with Master Sonic and the rest of your little friends," Ken soothed the young boy.

"But you knew you were going to get fired if you talked back to father, didn't you?" Tails mumbled. Ken simply nodded his head. Tails couldn't take it anymore. He rushed up to the monkey and collapsed into his arms, burying his face in his chest.

"Please Ken… don't go. I need you. I'll go to the academy; I'll do anything dad says as long as you stay with me. You don't deserve to get fired," Tails cried.

"Master Prower, please dry your tears," Ken replied solemnly. "You no longer have any need for me. You are an adult now. I've watched you grow into the fine young man you are today over my 13 years of service as your caretaker and seeing how you've grown has put a smile on my face throughout that entire time."

"But Ken… I need you."

"Not anymore. Go and enjoy your life Master Pr… Tails. And make sure all of your friends and Sonic know how special you really are," Ken smiled.

"K…Ken… thank you for everything you have done for me. You're like a father to me. I love you," Tails hugged the monkey tightly, refusing to let go.

"And I you, Tails, but it looks like this is goodbye. Hopefully we will see each other again one day, when you are a grown man," Ken let a single tear fall from his eyes, landing on Tails' golden head.

"Goodbye… Ken…"

…

Shadow moved from his bathroom to his closet, taking out a bunch of clothes and other objects and throwing them into his duffel bag that lay open on his small bed. The curtains were drawn, blocking out the rising sun that illuminated the dark ground, expelling the shadows that plagued the earth.

Shadow finished his packing swiftly, zipping up his duffle bag before he collapsed onto his bed. He had only been back home for a couple days, and already he was forced to pack up everything and relocate… again.

'At least I've becoming an expert at packing quickly,' Shadow thought facetiously as he rolled over onto his side, looking at a picture that sat on his bedside table. In the picture frame was a slightly burnt, old picture of a mature dark hedgehog with red streaked quills who didn't look unlike Shadow.

Shadow stared at the picture of his father for a few more seconds before reaching out and picking up the frame.

"Can't leave without you, dad," he smiled through a happy façade as he gently and carefully placed the small framed picture into his bag and picked it up. Shadow darted downstairs, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. He quickly gulped down the liquid, rinsed his glass and made his way to the door, ready to head off to the busses.

However, as he reached to open the door, it flung backwards as if opened by an external force. There, standing at his front porch with a key in her hand and a bag in her other, stood a disgruntled black and white bat.

"When I gave you the keys to my house, it wasn't for you to just barge in whenever you please," Shadow said dryly, crossing his arms as he placed his duffel bag on the ground. "What's up, Rouge?"

"What's up? That's what you have to say to me. You and I are going to have a talk right now mister!" Rouge commanded, pointing a finger towards the couch in Shadow's living room.

"Okay, mum," Shadow agreed in a sarcastic tone as he turned to march towards the couch. Even now, after everything that had happened to Shadow during his training, he was still no match to argue with Rouge when she adopted her serious tone.

"We need to talk," Rouge began.

"I figured," Shadow mocked, stating the obvious.

"Shadow, this is serious. I'm your best friend, right?" Shadow didn't say anything. He simply nodded. "And best friends trust each other, yeah?" Another nod. "And they never hide anything from each other, correct?"

"Out with it Rouge. We need to get going to the bus, this is stupid," Shadow sighed, standing up to walk over to his belongings when Rouge shot out her hand, grasping Shadow's wrist.

"We can go after I ask you one question. Where did you go?" Shadow's shoulders sagged as she turned to face Rouge.

"Rouge, I told you that I can't tell you," Shadow sighed.

"Why not? Is it that you don't trust me? I promise I won't tell anybody," she pleaded with the allusive hedgehog.

"I believe you, Rouge. Of course I trust you. Don't for one second ever think that I don't fully trust you one hundred percent."

"Then why can't you tell me?"

"Because I just can't! Rouge, you are my best friend and I love you, but I just can't. Why can't you just put your trust in me for once and understand that I can't. I promise that I'll tell you before I ever leave again," Shadow concluded.

"That's the best I'm gonna get, isn't it?" Rouge asked, standing up to follow Shadow to the door.

"Yep," he said plainly, picking up his bag and ushering Rouge out of the house, closing the door behind him. "Now let's get to the busses. I call sitting next to you, so tell Knuckles he is going to have to find another bus partner."

"You'll have to fight him on that exclusive spot," Rouge laughed, putting on her confident, sexy voice again as she teased Shadow.

"But Shadow…" she said finally in a serious tone. "You are going to have to tell me eventually."

"Eventually. Promise," Shadow said as the two set off towards the bus stop.

…

"Thank you for the lift Mr. and Mrs. Hawk," Cream smiled as she opened the boot, extracting her bag alongside Jet.

"Take good care of our son," Jet's dad laughed as said goodbye to his son. "Don't get into too much trouble, except on the footy field."

"I won't dad, promise," Jet replied.

"Cream… can you come here for a second?" his mother called out. Cream nodded, walking over to the bonnet of the car. Jet's mother bent over to the small rabbit's level.

"Cream, please take care of my son. Make sure he doesn't continue doing… what he was," she whispered.

"I promise," Cream nodded, looking back towards the green hawk.

"Good. I'm so glad that Jet found somebodies who loves him so much. I hope you two have a great time boarding. I hope to see you on parent's day in a few months," she smiled as she retreated back into the car.

"Yeah… I will…" Cream replied slowly, her eyes watching a small fox climbing up the steps of the bus next to a sapphire hedgehog and auburn haired squirrel.

"Come on Cream… let's go," Jet called to the rabbit. Cream shook her head, shaking herself out of the trance she was in as she grabbed her bags and followed Jet onto the bus.

Time ticked by as more and more students all filed onto the 10, long busses that were parked outside of the school. Finally, as Gold and some of the other teachers who were being relocated to the campus finished their checklists, they all boarded the busses.

Gold quickly strolled up and down the bus that she was on, making a mental note of all the passengers on her bus, seeing as she would be responsible for their wellbeing until they arrived at the campus after the long drive.

She darted her head side to side, noting the people. She passed Sonic and Tails, Sally and Tikal, Sonia and Silver, Shadow and Rouge, Espio, Amy, Fiona and Scourge, Knuckles and Manic and finally Cream and Jet.

"Okay driver, we are all ready to depart," she spoke to the driver who closed the door, signaled and pulled out onto the road.

"I'm so excited to finally see the school that Clove bragged about for so long," Tikal spoke to Sally.

"Speaking of Clove, where is she?" Sally asked. "I can't wait to meet her."

"She is making her own way her with her parents. These busses were completely full with our own students so she couldn't get a free lift," Tikal sighed, looking out the window as the blurry buildings and city scenery passed them by.

"Hey Sal? Why aren't you sitting next to Amy?" Sonic asked, turning around to speak to her through the seats.

"She is still mad at me," Sally frowned.

"I'm sure she'll come around," Tails chimed in.

"I hope so. Speaking of relationships… I thought you said you were going to get back with Espio?" Sally turned to Tikal.

"Ha, he wishes. He blew his last chance. Let's just change the subject," Tikal crossed her arms.

"Okay… Hey Sonic, it looks like your sister is getting along swimmingly with Silver over there," the squirrel giggled, pointing to the two hedgehog's who seemed to be in deep conversation about something or another.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just glad things between us are going better. It's just that stubborn Manic that's being a little brat," Sonic complained.

"Like with Amy, just give him time," Tails replied, facing a shy rabbit near the back of the bus. He shot her a smile, waving at her. She waved back before quickly turning to talk to Jet. Tails frowned before re-joining his friend's conversation.

"Guys, can you keep it down. Some of us are trying to sleep. It's early and I need my beauty sleep," Rouge barked at them before resting her head back against the window.

"Sorry princess," Sonic replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Knock it off. I'm the one who has to deal with her the whole ride if she doesn't sleep," Shadow joked, earning a jab in the ribs by Rouge who simply smirked at him without even opening her eyes.

Although the air was still slightly clouded around the group, as the constant thought of the poor cat stuck in Central City's hospital strung up on life support never left their thoughts. They all knew that she would want them to keep moving on, and the hope that she would eventually wake up helped the group stay positive. Together, the teenagers all talked, laughed and slept as the bus roared on down the highway to its final destination, Mobius High: Emerald Lake Campus.

* * *

 _A/N: Sorry for the fake out with the title and the next time. But yes, the beloved character that we said goodbyes to was none other than the lovable monkey butler Ken! He will be missed... Well there you have it. Now you all know why the sequel is called Emerald Lake. And, that is where all of our new students who haven't been revealed yet will come into play. From the original 14, Blaze is the only one who is not going to Emerald Lake. But, she is not dead... currently, she is simply on life support and in a sort of comatosed state from the burns she received and the amount of smoke she inhaled. She is lucky to still be alive. When will Blaze wake up? What role will our remaining 10 characters play? What will the dorm arrangements be? And will Gold ever find out who set the fire as she sets out on her mission? (Do you know? Leave your theories and reviews below.) The next two chapters will be a two parter and will all take place on the Sunday where we will meet all our new characters, sort out dorm rooms and get ready for the main part of this story at Emerald Lake. Please, let me know what you think about this idea that I have decided. Are you glad for a change in scenery or would you have rathered them all stay in the city. Do you like the idea of dorms and roommates or would you rather more of the family life? Please let me know. Finally, don't forget to vote for your favourite two characters in the poll. After Chapter 7 is released, I'll close it off and the two characters who are one and two will get more scenes and a little ark together. Currently, Tails is in the lead with 42% and Shadow is second with 17% so make your vote count if you want to see other two characters!_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _The campers arrive at Emerald Lake and we introduce the rest of our main cast..._


	6. Chapter 6: Emerald Lake (I)

_A/N: Welcome to Chapter 6, the first of a two part chapter that introduces our new main characters, new main setting and sets up some new main plot arks. I hope you all enjoy and leave me a review to let me know what you think so far of all the new characters. Please enjoy chapter 6!_

* * *

Chapter 6

Emerald Lake (I)

The busses, carrying all of the Mobius High students rolled down the roads, continuing along their long journey towards the country side of Central City. The student's marveled at the rolling hills, sparse farmlands and blue, clear skies as the busses passed by the marvelous scenery.

Four hours passed as the roads slowly made the transition from pavement to dirt and gravel. Large clouds of dust billowed around in the air, disturbed by the wheels that propelled the busses forwards. Finally, after a long and grueling ride, the students looked out in awe as the busses took their final corner, driving underneath an overhanging archway and into the school grounds.

Two large buildings loomed over head as the busses drove into the large parking lot, breaking to allow the students exit. The two main buildings were situated in front of the parking lot, with one more small, yet longer building off to the east near the tree line. Forrest and trees surrounded most of the area, breaking only for the two large sporting fields that lay between the three buildings. Small paths snaked through gardens and into brick-layered areas for casual activities. Little dirt paths winded off through the thick forest foliage, with one path seeming bigger and more prominent than the others which travelled off towards the large, crystalline lake known as Emerald Lake.

"Okay everybody, please don't push. Grab your bags and head off to that large building over there," Gold instructed the students, pointing to the shorter building which was the housing areas, split into two sides for boys and girls. "And watch for cars!" Gold called as a continuous stream of smaller vehicles began entering the area, securing the parks closest to the buildings.

Manic, Knuckles, Espio and Amy all walked ahead, Espio and Amy wanting to be as far away from Tikal and Sally as possible whilst Manic and Knuckles were stuck in a heated discussion about a band that they disagree on.

"Hey Fi, wanna ditch this crowd and go find out where the best chill places are?" Scourge asked from the back of the pack, turning to walk away from the rest of the group before she answered.

"Yeah, let these losers do their little school shit," Fiona agreed, jogging up to Scourge as the two set off towards the other, central building. Silver watched the two walk, shaking his head as they left out of sight.

"Everything okay?" Sonic asked noticing the distracted Silver.

"Wh-what? Oh, no, nothing," he stuttered, shaking his head to draw his attention back on the other teenagers.

"You kind of zone out there for a second," Tails added, concerned for the Silver hedgehog's well-being.

"Are you sure everything is… Clove!" Tikal changed her train of thought mid-sentence as she spotted her pronghorn best friend step out of a sedan parked near the front of the school. "I'll catch up with you guys later. Hope you get good dorm mates," she called out as she rushed off with her things.

"Oh no… I never even considered the fact that we would have to be living with three other people…" Rouge shuddered, imagining all of the possible, disgusting people that she might have to room with.

"Hey, it can't be that bad. Besides, you don't have the threat of having to room with _star_ football player over here," Shadow emphasized the word star in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, because I'd love to room with your emo-ass," Jet retorted.

"Ha, you guys think that's bad. Try sleeping next to this kid," Sonic laughed, indicating to Tails. "Snores ALL night."

"Hey, at least I don't sleep run!" Tails snapped back jokingly.

"He still does that?" Sally asked. "I remember at nap time in pre-school he was always the least fun to fall asleep next to."

"Wait… sleep running's a thing?" Silver asked curiously.

"Awww Silver, your so cute," Cream giggled, joined by the rest of them.

"What?" Silver asked in response.

"Were just joking Silver. Sleep running isn't a thing. But if it was, I bet this one would do it," Sally pointed towards Sonic.

"Yeah, he's always running in his dreams because it's the only time he can beat me in a race," Shadow shrugged, smirking.

"Ha, you keep living in your little fantasy world all you want. I'll race you any day," Sonic challenged.

"What about right now?"

"First one to the dorm rooms?"

"You're so on! Three, two, one-go!" Shadow yelled as the two dumped their bags aside and sprinted off towards the building.

"Why do I always get stuck with the clean-up," Rouge sighed, hoisting Shadow's bag off the ground and began carrying it towards the dorms. "I swear that hedgehog thinks I'm his mother or something."

"You'd think after everything that happened last semester, they would have grown up a little bit?" Sally chuckled to herself, watching the two boys shrink as they raced towards the dorms.

"Are those two always like that?" Sonia asked, eliciting a small giggle from Cream and Tails.

"Those two were always at each other's throats since the day Shadow arrived at school," Jet responded. "Unlike them, I don't have to prove that I'm the fastest."

"Whatever you say sweetie," Cream soothed in a somewhat patronizing tone.

"Hey!" Jet snapped, causing the group to burst into another round of laughs as they walked towards the place where they would all call home for the next 20 weeks.

…

Gold hurried down the winding corridors of the second floor of the central building, searching for Razor, the principal's office. She finally came to a large, wooden door and pushed it open, coming out into a small waiting area. Ficus' were situated in the corners of the room with a row of plastic chairs lining the walls. A door led into a small room to the side that had golden label on the door that read 'Gold's Office'. Gold smiled to herself, adjusting her glasses to get a better look. She was pleased to know that she already felt welcome by this new principal before even meeting him.

She walked around the mahogany secretary's desk, which she thought would be her main station of working, which was situated in the back corner next to another door. Gold knocked three times on the door before a deep, masculine voice barked from the other side.

"Enter." Gold couldn't help but feel slightly nervous by the sharp tone but steeled her nerves and pushed open the door and walked into the large, spacious office. A large, black chair was situated behind a low lying desk. Slowly, the chair swiveled around, revealing a young, buff shark with sharp, white teeth and a fin that protruded from his back.

"Hello Sir, my name is Gold and-"

"Ah, Gold. I've been expecting you," he interrupted. "My name is Razor. I'm glad to finally meet you. I run this campus."

"Nice to meet you too Razor. I'm looking forward to working for you," she replied, shaking his extended hand.

"I've heard good things about you. However, I also know that my colleague has put you in charge of a little mission to find out who set the fire at the old campus, correct?" Razor asked. Gold nodded sheepishly without speaking. "I hope this won't subtract your time from your many duties that you need to perform."

"No sir!" Gold shook her head, promising that she will only conduct her research and investigation in her off time.

"About that…" Razor sighed. "You won't be getting much time off. I recently had a staff member quit and am understaffed. I need you to also be the caretaker of the girl's dorm in after school and before school hours."

"What?!" Gold widened her eyes as her mouth fell. "That means I'd be working pretty much 24/7. I can't be the secretary and also the caretaker for all of those women."

"I thought you would react that way," Razor took a seat. "Naturally I would fill the position myself but I am already helping in the boy's dormitory since our old caretaker has taken paternal leave to help his wife who is 8 months pregnant so I can't do both jobs."

"That is very noble of you, sir, but-"

"I know it is a lot to ask, and I won't force you into it. But I really need a helping hand. Also it's almost double the pay," Razor smiled as he noticed Gold's eyebrow raise slightly. "Also, think of how much easier it will be to get to know the girls on a more personal level and create a rapport with them. It will help your investigation along… swimmingly," Razor chuckled at his pun as he finished his little speech.

"…Okay, I'll help out," Gold confirmed finally after a few moments of contemplation.

"Very good. I'll direct you to your quarters. If you would please follow me," Razor ushered the tenrec out of the room, picking up her belongings and bags off the ground as he helped her carry them to the housings.

…

"Clove!" Tikal called out as she rushed up to give the pronghorn a great big hug. "You were right, this place is A-Ma-Zing," Tikal marveled.

"I told you," Glove chuckled as she Tikal helped her pull out the last of her belongings and shut the boot. "Later mum and dad," she waved, blowing them both a kiss as they reversed out of the park and drove away.

"So how was your drive?" Tikal asked as the two girls began to walk towards the dorm. Clove opened her mouth to answer but screamed softly when she felt a pair of hands fling over her eyes and everything went dark.

"Guess who," a cheeky voice whispered into her ear.

"Mighty, you know I hate it when I do that," Clove whined cutely before turning around to plant a kiss on the brown, black and red armadillo's lips.

"C'mon, you know you like it when I surprise you," he smiled before turning his attention towards the echidna girl next to him.

"Hello, I don't think we've met yet. The names Mighty," Mighty said, holding out his hand to Tikal, who shook it happily.

"Oh, so you're the Mighty that I've heard so much about. I'm Tikal."

"Oh, so you're the Tikal that I've heard so much about," Mighty mirrored her speech, jokingly as the three of them broke out into laughter. Clove opened her eyes and noticed a small, yellow squirrel standing next to Mighty.

"Ray! So good to see you again!" Clove cheered as she wrapped her arms around the squirrel in a tight hug before breaking apart.

"Hey Clove, it's been a while. And hello, my name is Ray," Ray game a sheepish smile towards Tikal who returned her own radiant one back at her.

"Did you two have fun over the break?" Mighty asked as the four set off towards the dorms.

"Yeah, it was alright," Clove sighed. "But it would have been more fun if you invited me down to your beach house instead of Ray."

"Sorry Clove," Ray muttered shyly, not realizing that Clove was joking… well half joking.

"C'mon Ray, she's just joking. Besides, she's just jealous that you're my best friend and she isn't," he winked towards Clove who blushed slightly before shaking it away.

"You know I'm not jealous. Besides, I'm your girlfriend so I should be number one preference," she placed a hand to her chest before everyone broke out into another laugh.

"Clove, you should know better. It's always bros before hoes," a deep, mysterious voice spoke up. Tikal turned around to see a black hedgehog with dark blue quills and reptilian eyes walk over to the group.

"Shut up, Mephiles," Clove snapped as she graciously accepted his hug.

"How have you guys been?" He asked, addressing Mighty and Ray.

"I've been better," Ray replied quietly.

"You coming with us to the dorms, Mephiles?" Mighty asked, gesturing towards the building that loomed over them.

"No. I just need some time to myself for a while. Too many people. I'll see you guys around," he replied solemnly before walking off on his own.

"I take it that's Mephiles?" Tikal asked.

"What gave you that hint?" Ray responded jokingly, finally allowing some of his anxiety to leave him despite still being in the presence of somebody new. He always felt safer when around his friends, especially Mighty, and seeing at how he and Clove acted around Tikal, he felt a lot calmer than he had previously.

"He's exactly like you described him, Clove. Although I feel like he is hiding something…" Tikal thought aloud.

"Maybe, but we all have our secrets. He just likes to keep to himself a lot. It's cool, we all need our alone time every now and again," Mighty defended the hedgehog. "Now come on, let's find out which room we'll be in."

"I hope we are together like last semester," Ray smiled up at Mighty.

"I know we will be buddy," Mighty laughed. Suddenly, Tikal noticed somebody exit out of the housing area and rush down the steps out of the corner of her eyes. She recalled the same dark skin and red highlights in his hair. She quickly turned around to get a better look at him, but had already lost sight of him in the sea of other students who frantically rushed in and out of the dormitory.

She searched around the parking lot, passing over groups of cheering girls, friends greeting each other and parents dropping off their kids. She couldn't find him.

"Who you looking for, Tiks?" Clove tapped her shoulder.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought I saw the guy that saved me on the street from that car the other day," Tikal sighed.

"Whoa, you almost got hit by a car?" Ray muttered.

"Heh, yeah," Tikal rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "But I was saved by this black skinned guy with red highlights. He looked weird, sort of like he didn't belong on this world but… strangely attractive."

"Sounds like you're talking about Eclipse," Mighty said nonchalantly as he began ascending the small steps to the building.

"Eclipse…" Tikal repeated to herself silently as she followed her new friends into the building.

…

The long, black limo rolled along the dirt road. It's tinted dark windows rolled up all the way so that it was impossible for anybody who would happen to be standing on the side of the road to see who was inside of the car.

"Okay, stop here please," a voice inside the limo asked. Slowly the driver pulled the limo to a stop on the side of the road just before the gateway that lead into the main parking area of the campus.

"Why do you want to stop here? You'll have to walk further," a deep voiced male asked. As he spoke, a door flew open and a young, energetic orange porcupine jumped out of the limo, carrying his bags with him and a smaller back pack slung lazily over his right shoulder.

"I told you dad, I don't want anybody to know who you are. I don't want any special treatment from people just because they think I'm your son," Spike reminded his father as he shut the door. The man inside rolled down the window and stuck out his hand.

"Fair enough. Have a good time at school, son," his father replied finally, letting his hand drop from the window. Spike placed his father's hand in his own and pressed his lips against the silver ring around his pinkie finger.

"Goodbye dad," Spike laughed as he raced off down the road and took a left into the main schooling area. A wide, goofy grin was plastered on the porcupine's face as he searched the sea of bustling people, keeping an eye out for any of his friends. He continued to scan the parking lot until he laid eyes on her.

"Breezie!" Spike called, waving as he ran over to greet the hedgehog, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace when he found her.

"Hey Spike, how's it going?" she asked nonchalantly, whipping down dust off of her suit pants. "Have a good holiday?"

"It was alright, but I never thought I'd be glad to be back at school. I missed everyone," he sighed, thinking about his friends that he didn't get to hang out with much during the winter holidays. "Did you hear that we'd be getting a bunch of new student's joining us this semester?"

"Yeah. Rumor has it that this emo hedgehog Shadow guy set fire to their school, so they all gotta stay here," Breezie replied, waving goodbye to her parents who zoomed off in their car. "Walk with me to the dorm rooms?" Breezie asked, flipping her hair back from out of her eyes with her hand.

"Sure thing," he grinned at her as the two made their way over to check out who they would be rooming with this semester.

"So did you hear that Rosemary's new movie is scheduled for release this year?! I'm so excited that I-" Breezie cut herself off mid-sentence as she turned to see a familiar purple haired mongoose exit out of her car.

"Mina!" Breezie called out. "Here, Spike, could you take my bags over to the dormitory. I'll meet up with you later, K?" Breezie soothed as she threw her arms around the porcupine to deliver a quick hug before sprinting off to catch up with Mina.

"Yeah… sure thing…" Spike mumbled dreamily, watching the hedgehog in the distance.

…

Tails weaved, dodged and ducked his way through the hordes of people coming in and out of the main dorm area. He raced over towards the area where the busses had parked them, realizing that he forgot his favourite sweater on the seat of the bus. He was desperate to make it on time before they all began their journey back to the city.

The young fox was lucky enough to make it just before the bus driver began to leave and the driver was gracious enough to let the kitsune hop aboard to grab his sweater. As he exited the bus, he turned around to wave his thanks at the driver when he collided head first into somebody.

"Ouch, I'm so sorry," Tails mumbled, rubbing his head as he stood up to get a better look at who he had hit. "Oh, hey Amy, did you forget something on the bus too?" The pink hedgehog glared down at the fox who gave her a goofy, nervous smile.

"Yeah, I did. Why do you care?" She replied in a very sour and uncharacteristically mean tone.

"S…Sorry?" Tails replied, confused.

"Just get out of my way. I don't have time to deal with you right now. I need to sort some things out," she sighed, pushing past Tails. The confused, and rather hurt fox grabbed her wrist, holding her in place.

"Did I do something to you? Why are you acting so cold?" Amy stared him in the eye, shooting daggers when Knuckles words echoed in her head. She decided to toss aside her blatant anger at the small fox who she was told had convinced everybody to not invite her to the party in an attempt to not incite any more hatred from her friends.

"No, I'm sorry Tails. That was uncalled for. I'm just a little bit stressed today and I took my anger out on you. That was uncalled for and I'm sorry," Amy grit her teeth as she forced the words out of her mouth.

"That's okay Amy. We are all a little stressed today. It was my fault for running into you anyway so I'm sorry too," he smiled, walking up to hug her for an apology. Amy furrowed her brow as Tails hugged her, pinching the skin on the back of her hands to bare the hug from Tails, who she just needed to be as far away from as possible at that moment.

"Well, I gotta go. Bye," Amy spat out quickly as she hurried away in the opposite direction. Tails watched her go, confused by the strange behavior of his pink haired friend. Finally, after a bit of contemplation, he just shrugged, deciding that it was just stress and began to head back to the dorm and the others when he felt a light, tentative tap on his shoulder.

"Um, H-hello?" a shy, innocent voice asked. Tails turned around to come face to face with a small seedrian, about the same height as he was standing in front of him.

"Oh, hey. How can I help you?" Tails asked, flashing the shy seedrian a slight grin.

"I was just wondering if you knew where the dorms are? I'm new here and I don't quite know where everything is," she mumbled.

"Yeah, I was just heading that way so you can come with me if you would like," Tails offered.

"Oh, really. That would be wonderful, thank you," she nodded her head before following along next to Tails.

"By the way, my name is Tails."

"I'm Cosmo."

"Nice to meet you," Tails shot Cosmo his signature sweet smile. "This is also my first day here too. I came from the other campus."

"Oh, well at least we can both be lost together then," Cosmo giggled, to which Tails joined in. The two made small talk as they continued to walk towards the dorms, braving the ever busy entrance of streaming students. The two walked into the main lounge and over to the back wall behind a couple of the nice aqua couches. A large chart was hung on the wall which listed the names of all the girls and boys who were attending the school and also their accompanying floor and room number that they would be staying on.

The rather large lounge area was a cozy room that was littered with couches, small tables and fabric chairs for the teenagers to chill. A small doorway near the back wall led to the staff area, including their sleeping arrangements and two large, double doors led out to both the east and west. A stream of boys were walking in and out of the eastern doorway whilst the girls migrated towards the west. It was the only place in the dorms which allowed both boys and girls until ten at night, at curfew for the students. Animals of the opposite sex were only allowed in each other's dorming areas until eight at night.

"Well, I should go check out my room. It was nice meeting you," Tails said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah… you too," Cosmo agreed, letting her head drop to the floor so that Tails couldn't see the small crimson indicators appear on her cheeks. "Maybe I'll see you around school sometime?"

"Totally," Tails grinned. You should come hang out with me and my friends sometime."

"I'd like that."

"Here," Tails stated, ripping out a small piece of paper from a notebook in his bag and taking out a pen. He scribbled a ten-digit number on it and handed it to the seedrian. "Text me and we can hang out sometime. Since we are both new to this campus, maybe we could find out where everything is together?"

"Okay, I'd like that," Cosmo smiled, taking the scrapped piece of paper.

"See ya, Cosmo," Tails waved as he walked off to the stream of boys to find his way to the dorm.

"Bye… Tails."

…

Jet unzipped his bag and began pulling out some of the essentials from his bag. He picked one of the beds on the far side of the room, next to the bedside table, and starting slipping on his bed sheets and pillow. Once finished, he looked at the empty three beds, wondering when his roommates would arrive and who they would be.

Jet fished out his phone from his baggy footy tracksuit pants and sent off a quick text to Cream.

Jet: _Hey, how's your room?_

Cream: _Sorry Jet, can't talk. Bye_

Jet furrowed his eyebrows as he read the text, annoyed at her avoidance. He assumed that she must have some pretty bad roommates or something. He decided to do something nice for her to make up for it. However, before Jet could begin brainstorming, the door swung open and in walked a short, yellow squirrel.

"Hi, is this room 304?" the squirrel asked.

"Yeah it is. My name's Jet. I guess we'll be rooming together this semester," Jet smiled, trying to make a good first impression. He eyed the small squirrel. He wasn't very tough, or strong, or confident and he wasn't the best looker Jet thought, but at least it wasn't somebody like Scourge.

"My name is Ray," the squirrel sighed, walking over to the other bottom bunk and plonking his bag on his sheets. "And I guess we are."

"Everything alright? You seem kind of down?" Jet asked, looking at the squirrel who sat with his head in his hands as he stared at the floor.

"Oh," Ray shot his head up to look at Jet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just kinda sad that I didn't get to room with my best friend. This is the first time in three years that we didn't get put together."

"I'm sorry buddy. Maybe us coming to this school screwed up the usual rooming situation. Don't worry, you and I can just be friends," Jet offered, walking over next to the squirrel and offering out his hand, trying his hardest to keep up a friendly perception so that he wouldn't have any room hassles in the future.

"Oh, are you one of the city campus kids?" Jet nodded as he smiled. Ray looked over at Jet, and his belongings. He noticed the small insignia on his navy blue tracksuit pants. "Were you on the football team at your old school?"

"You know it. I was one of the star players! Storm, Knuckles and I kicked ass!" Jet gloated, letting part of his cockiness show.

"Maybe you should try out for our football team. It would mean taking the bus for an hour drive on weekends for games though," Ray suggested, but the thought of long commutes every week filled Jet with dread. "Either way, I'm glad you were my roommate. I'd hate to get somebody horrible."

"I know what you mean. There is this one guy who I know that I would hate to ever be caught in the same class, let along the same room with. Watch out for him if you know what's good for you, Ray. His name is…"

As Jet opened his mouth to finish his sentence, the door was kicked open with a tremendous force as a green hedgehog sporting a leather jacket and ripped jeans stormed in.

"…Storm," Jet sighed. The hedgehog just grinned at the green hawk as he walked over to Ray.

"Bottom bunk is mine, kid. Scram," Scourge snapped, picking up Ray's belonging's and chucking them over to Jet's side of the room.

"Hey Jet, want a tour of the school?" Ray asked, rushing over to the door to escape Scourge who dived onto the bed and placed his hands behind his head.

"Gladly," Jet hissed, glaring at the obnoxious hedgehog as the two boys left the room.

"Be back soon dear," Scourge snickered, winking at Jet as the two rushed out of the room.

…

"I guess you and I are roommates this year," Sonia smiled as she noticed Sally unlocking the door the she was heading towards.

"Oh, hey Sonia. Is this you too?" Sonia nodded as the two girls entered the room, letting their eyes fall upon their shared area. It was nothing special. Two sets of bunk beds. Two wardrobes on either wall of the room, each with a small cardboard section to separate it into two halves and two bedside tables situated underneath a square window that overlooked one of the campus' football ovals.

"It could use a little something," Sally announced as she walked over to the room. "Do you want top bunk or bottom?"

"I'm more of a top girl myself," Sonia responded, placing her bag on the floor.

"Oh, me too," Sally winked, laughing as she saw the crimson colour appear on Sonia's face. She was clearly a little uncomfortable talking about such topics. "Okay, okay. Noted. We aren't ready for those kind of talks yet. I understand."

"Sorry, it's not you. I'm just not that… experienced… in that kind of situation so it's always kind of embarrassing when people talk about it. Especially somebody experienced," Sonia apologized. Sally turned around, narrowing her eyes at the pink hedgehog.

"What do you mean by, experienced?"

"Just that it looks like you aren't as new to this whole thing as I am," Sonia placed her hands up defensively.

"Oh, and why's that?" Sally put her hands on her hips. "Because it kind of sounds like you are calling me a slut or something."

"No, no, no…" Sonia began to sweat. "I just mean… like… your just so pretty and I'm sure all the guys probably drool all over you. They take one look at me and think I'm just one of the guys. Well Manic's friends always did anyway," Sonia sighed as she flopped down onto Sally's bed. Sally softened a bit, taking a seat next to her.

"Sonia, don't say that about yourself. Just because you aren't super skinny doesn't mean you aren't beautiful. You are strong and fit and guys find that attractive too," Sally placed a comforting hand on the hedgehog's shoulder.

"You really think I'm attractive?" Sonia asked, not used to being called it before.

"Definitely. I'd go for you in a second if I wasn't already committed to somebody else. And I'm not just saying that because pink hedgehogs are my type," Sally laughed playfully.

"Thanks Sally. That really means a lot, especially coming from somebody as pretty as you."

"Hey, if you ever want to borrow some of my clothes all you have to do is ask," Sally offered.

"Thanks again. By the way, how are things with you and Amy going. She seems to be avoiding you." Sally looked away, her smile fading.

"I kind of screwed up a bit last weekend," Sally admitted.

"Have you tried talking to her, properly. Maybe you should give it another shot and really open up to her. You'll never know what might happen if you don't try," Sonia offered her advice.

"You know what. Maybe I will. Thanks Sonia," Sally smiled, giving the hedgehog a talk before leaving the room. "Wanna go exploring around the campus later today and maybe get some grub?"

"Count me in," Sonia smiled. After Sally left, Sonia climbed up to the top of her bunk and began setting up her bed, ready for the many nights to come when her other roommate walked through the door.

"Oh, hello. You must be my other roommate… wait, I recognize you from somewhere…" Sonia said, stroking her chin in thought.

"Oh do you? Where from," the girl asked, walking over to place her stuff on the other bed.

"Yeah! You're one of Sonic's friends right? My name is Sonia, I'm his sister," she beamed, jumping off the bed to rush over to greet the stranger.

"Really? I didn't think Sonic had any siblings. Well… yes. Yes, I am one of Sonic's very best friends. If you're his sister then I know we will just become the best of friends," the red vixen smirked, shaking Sonia's hand. "By the way, my name is Fiona. Fiona Fox."

…

"How great is it that we got placed in the same room?!" Sonic cheered, picking up the small kitsune in a big bear hug as the two stood outside the same room.

"Yeah, it's great, but can you maybe… you know… let me go so I can breathe…" Tails choked. Sonic instantly released him and Tails eagerly sucked up the air greedily filling his lungs. The two opened the door and walked inside, happily greeted by an unfamiliar face.

"Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to be Sonic and Tails, would you?" the armadillo asked, noting the two teenagers.

"Yeah, and you are?" Sonic asked.

"Sorry, the names Mighty. I saw that you two were also in this room," Mighty responded, shaking both of their hands. "You two can have that bunk over there," he pointed to the bunk bed on the other side of the room. "This is mine and above me is somebody called Mephiles."

"Mephiles… sounds exotic," Sonic noted half-mindedly.

"Yeah… that's one way to put it. Don't worry if that's a problem. He keeps to himself a lot and is rather secluded, but he is a great guy once you get to know him," Mighty smiled.

"Sounds like a little somebody we know," Tails and Sonic looked at each other knowingly before they set out their belongings on their respected beds.

"I'm sure we are going to get along just fine though. Can I be honest with you guys for a second?"

"Go ahead," Tails smiled, showing a toothy grin towards the armadillo.

"I'm a little bummed out that I didn't get put in the room with my best friend. We got put in the same room for three years straight and always had a blast," Mighty thought back to the good times. "So no pressure on you two, I'm sure we'll have just as much fun," he laughed.

"Yeah, I got lucky that I got put with my best friend," Sonic smiled as he sat next to Tails and placed his hand on Tails', their fingers intertwining.

"Oh… are you guys also more than friends?" Mighty asked, noticing the small gesture and the looks that he noticed the two occasionally giving each other.

"Yeah… is that a problem?" Sonic asked, staring at the armadillo.

"What? No, not at all. I think it's great," Mighty smiled. "Never roomed with a couple before. Hope you don't mind me third wheeling all the time," Mighty joked, lighting the room with laughter as the awkwardness that threatened to fall over the trio dissipated into the air.

"That won't be a problem, don't worry," Tails reassured Mighty. "It was weird. We were always good friends and then suddenly we were just more, y'know."

"Have you ever felt that way about your best friend?" Sonic asked, smirking at Mighty.

"Haha, nah. Ray and I are just really good friends and nothing more. Besides, I'm currently going out with my girlfriend, Clove. We are coming up on our one-year anniversary in a couple weeks," Mighty stated proudly.

"Wait… Clove… Where do I know that name from?" Sonic thought.

"She wouldn't happen to have a best friend call Tikal, would she?" Tails offered.

"Yeah, that's the one. I met that echidna earlier today. She seems like a fun one," Mighty smiled. "How do you know her?"

"Tikal is one of our close friends who went to the city campus with us before the… fire…" Tails trailed off, frowning as he thought back to the horrific fire and the poor cat who was stuck back home on life support.

"Yeah… she wouldn't shut up about best friend Clove," Sonic finished the sentence for Tails, trying to lighten up the mood again.

"It's so crazy how we only just met, but it's like we already have connections in a bunch of ways. I can tell we are going to get along swimmingly," Mighty replied. The three of them began talking about interests, hobbies, favourite shows and everything in between as the spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know each other better.

…

Cosmo was smiling to herself, thinking about the cute little kitsune that she had that little encounter with all the way until she found her room, number 117, and stuck the key she was given by one of the coordinators into the lock and turned it. As the small seedrian walked into the room, she was immediately overwhelmed by two girls who were clearly already deep in conversation.

"I used to be with a guy like that… a long, long time ago," Amy sighed as she lay on her bed, looking over to the green and black pronghorn.

"He is just so perfect Amy," Clove said dreamily, looking up to the ceiling. "It's been almost a year, and Mighty is still just as kind, sweet and funny as back when we were first dating. That… and he is kinda amazing in bed," Clove laughed, winking to the flustered pink hedgehog.

"Ummm… hello," Cosmo squeaked, feeling awkward by the chosen topic of conversation that she had walked in on.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. You must be our other roommate. Sorry that the bottom bunks are already taken, that won't be a problem will it?" Clove asked, turning to the shy seedrian.

"N-No, not at all. And hello, my name is Cosmo."

"Hey Cosmo. My name is Amy, and that's Clove," Amy responded, smiling at the seedrian. "We were just talking about boys and relationships, feel free to join in if you would like."

"N-No, that's okay. I'm fine," Cosmo replied sheepishly.

"Don't be scared Cosmo. We are all girls here and we're going to be living together for a semester so you can consider us friends, too," Clove smiled, to which Amy agreed. It was clear to Cosmo that these two had been talking for a long while before she arrived since it seemed like the two had known each other for ages.

"So tell us, do you have a boyfriend at the moment?" Clove asked.

"No, not at the moment," Cosmo mumbled shyly.

"So you did have one before? Who was he?"

"No, I haven't had a boyfriend before," Cosmo mumbled again.

"Oh… well that's okay. You don't need to have a boyfriend to have a good time, right?" Amy laughed awkwardly, trying to lighten the mood a bit for their new roommate.

"Well… actually, I've never actually…" she trailed off.

"Had sex before? It's okay. I haven't either. I was with my boyfriend all through year 11 but neither one of us were really ready for that kind of commitment at that point," Amy sighed, thinking back to how much she wanted to have Sonic, but how he kept saying that he wasn't ready for that next step.

"Kissed anybody before…" Cosmo finished.

"Oh… well… I'm sure a lot of girls our age haven't…kissed… anybody before," Clove faked a smile, trying to make the seedrian feel welcome.

"Well… there is this one guy I just met that I kinda like," Cosmo responded, slightly louder as a shade of crimson appeared on her cheeks. Both girls looked at each other, smiling.

"Go on, tell us his name," Amy cheered. "I'm sure he loves you already!"

"His name is Tails…" Cosmo sighed dreamily.

"Oh… Tails… Cosmo… listen… I just think that… maybe… you shouldn't really," Amy trailed off, thinking the best way to tell Cosmo that Tails was taken. However, suddenly, a little inkling in the back of her mind began to pulsate, taking over all of her thoughts. She didn't mean to say the next words that came out of her mouth, and didn't know why she lied to the seedrian, but there was a small part of her that took control and spoke quickly to Cosmo.

"I mean, I know Tails really well and he is a great guy. You should definitely go after him. You guys would be a perfect couple…"

"Really? Thanks Amy!" Cosmo smiled, rushing over to give the pink hedgehog a small hug.

'Why the hell did I just say that?' Amy thought, but smiled through her façade as she returned the hug to the grateful seedrian.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the second part of this big introductory chapters. Please let me know what you thought about the new characters and possibly some theories about possible connections between our old and new cast before they all eventually meet up! Also don't forget to vote in the poll as it will be closing when the next chapter is published and I will take our top two (maybe 3) characters and create a couple more scenes with them. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you all like the new environment for the new story so far. Don't forget to let me know what you think :)_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _The last of our full cast and dorm rooms are revealed and the semester truly begins!_


	7. Chapter 7: Emerald Lake (II)

_A/N: Welcome back to the second part of the main introductory part of this sequel. I hope you are all liking all the new characters and it's time to meet the last of the newbies. Without further adu, please enjoy :)_

* * *

Chapter 7

Emerald Lake (II)

Shadow walked down the hall, scoping out his surroundings as he climbed the stairs to the top level where he knew his room was located. He was in high spirits, well high for Shadow anyway, and walked with pride.

"Why the hell did you ruin everybody's life. You should be disgusted with yourself," a grey albatross barked at Shadow as he passed the hedgehog in the hallway, purposely bumping his shoulder into the hedgehog's causing Shadow to stumble slightly.

"Excuse me?" Shadow asked but Storm had already left the hallway, ducking into one of the many rooms that lined the hallway. Shadow shrugged, thinking little of it as he continued.

"Shadow!" he heard a rather feminine voice squeal. He turned around, confused when his eyes met those of two females who were walking the halls. Shadow knew them well. "Honey and Nichole, what are you doing here in the guy's wing?"

"Looking for your jerk ass," Honey snapped back angrily, clicking her tongue at him in disgust.

"Do you even know that little Blaze is in the hospital?" Nichole spat.

"Yes, I went to visit her the other day," Shadow remained calm in his response.

"Oh, at least he has a soul. Has guilt finally eaten away at you?"

"What are you girls talking about?" Shadow asked, genuinely confused and a little threatened. He knew he could easily take both girls on, but he wasn't one to hit a girl but the way they walked up right next to him, poking him in the chest as they hurled insults his way wasn't the most comforting experience.

"We knew you were the one who started that fire!" Honey barked.

"Just admit it."

"What?! Is that why everybody has been looking at me funny? I didn't start it!" Shadow defended angrily.

"Back away Nichole, he might set this school on fire too if we provoke him," Honey narrowed her eyes at him. "We've heard the rumor; the whole school knows it was you so just come clean so we can expel you."

"Yeah. Is it a coincidence that the school catches fire right when you return to the school? We all know you were jealous that Sonic didn't choose you," Nichole added. The two girls berated him with further insults, insulting his appearance, personality, clothing style and everything in between before they turned to leave, scoffing at him.

"W-why does everything think it was me?" Shadow asked aloud before scurrying along towards his room. He quickly shut the door behind him, breathing a sigh of relief when he noticed Knuckles and Manic sitting on two of the four beds in the room.

"Somebody knows how to make an entrance," Manic mentioned, not looking up from his phone.

"Hey Shadow, are you rooming with us this semester?" Knuckles asked, not overly thrilled that his girlfriend's best friend would be his roommate.

"Knuckles, have you heard the rumor going around? It's not true, you've got to believe me," Shadow begged, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't have to deal with Knuckles anger as a roommate for a whole semester.

"Look, Shadow, I know we have never… ever seen eye to eye before but I do know you, whether I'd like to or not and I know you didn't do it," Knuckles said after a deep breath.

"Th-thankyou, Knuckles… hmmm, I never thought I'd say that," Shadow smirked, revealing to Knuckles his elusive smile.

"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you properly smile," Knuckles returned the smile. In that brief moment, the door swung open and the final roommate walked in.

"Hey, I know you," Manic noticed, flicking his face away from his phone and the sister that he was feverously texting. "You were the kid from the music store, yeah?"

"Oh yeah, you two came in when I was leaving. Nice to finally meet you. The name is Spike," Spike smiled, waving to the three.

"I'm Knuckles, that over there is Manic and the guy sulking over there is Shadow," Knuckles joked. Shadow shot Knuckles an annoyed glance but the echidna just grinned back.

"Shadow… where have I heard that name before," Spike stroking his chin, thinking back to what his friends were saying earlier.

"I doubt it," Shadow waved away the idea.

"No, I've definitely heard the name before… Oh, that's right. Breezie was telling me how you burnt down your old school and that's why everybody transferred here!" Spike clicked his fingers when the memory surfaced in his mind.

Shadow grunted angrily, slamming his fist into the wall before he stormed out of the dorm, slamming the door behind him without a word spoken.

"Whoa, what's his problem?"

"That's just Shadow. Just leave him be. He'll warm up to you eventually, just don't mention the fire thing," Knuckles replied. "By the way, we saw you playing the guitar the other day. Do you play often?"

"Yeah, I play all the time. It's like, one of my passions or something," Spike shrugged, showing a toothy grin as he made his way over to the bunk above Knuckles and got ready sorting out his things.

"Spike, we were thinking of forming a band. You want in?" manic asked.

"Nope."

"What? Why not?" Manic asked, pulling his head away from his phone, clearly agitated by whomever was texting him on the other side.

"I don't play for the fame. I just play for the fun of it," Spike smiled.

"That makes absolutely no sense, but whatever. To each his own I guess," Manic shrugged, going back to his text. A few moments of silence passed before Manic sighed in annoyance and threw his phone at Knuckles. "Can you believe what she is saying?"

Knuckles scanned the previous messages, getting a feel for the conversation before replying, "Look, if Sonia is telling the truth then I think you really should forgive Sonic."

"Wait… did you say Sonic. As in, Sonic the Hedgehog?" Spike piped up, looking down from his perch on the top bunk.

"Yeah, Sonic is his brother," Knuckles replied, hurling the phone back over to the hedgehog who caught it in the air just before it smashed against the wall.

"I thought you were supposed to be a good throw Mr. Quarterback," Manic scoffed.

"I can't believe I'm rooming with _the_ Sonic's brother. You have no idea how much of a hero he is. After what he did for me at all those track meets in primary school. I can't believe I'm actually going to meet him again," Spike fanboyed over the hedgehog, thinking back to what Sonic did for him. Knuckles just looked up, shaking his head, unable to comprehend how somebody could act this way over his stupid sapphire friend.

Manic couldn't take the praise of his sibling any longer. He was so sick of everyone trying to get him to forgive Sonic for the shit he had put him through and hearing somebody go on and on about how awesome his sibling is was getting on his nerves.

"Yeah, he's great," Manic said in a monotone voice as he silently got up and left the room.

"Manic! Come on!" Knuckles called after the frustrated hedgehog, chasing him out into the hall leaving the confused porcupine lying flat on his bed.

"Well, those three all seem nice," he smiled blissfully as he pulled out a comic book from his bag and began reading it on his bed while shooting off another text to Breezie about when she would like him to return her bag.

…

Rouge and Cream strolled down the hallway, both heading to the same location as they discovered that they had been paired together as roommates this semester.

"Creamy, I'm so excited to be rooming with you," Rouge cooed as she waltzed next to the little rabbit. "I can teach you my special make-up techniques, we can talk about Knuckles and Jet, it will be so much fun."

"I'm so excited too Rouge, but I wonder who else our roommates are," Cream thought as the two pushed open their small wooden door and entered their humble abode. Just like all the other dorm rooms, there were two bunkbeds, two cupboards and bedside tables underneath a window sill, except their room had a serene lookout into the deep forest situated next to the dorm building.

Cream and Rouge immediately were drawn to another female who was lounging on one of the bottom bunks, a magazine obscuring her facial features.

"Oh, hello there. Are you also rooming here? My name is Rouge and this is my friend Cream," Rouge introduced herself whilst moving over to the other bottom bunk. As much as she adored Cream, the bat was not about to let the rabbit steal the only other bottom bunk. Rouge simply wouldn't accept having to sleep on a top bunk for a whole semester.

"Sorry, hello," the pink feathered swallow said, lowering the magazine to look at Cream. "I hope I'm not being too rude by taking the bottom bunk. I was the first one here so I just decided to grab it, oh, and Wave's the name."

"That's perfectly fi… wait… did you say Wave?" Cream asked, the colour draining from her face.

"Yes. Wave. Wave the Swallow," she smiled, blinking her curled eye-lashes at the rabbit. Cream mumbled slightly, trying to put on a carefree façade but all her thoughts went back to the night she found Jet lying on that bathroom floor. That name. The name he uttered as he closed his eyes, bleeding out on the edge of death in a school bathroom. The name that made Cream as cold as ice whenever she thinks about it.

Here, standing in front of Jet, was the one person who Jet thought about in his dying breath. The one who he must have been thinking about when he decided to go that extra step and try to kill himself.

"Cream? You okay?" Rouge asked, noticing the way the rabbit's body tensed up just at the sight of the strange swallow. Cream opened her mouth to reply but a familiar chime rang out in place of words. In an attempt to hide her behavior, Cream fished out her phone to use as an excuse but the text she saw wasn't something she could deal with at that time.

Jet: _Hey, how's your room?_

Cream: _Sorry Jet, can't talk. Bye_

Cream quickly texted a reply before stuffing the phone back into her pocket. After meeting her new roommate, Jet was the last person she needed to talk to right now. The rabbit knew that she would eventually have to talk to Jet about Wave being here, and being her roommate, but she decided she would cross that bridge when she arrived at it.

"Cream, was it? Is this about the bottom bunk? I can go to the top if it means that much to you," Wave sighed, assuming that she was roommates with a tiny little brat who would throw a tantrum if she didn't get what she wanted. However, Cream's response was one word. One simple word that changed the whole atmosphere of the room and allowed a darkness to descend upon the room.

"Jet."

"Wh-who's that?" Wave asked, trying to play it off but the way she avoided Cream's eye-contact and how she immediately stiffened up, shedding her relaxed nature that she had adopted ever since the two girls walked into the room. Small bullets of sweat beaded on the swallow's forehead but she tried her hardest to mask this discomfort in front of the rabbit.

"Oh Cream," Rouge sighed dramatically and sarcastically. "We really don't need to talk about your boyfriend right this second, I said we can do boy gossip later." Wave's eyes widened at that remark and she stared right at the rabbit.

"B-b-boyfriend?" Wave stared at Cream and Cream stared right back. Instantly, Wave knew that Cream knew about her and the green hawk's background and immediately, from her mannerisms, Cream knew that Wave was aware about Cream's insight and knowledge into the situation. No words were uttered between the two, but they stared intently at each other, seemingly in an intense, wordless debate being settled by glances and eye movements.

Rouge looked on at the two girls, making a mental note about the strange behavior that they both demonstrated. She was going to get to the bottom of their relationship and how Jet fell into it all. Rouge assumed that Wave must have been an ex-girlfriend of the hawk's that he must often bring up.

Rouge decided that she would break the awkward silence and try to change the subject. She wouldn't be able to deal with all this cynicism between her roommates for a whole week, let alone a term or semester. However, just before she opened her mouth, a tall pink echidna walked in. She had her pink hair done up in a ponytail and donned a low hanging pair of black football shorts with a tight, white shirt that accentuated her breasts and the clearly visible sports bra underneath.

"Hey everybody, I'm…" the echidna began but stopped when she noticed the over-bearing and solemn atmosphere in the room. The echidna's entrance was exactly what the two girls needed. They both turned away and greeted the echidna at the same time, making a loud, unintelligible sound emanate through the room.

"What...?"

"Sorry about them. Hello, my name is Rouge and those two over there are Cream and Wave," Rouge waved, waltzing over to the pink echidna.

"Okay… well nice to meet you. I'm Julie-Su," Julie smiled. She walked over to Rouge, whispering in the bat's ears. "What's up with those two?"

"I don't even know," Rouge shook her head, looking at Cream who refused to make eye-contact with the bat.

…

Sally strolled through the bustling halls, stopping to knock on every door, much to the displeasure of a lot of the residents. She had recalled seeing Amy's name on the list of girls who had their dorms on the first floor but couldn't remember the exact number.

Sally moved from door to door, knocking on the door and being confronted by pleased faces or disgruntled scowls. Eventually, Sally knocked on a door labeled 117 and a small, shy seedrian sheepishly answered the door.

"Hello, may I help you?" Cosmo asked.

"Hey, my name is Sally, I'm looking for Am-" Sally began but stopped when she saw the pink hedgehog that she sought after step into view.

"S-Sally? What are you doing here?" Amy asked, slightly flustered and taking up a defensive stance.

"Amy! I just need to talk to you," Sally begged, passing the seedrian and stepping towards Amy. However, before she could close the gap, Clove stepped between the two, staring down the squirrel.

"She doesn't want to talk to you right now," Clove announced defensively, standing up for her pink friend after hearing the story about Sally and Sonic.

"No… Clove… it's okay," Amy sighed. Clove turned her head to look at Amy but she simply nodded her head, instructing the pronghorn to stand down. Clove eyed the squirrel closely as Amy stepped outside into the hallway with Sally.

"What do you want?" Amy sighed, not meeting eye-contact with Sally. Sally pouted before taking a breath.

"Amy, please stop avoiding me. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know I screwed up and I keep beating myself up about it. I shouldn't have lied and I shouldn't have gone to the party but I didn't want them to hate me. I know I should have been on your side but I just caved under the pressure," Sally admitted, looking down at her feet, defeated.

Amy looked at the squirrel, mulling over in her mind how best to handle this situation. Although she did still feel a great amount of resentment and betrayal for how Sally had treated her and, not only that she went to the party, but that she lied about it too, she still felt love as well. However, no matter how much space in her heart that Sally currently holds, Sonic seems to have run in and taken slightly more.

"I… I forgive you," Amy said behind a fake smile.

"I understand. I hope you do find somebody better than… wait… what did you just say?" Sally blinked in disbelief, assuming that she had come to just be dumped by the pink hedgehog.

"I said that I forgive you, silly," Amy giggled, wrapping her arms around the squirrel to pull her in for a big hug. She could feel Sally's heart beat slow down as she sighed in relief. However, Amy didn't feel as happy.

Amy knew that she loved Sally and did want to be with her, but a big part of her secretly knew that she had only forgiven the squirrel because of Sonic. She didn't want to fall back into her old ways. She didn't want her affections for the blue hedgehog cloud her judgement of her friends. She didn't want to start ruining more relationships. She thought that maybe, possibly, the squirrel could continue to take more of her heart. But deep down, she knew that Sally was just a wall. A wall separating Amy from Sonic's allure.

"I just know that we are going to be so happy together," Sally laughed, promising that she wouldn't hurt Amy again.

"Yeah… we will," Amy put on her happy façade as she watched the squirrels face light up.

…

"I'm so sorry for everything that has happened. It was so horrible," Storm said, patting the silver hedgehog on the back as he walked down the hallway.

"I hope Blaze is alright. Hang in there buddy," Jet remarked as he too passed by the hedgehog.

Silver walked down the hallway as many of the guys, some he knew and some new faces that had obviously heard of the tragedy and been told that Silver was Blaze's boyfriend, gave him their condolences. It felt like Blaze was dead. He didn't want to give up hope. He knew Blaze was tough. He knew she could pull through but the way they were talking it was like she was already gone.

He hurried down the hall, waving away more people as they tried to talk to him. His anxiety began flaring up and all he wanted to do was get to his room and she the horrible thoughts. It was like the smoke from the fire was still chasing him, entering his lungs and causing his breathing to become sporadic and heightened. Silver quickly fumbled for the key and slammed the door behind him, collapsing to the floor against the door, breathing heavily as his chest heaved in and out.

"Hey buddy, are you alright?" A voice asked. Silver froze, suddenly realizing that he wasn't alone in his room. He lifted his head and came face to face with a strange, alien like creature with purple and red skin. The creature wore basic blue jeans and a plain black V-neck top. The animas blood-orange eyes stared deep into the amber iris' of Silver, like it was reading his thoughts and feelings.

"If you need some alone time I'll just leave," it repeated. Something about the presence in front of Silver seemed… genuine… and kind. Despite the almost evil aura that seemed to emanate outwardly, the boy standing in front of him seemed like a sanctuary of sorts.

"No, no. I'm sorry. I've just been a bit ambushed and my anxiety flared up a little," Silver waved his hands in front of him, dismissing the thought of this creature to leave him alone. Despite what he thought he wanted, he realized that being alone was the last thing he needed at the point in time. All he needed was somebody to talk to, somebody to take his mind off of… well he didn't even want to think about her.

"Oh, I know who you are," the creature said, snapping his fingers as the gears in his mind seemed to spin. "You're the boyfriend of that chick who got burnt alive. What's her name… Blaze! That means you're Silver, yeah?" Silver nodded, casting his glance to the side. Blaze… again. It seemed that no matter what he did or who he talked to, it always circled back around to the cat. It was like his life seemed to revolve around her, like he didn't have a life of his own. And now that she was gone, he felt incomplete somehow.

"Oh… I see…" the creature remarked quietly, understanding. "Let's change the subject then. Maybe something a little more heartwarming. How have you been liking the campus so far?"

Silver answered, timidly at first but slowly the two boys got into a light hearted, happy conversation. They talked for a long while about interests, hobbies, favourite movies and a multitude of other things.

"Thanks for this," Silver suddenly said after they were discussing theories about what would happen next on one of their shared favourite shows. "I really needed this little distraction."

"Hey no problem. I could see you just needed some cheering up and I was just in the right place at the right time I guess," the creature shrugged, dismissing Silver's apology.

"I'm going to be honest. When I first saw you, you seemed… off. I don't know why. You are a bit intimidating and… I don't know… like a bad guy? I'm sorry for typecasting," Silver apologized.

"No need. I get that a lot. I like to stand back a bit and read people because I'm not the best at social interactions. I like to study people first so I don't mess up interactions but when people see me watching them they just assume I'm a creep and run away," the creature sighed.

"Well if it means anything, I don't think you're a creep. You're… mysterious. And mysterious is good because once you get to know somebody who is mysterious, you realize just how great of a person they really are. I'm glad we get to share this room together," Silver smiled.

"Yeah, I'm glad I met you Silver."

"Speaking of which, I don't think I ever got your name."

"I didn't give it. The name is Eclipse. Eclipse the Darkling."

"Fitting. Well Eclipse, nice to meet you," Silver laughed. "By the way, do you know who our other roommates are?"

"Roommate," Eclipse corrected him. "I saw his name on the sheet posted in the lounge area. Espio the something."

"You have got to be kidding me," Silver sighed exasperatedly.

"What, you know this guys? I assume he went to the city campus."

"Yeah… he tricked Blaze into thinking she was pregnant with a fake pregnancy test and got my hopes sky high about being a father, just to dash them down in an attempt to break us apart."

"What the fuck? And people think I'm a bad guy," Eclipse scoffed. "I wonder if we could just kick him out of the room."

"I wish."

Meanwhile, while the two were discussing about Espio, a saddened, defeated and desperate chameleon gripped the door handle tightly. He was moments away from pushing open the door to enter the room when he heard his name. He stood, frozen outside the door as he heard the two people who he was assigned to spend a whole semester rooming with talk about how much they hated him.

'Great… I can't even find peace in my own place anymore,' he though, defeated as he turned around and walked down the hallway to find a nice quiet, shadowy corner to sit alone in.

…

Breezie waved to Spike as she rushed over to greet her best friend, Mina Mongoose. Mina turned, her long, luscious purple hair flowing in the breeze. A large smile appeared on her face as she watched the hedgehog run over to her and envelope her in a great hug.

"I've missed you so much girl! How was your vacation?" Mina asked as she was finally released by the hedgehog. She waved goodbye to her parents, grabbed her things and began walking in toe with Breezie over to the dormitory.

"It was stellar," Breezie replied happily. "I never thought I'd ever say this though, but I'm kind of glad to be back at school. There are so many new faces this time around."

"Yeah, I heard about that poor feline and how the stupid hedgehog lit a fire to get revenge on some gay kids. Those people sound kinda weird if you ask me," Mina dismissed, glancing around. "Hey, where are your bags?"

"Oh, Spike's carrying them for me."

"That kid would do anything for you, wouldn't he? He's got it bad," she shook her head, watching the porcupine struggle to carry all the bags that he had been saddled with.

"What do you mean, got it bad?" Breezie asked obliviously.

"I mean that he is desperately in love with you, idiot," Mina sighed jokingly.

"No, it's not like that at all. Him and I are just best friends and have been that way ever since childhood. He's like… a baby brother to me and I'm just a big sister to him," Breezie waved away Mina's remark like it was nothing.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Oh shut up," Breezie scoffed playfully. "Besides, are there any new boys in your life? Do you have to beat them down at your door?"

"Breezie, I told you those days are behind me. I know I was a bit flirtatious last year but I never did anything with any of the boys," Mina defended her previous actions.

"Puh-lease, you slept with half the bloody student body last year. But whatever helps _you_ sleep at night," she laughed, turning Mina's words back on her.

"Ha. Very funny," Mina rolled her eyes sarcastically. That's when she suddenly noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Actually, someone. A small, orange furred, two tailed fox boy accompanied by a green seedrian walking up the stairs into the dormitory in front of them.

"No way… is it… him?" Mina breathed, unable to believe her own eyes as she rubbed them to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. Just as fast as she saw him, he had disappeared into the building, making her wonder if it really was him.

"Was it who?" Breezie asked, studying Mina's face.

"T…Tails…"

"You mean the little fox boy?! The one you always used to talk about. _The_ Tails?"

"Yeah… I can't believe it's him. Here."

"Isn't this a good thing? Isn't it great that you're finally going to see him again after all this time?" Breezie asked, trying to keep her friend happy.

"Yeah… I guess… it's just been so long. I wonder if he remembers me…" Mina trailed off as her thoughts wondered back to all the days she had spent with the fox all those years ago.

"Of course. Who could forget you? You make quite the impression on people," Breezie laughed in a mocking tone.

"I said shut it," Mina slapped Breezie on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go see what the rooming situation is this semester." Together, the two girls followed the constant stream of students into the dormitory, only to discover that they got paired into the same room. After a short celebration, Spike walked in through the door, panting heavily from all the bags. Mighty, noticing the porcupine struggling, rushed over to help him with the bags.

"Thanks Mighty, I owe you one," Spike breathed as he collapsed onto one of the vacant couches.

"Hey, what are friends for? You really need to learn how to say no to that girl," Mighty sighed as he placed the bags down next to him.

"Where's Ray and Clove today?" Spike asked after he had a moment to catch his breath and let his pulse return to a normal rate.

"Clove went with some of her friends up to check out their rooms and Ray went to his. We didn't get paired together this time unfortunately," Mighty admitted sadly.

"That's gotta suck bro. Oh well, you'll both hopefully meet a bunch of new people. There another whole student body to mingle with," Spike laughed.

"Too true. I just hope he gets along with his roommates well enough. I can't help but worry about the guy, y'know."

"You worry too much. Ray will be fine. Go to your own room, I'm sure your new roommates will be awesome," Spike cheered.

"Okay, I'll see you around. Oh, and by the way, can you make me a promise buddy?" Mighty asked.

"Shoot."

"Either tell her how you feel, or stop letting her walk all over you because I can see how much of a toll it's taking."

"What do you mean tell her how I feel? We are friends and nothing more," Spike said stubbornly, not even fooling himself, let alone Mighty.

"Sure… and Mighty is married to Rosemary Prower," Eclipse said sarcastically as he walked by the two.

"In his dreams," Spike scoffed.

"Hey Eclipse, how you been?" Mighty asked, calling out to the darkling.

"Yeah, pretty good man. I'd love to chat but I need to be getting off to my room. Talk later, okay?"

"Okay," Mighty said. "Tell her," Mighty eyed Spike as he picked up the bags beside Spike and strolled over to the two girls.

"Hey Mighty, how you been?" Mina and Breezie greeted him.

"Pretty good. I'm sorry but I can't talk right now. I just thought I would give you back these," Mighty said as he plonked the bags down.

"Hey, how did you get these?" Breezie asked.

"I helped Spike as he was struggling to carry all the things. You need to either let him down gently or go out with him because this is getting a bit ridiculous. It's been four years of the same stuff."

"What do you mean? Why does everybody think he loves me? We are just best friends and nothing more," Breezie remained steadfast in her belief.

"Sure… and Mighty is married to Rosemary Prower," Mina laughed sarcastically.

"Oh my Chaos! It was one time at a party and I was quite drunk. When is everybody going to give that a rest?" Mighty growled angrily.

"When it stops being funny," Mina giggled.

"Aaaaaaaaaanyway, I better be going but Breezie, talk to him okay?" Mighty said as he made his leave.

"Yeah whatever," Breezie dismissed his claims as he left up the stairs. Mina and Breezie picked up their things and walked up the stairs in the girl's area, finding their way to their room.

"Hey girls, looks like you'll be rooming with me. My name's Tikal," the orange echidna smiled as they entered their room.

…

Slowly the day ticked on and all the students eventually all filed into the main auditorium, taking their seats in the rows of chairs situated on the floor. The sun had almost set and the assembly for the beginning of the new semester was set to begin. The old students talked to each other, reminiscing about all the fun adventures they experienced on their holidays while all of the city campus student's looked around, trying to find their way to the appropriate area.

"This place is huge. How do you find anything around here?" Sonic asked as he looked around the school grounds, following the armadillo towards the auditorium.

"I feel like we are going to get lost a bunch," Tails sighed.

"Don't worry. It might seem a little daunting but you guys will find your way around and eventually you'll know this place like the back of your hand," Mighty smiled as he led the boys into the auditorium. Together they met up with Ray, Clove, Tikal, Sally, Amy, Cream and Jet and all took their seats, awaiting the principals message.

Slowly, the room got packed with many students having to stand against the walls due to the overwhelming number of new students that couldn't be accommodated despite the grandiose size of the auditorium. Eventually, a grey shark in a plad suit walked onto the stage and a hush fell over all of the students.

He walked up to the lectern that was situated on the center of the stage and spoke clearly into the microphone that was fastened to the top of it.

"Greetings students, and welcome to the second semester of the school year. I hope you all had a relaxing holiday and have come back refreshed and ready for work, especially our year 12 students who are heading into their finals this November. Now, I know a lot of you have heard and seen all the new students that have flooded our school grounds this semester. A sad incident occurred at our sister campus in the heart of Central City and a fire destroyed their campus. I hope you are all welcoming and accommodating as they try to fit in here at our wonderful campus and learn with all of you as their campus is being rebuilt. On behalf of all the staff and students, we welcome all of you to the Emerald Lake campus," Razor announced as all of the students greeted the new kids in a thunderous applause.

"I'd also like to take the time to introduce a new member of our faculty joining us. She previously worked in the city campus but has been relocated to be my right hand woman and the dorm supervisor for the girl's dorm. Please welcome Gold the Tenrec," Razor signaled for the shy tenrec to stand as another round of applause echoed around the walls of the auditorium.

After a short speech about all the new things that would be happening this semester, as well as listing off some of the mandatory things that Razor was required to talk about each and every semester, including safety and the do's and don'ts of campus life, including curfew and rules, he finally concluded his speech.

"Remember, we are here to have fun and enjoy ourselves but our top priorities shouldn't be romance, relationships or drama, although we do want you all to socialize and help each other throughout the year, but it should be your school work and studies. Thank you, and I hope you all have a wonder semester her at Emerald Lake."

* * *

 _A/N: Well there you have it. The main story has officially started with our main cast of 28 (27 if you don't count poor Blaze over on life support but 28 if you do count the lovely secretary Gold.) Please let me know what you thought of all the newbies. Who do you want to see interact between the new and old cast? Maybe if you sell the idea in your review I might realize what a good idea a scene between two specific characters is and i could add it, you never know :P  
The poll has officially closed and the winners were Tails and, just beating out Sonic, was Shadow so expect the fox and ebony hedgehog to have a couple more scenes between them because you guys asked for it :)_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Unlikely heroes come to Espio's rescue_

 _Tikal finally has a run in with her mystery_ _savior_

 _Cosmo puts her heart out on the line_

 _Jet gets a blast from the past_

 _And Scourge discovers Silver's secret and offers and_ _ultimatum_

 _All this and so much more next time in Chapter 8: A Blast from the Past_


	8. Chapter 8: A Blast from the Past

_A/N: Hey everybody, sorry for the really, really long delay. I was in the middle of exams and then I've been up at the snow for the past week. I'm actually still up here, but it was a very windy day and all the lifts were closed so I had a little time to finish off this chapter that has been begging to be completed for over two weeks now, only needed about another 200 words. So, sorry for being a bit late and the next one unfortunately won't be able to be completed by the 4 day schedule but soon I'll hopefully be able to get myself back on that every 4 day publishing cycle. Anyway, that's enough from me, enjoy the chapter._

* * *

Chapter 8

Blast from the Past

Espio waited, hiding underneath the bleachers after a particularly exhausting first gym class of the semester. Espio breathed heavily as he slouched over, alone. He tried to regulate his breathing as sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down his sides, staining his black training shorts. He thought of nothing more than a nice, hot shower to wash away all the sorrows and depression he had been feeling ever since that stupid picture of himself got leaked online last week.

Eventually, after waiting until the sun had completely started to set and all the students would begin to make their way towards the dining hall for dinner that night did Espio allow himself to make his way into the change rooms. He peeked in silently through the door to make sure the coast was clear. After not noticing any movement, he gave himself a moment of peace, breathing in a sigh of relief. He made his way over to the locker where he had stored his clothing in, shuddering at the image of himself that had been floating around that some cruel individual stuck onto his locker as a practical joke.

Espio dropped his clothes to the floor, wrapping a pristine white towel around his waist as he made his way over to the showers. He twisted the knob until a spray of hot, steaming water cascaded out of the shower cap. The rooms instantly filled with mist, clouding Espio's vision of anything other than the tiles that lined the walls of the shower stall in front of him.

"What, the picture isn't enough? You've now got to strip naked in front of us as well?" he heard a mocking voice shout out from behind him. Espio instantly shot up, his hands falling to shield his goods from the prying eyes of the individual who berated him from behind.

Espio slowly turned around, his eyes widening at the crowd of onlookers, holding back snickers as they stared at him. Even though all of the people in the room were seeing him naked for the first time in the flesh, it wasn't the first time that they had actually seen the chameleon naked at all.

"What are your hands hiding? We've all seen it and it isn't impressive at all," A silver albatross laughed, pointing a nightmare inducing finger at Espio. His cheeks glowed redder than blood and his mind raced a million miles a minute, wishing that he could just vanish and dissipate away like the steam in the room.

"I wouldn't be too sure," a coyote bellowed. "I've seen that picture quite a few times and I'm pretty sure he doesn't even have something down there to hide!" Espio tried to shrink down, pushing his back against the wall in a desperate but ultimately fruitless attempt to phase through it. One by one, more of the boys joined in on the mockery and even more heard the commotion from the adjacent hallway and burst in to see what the hubbub was all about.

Espio held a steel face, using the rest of his will power to stop the tears that threatened to escape his ducts. He was already bullied enough; he didn't also want to be known as the school cry baby above all else. In his previous years, he had used women as tools, ogling their bodies and making fun of the less attractive ones but in the moment, he instantly felt all the pain that he knew he must have caused them. He finally understood how horrible it felt to be treated that way and all he wanted to do in that moment was run off, find somewhere secluded and end his suffering. He almost did, if it wasn't for two individuals, one red and one green, who rushed to his rescue and took him out of that horrible place and back to his dorm room.

…

Tikal roamed around the grounds, taking in her surroundings. Always a studious person, she decided to fully absorb her new school and scope out some potential new places that her and the gang could hang out and eat lunch at together. With a much larger schooling grounds out in the country, more than 4 times the size of their old school, almost nobody ate lunch in the dining room when the weather was nice and instead opted to find nice grassy patches.

Tikal scanned through the luscious fields, pretty flowerbeds and shady spots underneath the grand wattle trees. Although it was still winter, spring was ebbing ever closer and the days started to get a little bit warmer, although spring wouldn't fully hit until the mid-semester break. Tikal walked around the dorms, spotting a small little dirt path that darted into the forest behind the building. Although her mind thought it was a bad idea, her legs had already made the decision as her body was subconsciously moving towards the path.

Moments later, the orange echidna was completely submerged underneath the wide canopy and thick trees that seemed to stay healthy and vibrant all year round. After another moment of walking, she pushed her way through the low shrubbery and into a small opening, no wider than the size of the gymnasium. It was there that she spotted somebody, dark and red, seemingly fast asleep, leaning against one of the trees that lined the walls of the field.

Tikal shrugged, assuming it was just Shadow. She laughed at her hedgehog friend and how he had already found his new spot to escape to. It was only when she walked a little closer that she noticed something was different. Instead of a mess of up-tilting quills, this mysterious person only had three, two on each side like wings. His legs also seemed to look like boots, except with black toes, even though he was clearly bare-foot and his long, black tail ended in a red spike.

Tikal let out an audible gasp, remembering the figure as the mysterious shadowed creature that saved her from certain death back at the mall the previous week. Upon hearing a slight noise, Eclipse stirred in his sleep, opening one eye to see who disturbed him.

"What do you guys want?" Eclipse yawned deeply, raising his arms to stretch before he got a better look at the echidna. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry, I thought you were either Clove or Mighty."

"You know Clove and Mighty," Tikal asked, the question being the first thing that she could mutter after the initial shock of finally coming face to face to her hero.

"Yeah, they normally come find me to get me to wake up," he said, giving Tikal a smirk that warmed her body.

"So what, are you guys like good friends or something?" Tikal asked, not really wanting to talk about them but not knowing what to say otherwise. She wasn't used to being so flustered around anybody, normally able to throw banterous insults around like the best of them.

"Yeah, something like that," he yawned, paying little attention to the echidna. Tikal began to sweat, racking her brain to think of something to say to him that wouldn't seem awkward or silly.

"Um, has C-Clove ever mentioned me?" she stuttered.

"No, why would she?" he shrugged rising to a standing position. Tikal mentally scolded herself, doing all she could to stop herself from physically slapping her own forehead in annoyance.

"Nice going," Tikal mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" Eclipse asked, staring quizzically at the orange echidna. Tikal shot up quickly, darting her head left to right.

"What, me? I didn't say anything," she tried to play it off like nothing, screaming in her head that she accidently said that out loud.

"Okay, cool. Whatever. Look, I better get going," Eclipse motioned as he began to walk towards the little hidden path.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, cool, whatevs," Tikal said in a laid back, relaxed tone, leaning with one hand against a tree.

"Later," the darkling waved as he exited out of sight. As soon as he was gone, Tikal fell down, leaning her back against the tree as she rested her head in between her hands.

"What is wrong with you?" she scolded herself aloud. "Get a grip Tikal, you're making a fool of yourself!"

Meanwhile, Eclipse strolled down the path before breaking into a sprint when he thought the coast was clear, not stopping until he emerged back onto school grounds behind the dorm rooms that he knew far too well.

"Nice one Eclipse. Just keep it up. Remember what Mighty told you. Girls like it when guys act cool so don't let up now," he smiled to himself, sticking his hands in his pockets as he waved at the green and black pronghorn who was passing by, joining her as the two walked towards the dining hall for lunch.

…

Espio sniffed, finally letting his emotions get the better of him as he collapsed on his back on the fluffy bed. Manic and Knuckles sat down on the opposite bed, knocking Silver's belongings to the floor as they got comfortable and patiently waited for the chameleon to gather his lost composure.

"Th-thanks for the help back there, guys," Espio finally said after moments of stagnated silence intermixed with the soft sounds of choking sobs.

"No problem, I'm sure you would have done the same if it was me back there," Manic said lazily, lying back against the wall with his hands propped behind his head for extra comfort. "Oh, and before you asked, yeah, we saw the picture but deleted it. Whoever did that, it wasn't cool."

"Any idea who sent it?" Knuckles asked.

"I originally thought Tikal but when I confronted her about it, she got pretty mad. She was going to give me a second chance too, but I blew it again for the hundredth time," Espio sighed, wiping the last of the stray tears out of his sore, puffy eyes.

"Don't sweat it. I know she is my best friend but she has been changing lately. For the worse," Knuckles admitted, thinking back to how different the echidna had become since she broke up with the chameleon at the end of last semester.

"Why did you come help me? I thought you were one of the people who hated me the most." Knuckles simply shrugged, not really knowing himself.

"We may not see eye to eye but nobody deserves that kind of treatment, especially over something as stupid as a picture. If you ask me-oof-" Knuckles was interrupted with a swift but soft elbow to the gut. "What was that for?" he asked, eyeing the green hedgehog next to him.

"Look," Manic said, simply pointing towards a bass guitar leaning against a stand in the corner of the room, a black journal resting on the floor next to it.

"You play?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, a little," Espio blushed a little, not used to admitting his musical ability. "Just a little writing and playing." Manic rose from the bed and walked over to the guitar but instead of picking it up like Espio expected, he bent over and scoped up the small, leather bound black journal.

"Hey that's-" Espio reached out to snatch it from Manic but he was too late. Manic had already begun skimming through the pages, his eyes slowly growing wider as he looked upon song after song, each one dripping with poetic brilliance and depth.

"Did you write all these?" Manic asked, dumbfounded. Espio nodded. "Where do you get the inspiration?" he marveled longer before he realized a trend between most of them. "And why is each of them so… depressing?"

"I just… I've been feeling pretty bad recently, and that picture hasn't helped at all and so writing my stresses and feelings away through song is really therapeutic, y'know?"

"I get you, but what about this one? It looks unfinished," Manic showed the chameleon a page entitled, 'On Rainy Days with a few paragraphs and chorus written down, but one final unfinished one.

"Yeah, I just can't find a good ending." Manic read through the first verse and chorus before reading the second one aloud.

 _You're kisses made me gullible, your promises hopeful  
Your love made me pliable but now I'm hopeless and dopeful  
Just take my hand, let me believe,  
Please, don't go, don't leave. Got these…_  
Shallow tears, Hollow fears  
Vacant cheers, Drownin' in beers  
And I now morn, As rose and thorn  
Cuz' you were torn, I'll be reborn!

After finishing his scribbled second chorus, Manic continued reading, but this time aloud, singing along to the mess of musical notes that Espio had doodled at the bottom of the page.

 _I kept trying, to apologies  
But you kept crying, accusing me of lies_

The song stopped there.

"I just don't know how to finish it. I want to finish that verse, have a small bridge and finish it off with the chorus again but I just don't know how to finish this verse," Espio sighed, frustrated.

"Can you play us the song on the bass? Maybe we can help finish it for you," Manic offered, beaming a sincere smile that mirrored that charming one that made Sonic ever so famous. Espio obliged and began plucking his strings in melodic rhythm to the song whilst Knuckles and Manic bobbed their heads along. They both looked at each other midway through, both secretly thinking that they had found the illusive bassist that their band needed. Espio finally came to the third verse but this time, after singing the first bit, Manic chimed in with a small, improvised ending that Espio enjoyed thoroughly.

 _This blissful innocence I was a miss  
But I guess, I never really was good at listening  
I was afraid, should have paid, attention to us  
But now the cuts, remind me I should have stopped it  
I loved it, then lost it, you tossed it and that's it, so now you'll be missed_

Espio smiled, and continued playing, strumming out and singing the chorus again. When he altered the notes, going into the third verse, it was Knuckles who opened his mouth, adding a little bit of optimism to the gloomy, depressive song that added a breath of fresh air whilst still capturing that melancholy, sad tone.

 _Failed your test, spent weeks restless, can't fret less, I get stressed, forget best  
You left me stranded, when your life ended, my words tormented, darkness expanded  
And every day, I try to move on, I try to stay strong, but life's amiss  
I'm in strife without my misses, your last kiss I'll cherish, I just wish we could rewind  
If only we had the time_

Espio smiled as he rounded the song out with one last bit.

 _But we fought, and I thought my wrath wrought was for naught  
I got caught up in words I didn't wanna say  
And it plagues me, stays with me, my actions they haunt me on rainy days_

Knuckles and Manic both gave a small courtesy clap as Espio thanked them both for all their help, quickly jotting down the improvised lines that they sung into his notebook.

"The song is a little too depressing for me, but you definitely have some talent. Those rhymes and lyrics were beautiful, not to mention you really know your way around a bass," Knuckles expressed his delight, although secretly noting in his mind the fact that this was definitely written about a certain orange echidna. He made sure to remember to talk to Espio later about it, as well as checking up with Tikal too.

"Say… have you ever considered… I don't know… maybe joining our band as a bassist and co songwriter?" Manic offered.

"R-Really? You want me?" Espio asked. The two nodded simultaneously. "But, I'll probably just ruing your band. Everybody already hates me and with me in it, everyone will hate you guys too," he sighed, floundering back down on his bed.

"Dude, I don't care what others think. You have a gift and Underground Sound would love to have you. Music is the cure for everything so don't just let this slip away," Knuckles urged.

"Alright, I'll do it. Thanks guys, I really needed this."

"Welcome to Underground Sound, Espio the Chameleon!"

…

Shadow rushed from his class after the bell rang, head hidden behind a large chemistry textbook to avoid detection. It wasn't enough, as people from his old school knew exactly what he looked like and could identify his usual clothing a mile away. In the few days since school had started back up, all the new kids had already identified him too and whenever he strode through the halls, he had a consistent swing of insults hurled at him, rubbish thrown at him and even some physical abuse.

He didn't know why, but everybody in the school thought that Shadow was the culprit who started the fire, especially a certain golden Tenrec who was still doing some intensive digging on not only the ebony hedgehog but other key suspects, trying to figure out who did it.

Shadow returned to his dorm room, finding it the only place of solace in these trying school days.

"Hey Sha…" Sonic waved before the speedy hedgehog blew passed, leaving Sonic with a confused look as Shadow bolted up the stairs. He flew open the door, slamming it behind him to try to block out the prying eyes and ears of his fellow students who seemed to hate him.

"Oh, hey… Shadow was it?" Shadow looked towards his bed where he saw an armadillo and yellow squirrel sitting side by side on it. He glanced angrily over to his orange porcupine roommate, Spike, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"You weren't in so I said they could sit on your bed. I hope it's cool," Spike sung out nonchalantly.

"S-Sorry about me asking, but aren't you Shadow the hedgehog?" Ray piped up nervously.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Shadow glared, his nerves already on high alert from all the abuse he received that his manners already flew out the window before he even entered the room, being replaced with a rude, overbearing attitude.

"I-I just wanted to ask if you w-"

"If I what, was the person who set this fire? Fuck off shithead," Shadow yelled angrily.

"Hey man, come on he is just trying to be nice," Mighty defended the squirrel, eyeing the hedgehog.

"Bullshit," Shadow spat. "He's just going to go off on me like all the others."

"Maybe if you weren't such a douche to him straight away and got time to actually know him then maybe you would realize he was just being friendly," Mighty fought back, the hot headed armadillo not normally being one to back down from a debate if it regarded the shy squirrel.

"Hey, hey guys. Maybe we should all just calm down and-" Spike rose his arms in the air, trying to defuse the situation.

"Stay out of this!" They both snapped at Spike before going back at each other.

"Make sure to keep your little pet on a leash. It seems like you are already balls deep in his ass anyway," Shadow scoffed, turning towards the door.

"Yeah, well maybe you should go light another school on fire," Mighty retorted. Shadow's blood began to boil as he turned, strutting up to face Mighty down.

"Why don't you and that stuttering little freak just get the fuck out of my room," Shadow growled. He normally wasn't so abrasive but something about the armadillo, coupled with the awful day that he had just pushed him over the edge.

Mighty rolled up his sleeve, his temper completely over whelming his better judgement as he wound his arm back, ready and intent to deliver a devastating blow right into the ebony hedgehog's gut.

"Whatever, I'm outta here," Shadow muttered angrily as he turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut. He didn't want to be out getting verbally assaulted further but anything was better than in the room with that infuriating armadillo.

"Sorry about that guys," Mighty sighed, sitting back down on the bed.

"I was just going to ask if he wanted his bed back," Ray sighed, the fight that almost ensued flaring up his anxiety again.

"I know buddy, I know," Mighty agreed. "So, what were you saying about Breezie, Spike?"

Meanwhile, Shadow rushed out of the dorm and made his way to a small, darkened area behind the dormitory, sprawling out at a small table that was hidden out of sight just behind it. He was so lost in angry thoughts and the need to escape everybody that he didn't even notice the sleeping hedgehog lying with his back resting against the building.

Shadow's grunts stirred the hedgehog, who woke with a start, his reptilian eyes giving Shadow a look over. His glance moved from his shoes, slowly up his legs, torso and up to his head where he locked eyes with Shadow.

"What are you looking at," he growled angrily, annoyed that somebody else was in his spot of solace.

"You," Mephiles stated plainly, blinking once.

"Well stop."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's creepy."

"You look like you have had a rough day."

"What's it to you?"

"I can see you want to be left alone but I was kinda enjoying the peace here alone, first," Mephiles chuckled darkly. Shadow didn't know why but this individual, who looked strikingly similar to the dark hedgehog himself, made Shadow feel calmer.

"Yeah, but I need the alone time more," Shadow retorted.

"I don't know about that."

"You have no idea what kind of day I've had so far."

"Well, why don't you tell me about it," Mephiles yawned as he got up and took a seat next to Shadow on the cold, metallic bench.

"What part of alone didn't you understand?"

"Trust me, I understand wanting to be alone but from the look of you, that isn't what you want right now, is it?" Mephiles studied the hedgehog through his calculating eyes.

"Well… maybe not," Shadow admitted, turning to Mephiles.

"Good. Well why don't we be alone together and you can tell me what's got you so angry," Mephiles smiled, staring deep into Shadow's crimson eyes. "By the way, the name is Mephiles. Mephiles the Dark."

"Shadow," Shadow replied, snaking his hand into Mephiles as the two dark hedgehogs shook hands, not once breaking the intense eye contact that the two shared.

…

'You can do it Cosmo. It's the last year of school and you've never had one before. Don't get friend-zoned again!' the green seedrian's mind berated her, calling her out on the nervous way she approached boys.

Cosmo breathed deeply, her breath catching in her throat as she saw the adorable fox pass by her view. She steeled herself, taking another greedy gulp of air to stave off her insatiable nerves and willed her legs to move one foot in front of the other. She entered the dorming area, scanning the few couches sprayed about the room where every student was allowed to relax and enjoy inter-gender mingling before curfew was enforced at 10pm sharp. Cosmo sighed when she saw Tails chilling on the couch with a sapphire hedgehog, a silver hedgehog and a green hawk.

"Oh, hey Cosmo," Tails shouted, waving at the shivering seedrian. "Over here." Tails patted the indigo coloured fabric next to him, indicating that he wanted her to come sit with him. She gulped, swallowing the lump in her throat as she daintily made her way over to the group. Tails beamed a warm, sincere smile at her, melting some of her nerves away as she returned his with one of her own, sitting down next to him.

"So bro, who's this lovely lady?" Sonic asked, winking at Cosmo, showing off his natural charm and charisma. Tails elbowed him in the ribs, only half-jokingly. Cosmo stifled a small chuckle, assuming that Tails was mad that his friend was trying to steal her from him, rather than it being Tails mad that Sonic was flirting with somebody other than him.

"Hi my name's Cosmo. Are you two brothers?" she asked, still not being used to the colloquial terms that the people of Central City used. Back in her home country, such terms such as bro only meant the literal meaning of relations, rather than a sign of good buddies.

"Huh?" Sonic gawped, completely confused by her literal meaning.

"Oh no Cosmo, we aren't related at all. That'd be kind of weird," the two boys chuckled. Cosmo joined in, not sure what the joke was but wanting to fit in with the fox's friends. "Close friends just call each other bro's here," Tails explained.

"Don't worry, I've been here for a couple of years now and some of the things they say still go over my head," Silver chimed in, extending a hand out to the seedrian. "The name is Silver."

"Oh really? You're quite tall, I would think more things would go over my head than yours," Cosmo replied in a naïve tone. Jet, Tails and Sonic burst out laughing, to which Cosmo again joined in although missing the joke. Silver just gave her a sympathetic smile, completely understanding her predicament. The silver hedgehog felt bad that she didn't understand all of the sayings, but at the same time he had to admit to himself that it was nice to not be the naïve one that everybody laughed at for once.

"Yeah, and I'm Jet," Jet shook her hand. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, and after Tails explained how he knew Cosmo, the seedrian began to emerge out of her shell a little bit as she became more and more comfortable.

After a couple more minutes of small talk, Cosmo finally worked up the nerve to ask Tails out, the thing she originally intended to do upon seeing him.

"Um, Tails… can I talk to you?" Cosmo asked sweetly, batting her eyelids ever so subtly.

"Yeah, sure."

"Just to you?" she asked again, moving her head to the other three.

"Oooooh, right. Well," Jet began, stretching his feathers. "I've gotta go and… ummm… do some homework. Catch you later guys," he concluded as he ran off.

"And I've got to go help him," Silver added, following along after the hawk.

"I promised I'd go hang out with Sally this afternoon so I should be off. Don't you two have too much fun," he winked at Tails before exiting the building, leaving the two alone.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Tails asked, unaware of her intended question.

"Well, I know we just met but you seem really funny and nice," Cosmo began.

"Thanks. I think the same about you."

"And I'd love to spend more time together," she continued.

"I'd like that too," the fox replied, oblivious to her intentions.

"So do you want to maybe have dinner with me some night this week?" Cosmo concluded her ramblings, her cheeks glowing the faintest shade of crimson.

"Yeah that sounds lovely. I just know we will become the best of friends," Tails giggled.

"No… I mean dinner as, like, more than friends," Cosmo squeaked, twiddling her thumbs to suppress the nerves that re-surfaced.

"Oh… sorry Cosmo… I think you're a great lady but I'm kinda already seeing somebody at the moment," Tails sighed, finally understanding what she meant as the final piece of the puzzle slotted neatly into place.

"Oh, yeah I should have guessed. I bet you're quite the ladies' man," she sighed. Tails couldn't help but let out a little laugh.

"Ha-ha, thanks but I wouldn't quite say that at the moment," Tails giggled. Cosmo tilted her head in confusion. Tails opened his mouth to explain when he noticed a small rabbit walk in through the front doors. "Cream!" he yelled, hopping up from the couch and wrapping his arms around her, enveloping the rabbit in a warm hug.

Cosmo furrowed her brow, noting the look on her face as she returned the hug, resting her head over his shoulder with a look of complete bliss on her face.

'So this is the girl. She's quite lucky,' Cosmo thought to herself.

"I'm so sorry Cosmo but I promised to help Cream out with a project tonight. It's only been a couple days and already she got slammed with a project. So unfair," Tails excused himself from the seedrian. "We still down for dinner sometime this week? I'll text you later so we can figure it out," he smiled as him and the rabbit walked out of the dorm.

"Yeah, whatever," Cosmo sulked, slouching back in the couch as she watched the rabbit and fox leave with envy.

…

Silver strolled through the winding paths of the campus grounds, scanning the endless sea of unfamiliar faces looking for something to do. He couldn't help but grumble to himself by having to leave the room for some random green girl, but he didn't dwell on it too much.

As he wondered alone, thoughts of Blaze slowly crept into his mind, creating an unsettling aura around the silver hedgehog. That's when Silver's eyes matched with shining eyes filled with curiosity, angst and anger.

"Scourge," Silver mumbled, walking over to the leather clad hedgehog, his arms folded over one another as he leant against a brick wall, one leg planted firmly on the ground while the other pushed against the maroon bricks. A cigarette hung limply out of his mouth, the end illuminated in a warming red glow. Scourge grunted, pushing off of the wall. He flicked the stick, little bits of ash falling from the cigarette. He inhaled deeply before tossing the cigarette to the ground, crushing it underneath the weight of his boot.

"Scourge…" Silver repeated as he walked up next to the other hedgehog. "Can we talk?" Scourge gave Silver a quick look over with his eyes before he opened his mouth, exhaling a large amount of smoke into the hedgehog's face. Silver spluttered, coughing up a storm as the intoxicating foul aroma of the smoke filled his mouth, eyes and nostrils.

"No."

"You can't keep ignoring me and treating me like shit. Do I really mean nothing to you?" Silver complained, standing his ground and keeping a gruff, authoritarian undertone to his voice.

"No, I guess you don't," Scourge admitted. A small smile crept its way onto Silver face but was immediately wiped away when Scourge opened his mouth again. "You mean less than nothing," he sneered.

"Well If that's the case then I guess you wouldn't care if I went off and had a little chat with Fiona. She'd love to hear some of my stories," Silver smirked, knowing he had the upper hand against the furious hedgehog. Scourge let out a guttural growl before he grabbed the loose fitting black t-shirt of the hedgehog, curling his fist around so that the back of his hand pressed into Silver's chest. Scourge lifted up Silver, the sound of fabric ripping filled Silver's ears as he gasped due to the sudden pain as he was hoisted off of the ground.

"Don't you dare," Scourge ground his teeth as he stared deep into Silver's fear filled eyes. Despite everything Silver had heard and seen about Scourge, he could never admit that the hedgehog he once knew was capable of showing this sort of animosity towards him.

"Keep your hands off of him!" A shrill voice pierced through the tension. Scourge and Silver both whipped their heads around just to see Breezie knock Scourge's arm, causing him to drop the flailing hedgehog.

"B…Breezie," Silver watched as Breezie narrowed her eyes, glaring at Scourge before winking at Silver and rushing off back the way she came. Silver just stood there, staring at her shrinking figure with lustful eyes.

"I'd know that look anywhere," Scourge smirked, showing his pointed white teeth. He took great note of the glint in Silver's eyes and the increase of a certain bulge.

"Shut it," Scourge snapped after Breezie had faded away into the distance.

"Old girlfriend perhaps?" Scourge taunted mercilessly.

"I said shut it. And no, much more than that," Silver snarled. The hedgehog was usually quite passive, never wanted to get into fights but something about Scourge pushed him over the edge. Scourge still knew how to push Silver's buttons.

"How about we make a deal then. You squeal to Fiona and I'll make sure Blaze knows all about little miss hot stuff over there," he grinned. Silver wanted to defy the green hedgehog. He wanted to take a stand and not let this beast who was inhabiting the body of somebody he thought he once knew to push him around, but Silver knew that he was beat.

"Okay," he sighed, holding out his hand. "Deal." Scourge smiled, spitting in his hand before clasping it around Silver's. The hedgehog shuddered, recoiling his now wet hand, shame washing over him.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing, I've always been like this," Scourge shrugged before he walked off, taking out another cigarette from the packet concealed in the inner pocket of his leather jacket. "Hope I don't see you around," he called before disappearing around the corner, leaving Silver alone to bash his skull lightly against the wall in defeat and sorrow.

…

Sonic: _Hey Sal, you free to hang?_

Sally: _Sorry Sonic, I'm kind of busy at the moment, reschedule?_

Sonic: _:(_

Sonic: _Yeah sure, you free tomorrow?_

Sally: _No, I got stuck with a stupid assignment, already! How about on Saturday?_

Sonic: _Yeah Sat works for me. See you then_

Sally: _Cool, see you soon_

Sonic sighed, twisting his phone over between his fingers, deliberating on whether he should try calling the pink hedgehog to see if she wanted to hang out, but decided against it, pocketing his phone.

Sonic sighed, placing both his hands behind his head as he aimlessly strolled the campus grounds, searching for anybody to entertain him before his next class began. He considered going for a short jog through the forest, but decided he didn't have enough time.

"Hey, Sonic!" A peppy voice called out, one the sapphire hedgehog didn't recognize. Sonic swirled around on his heels to face the direction that the voice echoed from. He furrowed his brow in confusion when he saw an unfamiliar orange porcupine rush up to him, wearing the same style. Both creatures donned red runners, jeans and a zip-up hoodie, but the porcupine wore a grey one where Sonic coated himself in a deep azure blue colour not dissimilar to his fur and quills that seem to merge seamlessly into the hoodie.

"Hey buddy…" Sonic was at a loss for words. It was almost like he was looking into a mirror. A shorter, different coloured mirror, but one nonetheless. "Nice to meetcha, my name is-" Sonic began, smirking as his initial confusion dissipated from his mind to be replaced with curiosity and intrigue.

"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog," Spike finished the hedgehog's sentence. Sonic's jaw dropped, falling open. He slowly closed it like an electric garage door. He was unable to comprehend how the porcupine could know his name, let alone be able to imitate the way he normally introduced himself to others.

"How did you…" Sonic began, but trailed off.

"Don't you remember me?" Spike questioned, pouting slightly. "It's me, Spike. Spike the Porcupine."

'There it is again,' Sonic thought, noting how the porcupine was not only mirroring his fashion style but also the way he stood, spoke and it seemed like their tone of voice was eerily similar. Sonic started to lose his nerves a bit, completely taken off guard by this strange, new kid.

"Do you really not remember me? You know… the little slow kid?" Spike asked, hope in his voice. Sonic wracked his brain, searching the far reaches of his memory for even a string of remembrance of a short, orange porcupine but nothing came to him. He shook his head. Spike sagged his shoulders, saddened by Sonic's forgetfulness.

"Oh well, that doesn't matter right now. Wanna be best friends?" Spike blew the words out of his mouth quickly, each one smashing into Sonic.

Sonic took a step back, taken aback by the porcupine and his sudden question.

"I… um… sorry kid but I already have a best friend," Sonic said, not really wanting to entertain this strange clone of himself any longer. Clearly this porcupine had met him before and Sonic considered that he must have made quite the impression considering the display in front of him, but couldn't remember a thing.

"And there he is now. Got to go," Sonic used the sight of his fox friend, walking next to the rabbit girl, as a quick excuse to make a speedy exit. He turned and sprinted off towards them without even a word of goodbye, too creeped out by the experience to care.

'He is still as speedy as when I met him,' Spike thought. 'That fox is one lucky guy.'

…

Jet exited down the small descending steps at the entrance of the dormitory, passing by a few pockets of kids loitering on the steps. Some munching down on snacks, others sharing in a hearty laugh and some just studying in the rare sunlight which managed to breach its way through the dense wall of clouds that had loomed overhead throughout the week. It was like a thick soup, engulfing the entirety of Central City and the gloomy atmosphere was getting to the city inhabitants, especially the annoyed teenagers who attended Green Hill Academy out in the country side.

'It's been quite a wet winter,' Jet thought to himself, stuffing his hands into the baggy pocket of his red jacket as he continued to wade aimlessly around the sea of faces. He cast his gaze downwards, watching with glazed eyes as his converse shoes squelched through the muddy ground. Depression continued to threaten the sad bird, but he always just thought back to his little rabbit girlfriend in times of sorrow.

Cream was like a ray of sunshine, parting the clouds like curtains and lighting up his life. He was so glad that he had her in her life. Not only was she cute, funny, and great in bed, but she was just always a source of joy in his otherwise grey life. She brought in happiness and colour.

However, it was times like this, when Jet was alone, not surrounded by his friends and rivals, that thoughts of the only other girl that ever gave him that kind of satisfaction, even more, edged their way from the dark reaches of his mind. Thoughts of her. Of…

"…Wave!?" The words were caught in Jet's mouth. He tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat just upon witnessing the pink feathered swallow from far away but he couldn't force it down. His vision blurred and all noise around him was replaced with white noise as he stared absentmindedly at Wave as she walked up the small staircase and disappeared into the dormitory that he had only just came from.

Jet couldn't stop his thoughts from running back to his childhood. Back to a simpler time when it was just him and Wave against the world. He thought about how beautiful she always looked when they were small. How lucky he was to have such an amazing swallow as his next door neighbor and how humbled he felt that she reciprocated his feelings of them being best friends.

Yet, as always, whenever he thought about her, his mind always opened up the same can of worms that he thought he put to bed long ago. The image and memory combined in his mind to explode into the most vivid memory he ever had and ever would have again. The memory of that fateful morning all those years ago when everything changed between them forever.

* * *

 _A/N: Sorry for the long delay and here's a pre-emptive apology for another long delay, although not as long as this one was. Thank's so much for sticking with me and this story, it means a lot that you guys are liking it. Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought about the arks, plots that were set up, mysteries that will all eventually unfold (some immediately, some eventually and some in a long time) and characters. Thanks for reading :)_

 _Next time on SH:EL  
_

 _Knuckles and Julie-Su have a fated meeting_

 _Sonic and Tails talk about their relationship... but with other people_

 _Mina confronts Tails_

 _Jet has a flashback to his childhood with Wave_

 _And Blaze takes a turn (for better or worse?)_

 _All this and so much more, next time in Chapter 9: Confusing Talks_


	9. Chapter 9: Confusing Talks

_A/N: Welcome back to another chapter. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and get back into a schedule but since all the chapters of this story are quite long, being at the absolute least 6000 words each, but most ending up at around the 8000 mark, every 4 days is a bit too much for me. I'm going to try to stick to an every 5 day schedule but honestly i might not make that. No matter what happens, there will definitely be at least one chapter a week, but sometimes there may be two if I'm fast enough. Reviews, favourites, follows and interactions always help keep me motivated and motivation is the driving force of these stories (hint hint:P) but i'll definitely get one out a week at the very least. Anyway, enjoy chapter 9!_

* * *

Chapter 9

Confusing Talks

 _I ran home from school, hand in my hands as I darted around street corners. School was always horrible for me. I was bullied relentlessly by all of the mammals just because I was different. I hated my primary school, despite only being in 2_ _nd_ _grade at the time. The students hated me. Their parents hated me. The teachers hated me. I had no friends at all because everybody hated me, just because I was a stupid bird. The only non-mammal in my whole primary school. Well, apart from her…_

 _I didn't want my parents to see me cry. Dad never liked it. He always just told me to go drink a glass of cement and toughen up. I decided to head up to the neighboring park. The clouded heavens looked down on me, showering the surrounding area in a light drizzle, mirroring my demeanor._

 _I jumped up onto one of the swing sets, head in hands as I gently pushed myself backwards and forwards, wishing for a better life. Wishing I could be anywhere else. That's when she showed up. The pink swallow that burst her way into my life when everything seemed so gloomy, acting as the one ray of sunshine that permeated through the ever setting, low-lying layer of grey cumulonimbus clouds._

 _"_ _Hey, are you alright?" the swallow asked me, noting the tears streaming down my cheeks._

 _"_ _Yeah… I'm fine," I sniffed, rubbing away the stray tears and mucus that was dripping slowly from my nose with the back of my hand._

 _"_ _You don't look fine. Mind if I sit with you?" She asked, grabbing the metal chain that attached the black rubber seat to the wooden framework holding the swings aloft. I nodded slightly as she mounted the swing next to me and pushed against the ground, the force propelling her backwards as she looked at me, her smile mesmerizing._

 _"_ _So, what's up," she asked._

 _"_ _I… I'm just," I hesitated, never usually being the one to open up. Since most people I met hated my guts, I had a hard time ever trusting people and grew quite anxious in conversations. I guess that's why I grew so attached to her so quickly, and to people ever since. "I'm the only bird in school and everybody thinks I'm a freak and bully me all the time," I sighed finally, allowing the swallow in._

 _"_ _Well, not anymore," she smiled. I tilted my head, curious as to the connotation of her words but when she explained how she just moved to my school, I was over joyed._

 _"_ _Guess we can be the only birds together, yeah?" I nodded and she laughed. "My name is Wave," she said, holding out her hand._

 _"_ _I-I-I'm Jet," I stuttered, clasping my own hand in hers. She gripped my feathers firmly with hers and shook._

 _"_ _Good to meet you Jet, I know we will just be the best of friends," she beamed the most wonderful smile. For the first time in my life, I felt something I have never felt before. I felt accepted. I felt like I belonged, like I had a friend. I felt like I was in love._

 _We were best friends ever since. Well, up until the end of primary and middle school, at the end of year 8. We were talking excitedly about getting ready to move to Mobius High together the next year when everything turned to shit. When I lost her for what I thought was forever…_

Jet sighed, pulling the covers further over his head. He hadn't left the bed all weekend, still thinking about the pink swallow he saw the other day. He didn't know whether to talk to her or not. What to say or what he should do. It was eating him up inside.

Ray, the yellow squirrel sighed to himself that Sunday afternoon after Jet spent another day in bed. He hardly ate or moved at all. Ray set a plate down next to the green hawk and filled up another glass of water, both he smuggled out of the dining area to bring up to his roommate before silently sneaking out of the room to leave Jet to his own devices.

…

"Are you going to do it this time?" Breezie asked, combing a hand through her long hair as she blinked at the purple haired mongoose.

"I said I'd do it eventually, just back off," Mina huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, obscuring her breasts as she pouted at her hedgehog friend.

"Look, Sonic is a really hot, athletic guy but you haven't seen him with any girl except that lesbo pink hedgehog so you know they aren't together. He might not be single for much longer so you gotta jump aboard that ship now before it sails away forever, girl," Breezie said, trying to give Mina the pep talk she needed to finally ask Sonic out.

The mongoose had been secretly stalking Sonic for the past couple of days after seeing him earlier.

"But I don't know… what if he refuses?" Mina sighed, letting some of her insecurities cloud her better judgement.

"So, what's the worst that could happen?" Breezie shrugged.

"He could say no and then make everybody hate me and then a zombie apocalypse happens and the only thing that could save everybody was if he kissed me but he was so repulsed by me that he would rather just be eaten by the hordes of zombies and then I try to save him and he doesn't let me and it's just us two left and then he jumps into a crowd and then I watch him get torn to bits and then he comes back as a zombie and then he tries to eat me and then-"

"Mina!" Breezie yelled over the rambling mongoose who heaved heavily, allowing large quantities of oxygen to reach her deprived lungs after her nonsensical spouting.

"Sorry," she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Hey guys, what's going on over here?" A peppy orange porcupine walked up, taking a seat next to Breezie as he joined in on the conversation. "You guys weren't talking about hot I am right?"

"Haha, yeah right," Breezie rolled her eyes sarcastically, giving Spike a playful punch in his right arm. He faked a laugh, trying to mask the sadness that washed over him. "Just trying to convince Mina to go ask Sonic out already."

"Sonic the Hedgehog? Man that guy is so cool. If you don't do it I just might," Spike joked, earning a kick underneath the table by Mina.

"I just don't know if I can do i…" she hesitated as she noticed the sapphire hedgehog pass by the open doors. He turned his head, smiling. Mina melted at the sight of that beautiful, leg weakening smile. "I'll do it," she concluded, a newfound determined flare in her eyes.

"Wish me luck," Mina sung out as she got up and ran out of the dining area.

"Some people just never learn," Breezie shook her head as she picked up her can of soda and took a sip, washing down the salad that she was munching on. "She just needs to work up the courage to ask. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Yeah…" Spike's eyes darted left to right. "About that…" he fidgeted in his seat, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as he tried to steel his nerves for his impending proclamation of love to the hedgehog. "Breezie… I wanted to ask you…"

"Well, at least you're not a romantic wreck," Breezie laughed, turning to Spike. "I'm so glad to have a best friend like you. Anyway, what were you saying Spike?" she asked, beaming a warming smile to the porcupine.

"N-Nothing," he sighed, slinking further down into his chair as he mentally scolded himself.

Meanwhile, Mina chased after the sapphire hedgehog, finally catching up to him. She tapped him on the back of the shoulder, causing him to spin around on his ruby red shoes to face her.

"Oh, hey," he mumbled.

"Hey there," Mina cooed, blinking her eyelashes at Sonic and beaming him a cute smile, using all the techniques she learned from Breezie to seem as seductive as possible.

"Are you okay? You're doing something funny with your eyes," Sonic remarked. "Can I help?"

"Wh-what? Oh, no, you're perfect," she mumbled seductively, putting her hand around his waist. "So, are you doing anything tonight?" she whispered into his ear.

"Nothing really," he shrugged.

"Well, would you like to do something like me?" Mina fluttered her eyelashes again.

"Do you mean something with you?" he corrected her.

"I know what I said," she faked a giggle, slapping him gently on the stomach. "You're so funny though."

"Look, I know what you are trying to do but sorry, I'm not interested. I hope you understand… um, I never caught your name," Sonic finished, taking a step back from the annoyed Mina who fumed angrily after putting in her everything to flirt with the obnoxious acting hedgehog.

"Humph, the name is Mina," she sighed. "Okay, whatever. I'll see you around," her shoulders sagged as she turned to walk away from a confused hedgehog.

"What just happened?" Sonic asked to himself, bewildered as he watched the mongoose leave. However, his eyes were not the only pair watching the attractive mongoose walk away. A certain shaggy quilled, green hedgehog watched with an open mouth and tight pants as Mina passed by him.

"Who was that," Manic mumbled to himself, watching her walk past him wide-eyed.

…

"What kind of campus doesn't have a freaking footy team?" Knuckles grunted, angrily spouting his complaints aloud to himself. "And where the hell has Jet been? He was supposed to come join a new sport with me but he hasn't responded to any of my texts."

"Have you tried calling him?" Rouge asked, walking beside Knuckles with her arm draped around his shoulders.

"Yes, twice!" Knuckles complained. "Whatever, who needs him. I'll go find another sport. I hear this team is pretty kick-ass at basketball," Knuckles pondered, breaking apart from Rouge.

"Okay, well I'm going to go to class. Good luck," she smiled, giving him a peck on the lips. "And make sure you don't get changed out of those sexy basketball shorts when you sneak into my room tonight," Rouge winked before turning and walking away. Knuckles waited, watching her grow smaller and smaller until he finally managed to make himself turn away from her and walked into the gym.

Knuckles scanned the large, empty area. It was a generic looking gymnasium. Wooden, veneered floors that looked freshly waxed lined the ground. Lines of white, red and yellow were painted neatly along the floor, crisscrossing all over the place as the boundaries of many indoor sports took up the flooring. Two basketball rings stood high at either end and the walls were lined with wooden bleachers for spectators to sit, stand and cheer on the winning teams.

There was nobody else here, except one lone female steadily dribbling a basketball on the ground and between her legs. The consistent sounds of the ball ricocheting off the floorboards and back into her flat palm echoed throughout the gym, enticing him to walk further in. Knuckles' presence remained unnoticed as he walked up behind her until he opened his mouth to speak.

"Um, hello? I'm here to try out for the team," Knuckles finally piped up. The girl caught the ball in one hand and turned around, her eyes blinking as she looked at him. The echidna in question donned a tight fitting basketball shirt and her white sports bra was clearly visible through the thin, loose fabric. Her long pink hair was tied up behind her in a ponytail and sweat coated her brow.

"Name and year level," the echidna stated, almost robotically. Her mechanical tone showed that this wasn't the first person who had come in to try to join the team that Friday afternoon.

"Oh, no you don't understand," Knuckles said. "I'm looking for the coach."

"You're looking at her. The name is Julie-Su," Julie stated indignantly, tonguing her cheek.

"Wait, you're the coach?" he asked.

"Yep, and team captain. Why, is it too unbelievable that a girl can be the captain?" she scoffed, clearly this wasn't the first time that day that a guy had come in underestimating her skills because of her gender.

"No, it's not that. I just thought that there was a guy's team that I could join," Knuckles corrected her.

"All teams here are co-ed. Don't like it, don't join," Julie stated.

"But doesn't that seem a little unfair since all the other schools we play are all guy teams."

"Oh, you did not just say that." Knuckles pressed the palm of his hand deeply into his forehead.

"No, no I didn't mean it like that. I just meant-"

"If you think you're so good then why don't we have a little one on one. I'll show you how good a girl can be," Julie interrupted him before he could dig himself out of the metaphorical hole that he had created for himself. Knuckles smirked.

"Okay, you're on." Knuckles pulled off his jacket, revealing his gym shirt that he used to wear when working out at the gym back in Central City. He took his position underneath the basket, knees bent and arms outstretched waiting for her attack.

Julie smiled before she began dribbling the ball. She quite easily out maneuvered the echidna, faking left before spinning around, keeping complete control of the ball the whole time, and performing a perfect layup.

"Hm, you're up," she smirked confidently, throwing the ball at Knuckles who caught her pass. "You haven't seen nothing yet."

The two echidna's continued playing, passing 5, 10 and 15 baskets each. They were very evenly matched, neither one giving an inch. If one scored, the other did right after and if one missed a shot, they defended perfectly and stopped the other from scoring also. Before they realized it, an hour had passed and they both only needed one more basket to win.

Knuckles laughed as Julie bounced the ball between his legs, darting around him to catch it in midair and shoot it into the air, cheering as she watched it bounce off of the back board and slide cleanly through the ring.

"Yes, I win," she cheered, doing a cute little victory dance in front of Knuckles who stood there, cross armed smirking at her.

"Humble, aren't we," he sneered jokingly.

"Jealous, aren't we," she shot back. They threw insults and compliments at each other back and forth before both bursting out into laughter.

"You know what, you're alright Knuckles," Julie smiled. "Maybe I'll see you around, off court," she smiled as she picked up a towel and wiped the sweat off her face.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, captivated by the echidna as she walked off the court and exited through the doors, heading for the change rooms and showers situated next to the gym.

Little did Knuckles know that the envious teal eyes of a curvaceous bat were twitching angrily as they watched Knuckles stand there, completely gob smacked.

…

Silver was sitting on the indigo couches that littered the main dorming area, head phones in his ears as he nodded along to the music he was listening to. Beside him, lounging on what she considered the more comfortable, aqua couches was a certain auburn haired squirrel, reading a book.

Silver suddenly shot up, startled at the deafeningly loud sound of his ringtone shoot through his speakers. His phone vibrated and Silver glanced down at his phone to see who was calling him.

 **Dr. Geoffrey**

Silver fumbled his phone, violently ripping out his headphones from their socket as he thrust the silver device up to his ear.

"Hello, doctor, how is she? Is she okay? Did she take a turn for the worst? Say it ain't so!" Silver berated the calm, complacent skunk on the other end of the line. Sally looked up from her book, intrigued by the one sided conversation that she heard Silver have with the doctor.

"Don't worry Silver, Blaze is fine. In fact, she is better than fine. She has actually woken up from her coma," Geoffrey explained.

"What?! She's awake!" Silver shouted into the receiver. Sally's eyes bulged as she fixated on the silver hedgehog. A huge wave of relief washed over her as she reveled in the good news. All Sally could think of since the accident was her horrible fight with the cat. She wished more than anything that she could talk to Blaze and apologize, and it looked like her dreams might be able to come true after all.

"What, she asked to see me now? Aw doc, I can't come right now. I've got this wicket stupid project due tonight. Can you tell Blaze that I'll come back to Central City on the weekend to visit her?" he sighed, hating his teacher more and more with each passing second.

Silver heard muffled, unintelligible whispers on the other end before Geoffrey came back, cleared his throat and accepted his request.

"Feel free to visit at any time between nine and five on Saturday, Silver," he said. Silver thanked the doctor and moved his phone to hang up the call, but was stopped just before by Sally who snatched the phone away from him.

"Hey doctor, it's Blaze's friend Sally. Does she mind if I come visit her today? I don't have anything on tonight and can go catch the bus back right now," Sally almost shouted into the speaker. Another muffled conversation was held before the skunk agreed, saying that she wouldn't have that long with the patient but Sally thanked him and hung up.

Silver glared angrily at her but Sally dismissed his gaze.

"Sorry Silver but I really need to apologize to her. We had a big fight before the fire and I feel so guilty about everything that happened. Since you couldn't go, I thought I could at least keep her company today," Sally explained.

"Thanks Sally, you're a good friend," Silver smiled, standing up to wrap his arms around the surprised squirrel. "Can you please tell her that I love her and miss her too?" Sally nodded before sprinting out the door and over to the administration building to organize transport for herself into the city.

…

Mina sat, sulking under a grand tree, curled up into a ball with her head placed firmly between her knees. She wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to calm herself down after the completely embarrassing display she just put on for Sonic.

"Ugh, what the hell was that, Mina?" she scolded herself, pulling up a handful of grass and throwing it into the air, watching as it was picked up by the wind currents and taken aloft on a new journey.

"M-Mina? Mina, is that you!?" A young voice called out to her. Mina tilted her head upwards to look at the person standing before her. As her gaze shifted upwards, her eyes glanced over red shoes, twin tails, golden fur and eventually made their way to peer into a pool of azure.

"Tails, I thought I saw you the other day," she cheered, suddenly jumping up from her position and greeting him with a big hug. "I can't believe it is really you!"

"It's so good to see you again," Tails smiled, returning the hug. The two stood in each other's embrace for a few minutes before Tails quickly stepped backwards, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Heh, yeah, good to see you again."

"How long has it been? Five, six years?" Mina laughed, thinking back happily on pleasant memories.

"Yeah it has…" Tails mumbled, something else clearly on his mind. "Mina… why were you sitting like that, looking so sad?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some boy issues," she waved him off, not wanting to talk about it to the fox that she once knew so well.

"Come on, Mina. You know you can trust me. I know it's been a while but maybe I can help you out," Tails tried to coerce her. Mina didn't know why, but just like back then, she couldn't help but place her complete trust in him just like before.

"Well, okay, on one condition," she smirked, winking at the fox. "You have to tell me if you have a girlfriend. I remember you always used to go on and on about how you really wanted that special somebody back in the day," she giggled.

"Mina, always trying to intrude on my love life like always," Tails shared in the laugh, stopping when he peered deep into her shimmering eyes. Tails darted his head to the side, breaking the eye contact.

"Still shy," she giggled again. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"Nope, still the same old me and I still don't have a girlfriend. I was seeing this rabbit girl for a long time but we broke up because now I'm goi-" Tails began but Mina interrupted him, unable to contain herself any longer.

"Oh, you're single! So could you possibly help me out with something?" Mina asked.

"Well, I'm not entirely-"

"I really like this guy but I kinda screwed it up. Do you know Sonic the Hedgehog?" Tails eyes widened and he immediately shut his mouth, no longer trying to explain to Mina that he doesn't have a girlfriend, but in fact a boyfriend. The same boyfriend that she seemed to be keen on.

"Um… yeah, he is my best friend," Tails said finally after a moments pause, deciding not to mention his connection with Sonic straight away until he got a little more information out of his old friend.

"Good, can you put in a good word for me? Thanks, you're still the best," Mina gave Tails a quick peck on the cheek before rushing off without another word.

"Well, she still rushes off completely out of the blue," Tails chuckled as he watched her go. "I guess some things never really do change…"

…

Sally arrived at the hospital a lot later than she had previously anticipated. She glanced down at her little wrist watch that she always wore around her left wrist and noted that it was a quarter to five, meaning that she barely had anytime to see the burnt cat. Sally rushed over to the front desk, inquiring about Blaze before being sent up to her room.

"You only have fifteen minutes before we have to ask you to leave," the small monkey woman at the front desk called out. Sally just flashed a thumbs up, not looking back as she sped up the staircase, ascending faster than the elevator, before bursting out onto the floor where Blaze's room was.

When Sally arrived at the door, she rattled her knuckles against the flimsy door before hearing a sore, quiet voice respond on the other side.

"Come… in," the voice coughed. Sally opened the door and Blaze's crusted eyes instantly grew with anger. The cat tried to turn away from the squirrel to show her disgust but groaned in pain at the immense effort it took for her frail body.

"Blaze, don't move, you need some more time to heal before you can get up," Sally soothed, approaching closer to the bed.

"Please… go… away," she responded in a low, gravelly tone. Her raspy voice croaked out through her throat, seemingly begging for some water to cool her singed skin. Sally struggled to look at the cat, but forced herself to keep eye contact despite the sight. She had to keep breaking her sentences to take a slow, deep wheeze to accommodate her recovering lungs.

Blaze stared back at the auburn haired girl. Her whole body was bruised and black, with only small patches of newly grown purple hair to accent her figure. She looked weak, frail, but in much better condition than she had been during the coma.

"Blaze… I," Sally began, choosing her words carefully. "I'm really sorry about all the mean things I said to you back at school. I know you were just trying to look out for me and I acted like a complete jerk. I just wanted to show you how much I'm sorry and how much I value your friendship and… well…" she finished, turning a quarter turn and rolling up her sleeve to show the less than violet feline a small patch stuck to her forearm.

"Is… that… a…?" Blaze forced out.

"Yep, it's a nicotine patch. You were the wakeup call I needed and I'm trying my hardest to quit. I still have cravings and it is getting quite hard to concentrate but every time I reach for a pack, I just picture you and throw it away. It's been tough, but it's worth it," Sally smiled when she saw the beginnings of a smile creep on Blaze's face. The violet feline said nothing, but raised her hands slightly, inviting Sally over to her.

Sally hesitated but eventually made her way to Blaze's bedside and bent down, giving the cat a gentle hug.

"Ouch," Blaze coughed when Sally squeezed slightly too hard.

"Ohmygosh, I'm sorry," Sally apologized swiftly, jumping back slightly. Blaze pointed to the glass of water beside her bed and Sally handed it to her, watching as Blaze eagerly and greedily gulped down the cooling liquid contained inside its glass prison.

"I'm sorry… too," Blaze finally said after finishing off the water. Sally looked at her, furrowing her brow in confusion as she didn't understand the cat's apology. "Sorry that I… was so hard on… you for smoking."

"Oh, don't worry about that, it's all in the past," Sally confirmed, waving away the idea that Blaze entertained but the frail cat insisted on continuing.

"No… it isn't okay," Blaze coughed, forcing the words out despite the discomfort that they caused her. "You were just a good… friend and I didn't… want to see it happen… to you too."

"Thanks Blaze, I think you're a good friend too. But, what was it you were worried about happening to me? It's just a cigarette," Sally responded.

"I… well it wasn't me but… it was my mother…" Blaze began. "When I was younger… my mother used to smoke all… the time and I often… spent nights sleeping and breathing in her… second hand smoke. It… was quite gross…" Blaze chuckled before falling into another coughing fit. Sally waited patiently, offering her a fresh glass of water to help her before she was in a condition to continue her story.

"When I was little… mum went to the doctor… and when she came home dad was… crying. It turns out that… she developed lung cancer and… died the year after, after a short… but painful battle with the cancer that…. Viciously attacked her from her lungs." Sally nodded, her heart breaking from the felines story.

"I promised myself… from that day on that I… wouldn't let anybody else close… to me get taken by those… bastard cigarettes and… cancer… that's why when I first… saw you smoking I… acted quite rashly…" Blaze wheezed. Sally didn't respond, she just sat down at the foot of Blaze's bed, took one of her singed hands in her own and smiled at the cat.

"Thank you," Sally smiled, her insides churning.

"Hey… I told you that smoking… wasn't going to be the death of me…" Blaze managed to stifle a little laugh, joined in by Sally until suddenly her giggles turned into gasps and she began coughing uncontrollably. The monitor hooked up to her that maintained a steady beeping, coinciding with her heart beat suddenly started beeping infrequently and Blaze's eyes began to rotate backwards into her head.

"I'm sorry Miss Acorn but I'm going to have to ask you to-" Geoffrey the doctor walked in, staring at his clipboard when he suddenly stopped upon seeing the cat's deteriorating display. "Quick, nurse, code blue! I need some free hands to Blaze the Cat's room stat!" he barked down the hallway before rushing over to the cat's bed.

"Sally, I'm going to need you to leave," the skunk said, trying to help stabilize the cat as a couple of nurses carrying medical equipment rushed into the room.

"But I can-"

"Leave, now!" Geoffrey barked. Sally nodded and quickly left the room, glancing back over her shoulder at the coughing, wheezing cat that was just talking calmly not moments before.

…

Tails got up from his bed when he heard a gentle knock at the door.

"Tails? You in there?" A deep, masculine voice called from the other side of the room. Tails hopped off the bed and walked to the door, opening it a crack to be greeted with a warm smile and crimson eyes staring down at him.

"Shadow, I'm glad you could make it, come in," Tails smiled, inviting him into the dorm room he shared with his roommates.

"Thanks, I'm sorry that we couldn't hang out somewhere else but everybody seems to have it out for me right now and I don't really want to be seen in public until this whole fire thing blows over," he sighed, collapsing on Tails' bed.

"Don't worry. They just don't know you like I do. Sonic and I know you didn't do it and I know that Rouge doesn't either," Tails tried to offer support.

"I wouldn't know," Shadow replied bitterly. "Rouge has been so wrapped up in Knuckles the past couple of days that I can't even get the time of day. I think leaving her for a month without explanation hurt her more than I realized," he sighed.

"Hey, come on," Tails soothed, joining Shadow on the bed. "She'll come around. Just give her time and show her that you will always be there for you."

"Thanks. Hey, where is Sonic anyway? I just assumed he'd be here to hang with us," Shadow shrugged, looking around the messy room and the three bare beds.

"Oh, Sally returned from the hospital a little while ago and he is keeping her company over in her room until curfew."

"What about your other roommates?"

"Mighty is probably off with Ray and Clove somewhere," Tails began.

"Mighty?" Shadow interrupted. "You mean that arrogant armadillo asshole? I hate that guy!"

"Yeah, but he's actually a really cool guy once you get to know him," Tails defended the absent red shelled armadillo.

"Whatever," Shadow scoffed. "He's a fucking dick and he's probably getting fucked by that shaky squirrel's dick right now," Shadow sneered. His smirk was wiped off his face when Tails jabbed his elbow into Shadow's ribs. "Ouch, Chaos, I'm sorry alright, but he is a dick."

"You'll warm up to him soon," Tails replied. "And, well our other roommate isn't ever really around. He is kinda like you. Looks the same too. Keeps to himself and only really comes to the room well after curfew ends," Tails pondered the strange hedgehog.

"Mephiles?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Lucky guess, I guess," Shadow shrugged, smiling as he thought back to his strange encounter with the doppelganger from earlier that week.

"I don't know what he does? It's not like there is a Saturday night life here on campus," Tails giggled. Shadow smiled, letting out a quite chuckle.

"Yeah, but it's not like we used to go out and hit the town on Saturday nights last semester either."

"If I recall correctly, it was exactly like this. You and me, sitting on a bed together talking at nine on a Saturday night," Tails smiled. Shadow looked over and smiled back at the fox, both reminiscing on old times.

"So, how are you and Sonic going," Shadow responded, changing the subject.

"It's alright I guess," Tails said, resting his head on his two hands that were placed behind his head.

"Tails… I'm not jealous or anything. I've moved on so you don't have to lie to me. You and I are good friends, and good friends talk about their relationships," Shadow stared at the fox, looking somewhat offended by Tails' response.

"Okay, sorry, I know you've moved on. I just didn't want to be rude," Tails looked down at his stomach before meeting Shadow's gaze as azure met crimson. After realizing that the hedgehog truly had moved on to other people, Tails finally responded.

"Well… honestly… it is perfect. He is everything I have ever wanted. I love him so much, Shadow. He is just so kind, and sweet, and funny and makes me feel on top of the world."

"That's good Tails," Shadow smiled, genuinely happy for his close friend. "That's good."

…

Sonic lay next to Sally on her bed, a big bag of salt and vinegar chips between them. He reached a salty hand into the packet and pulled out a handful of chips, stuffing them into his face happily.

"Slow down," Sally laughed, picking out an equally large handful of the chips and stuffing her gullet full as well.

"Look who's talking," Sonic laughed. The two had been deep in conversation ever since Sally returned home from the hospital, saddened. She had promised Sonic that they could hang out that night and despite accepting begrudgingly, she was so glad that they had a talk.

"That's a shame about Blaze, I hope she is alright," Sonic sighed.

"Don't worry, she's tough. She can pull through again. The doctor said he'd call Silver when she wakes up again but he is going to visit her tomorrow anyway so we will be able to know how she is holding up when he returns," she sighed, munching down more chips.

"Speaking of fiery females," Sonic began, changing the subject with a cringey Segway. "How are you and Amy going?"

"That was horrible," Sally punched Sonic's arm playfully as she laughed at his remark. "You're such a dork."

"Yeah, but I'm a dork that you're stuck with," he smirked at the squirrel who giggled, raising a hand to block her mouth as little bits of chewed up chips sprayed from her mouth.

"Can you guys quite down a bit? I'm trying to read over here," Sonia called out from her bed in the other side of the room.

"Oh shut it Sonia," Sonic attacked back playfully, throwing a pillow at her. Despite not even knowing each other for more than two weeks, the two were quite alike and acted more and more like siblings each day.

"Watch your tone, or maybe I can go tell Tails and Amy that I caught you two in bed together," she winked.

"Fully clothed!" Sally retorted.

"Still under the covers together," Sonia laughed. "And it wouldn't be a lie either."

"Go back to your book and stop eavesdropping, sis," Sonic growled lightly.

"Ha-ha, okay whatever," Sonia chuckled as she reached into her bedside draw and pulled out a set of earbuds, plugging them into her phone and selecting her favourite band. She nodded along to the music that played through the cords, blocking out the sounds of the world around her.

"Well, anyway… we are going pretty well, I guess. I don't know. We made up and things have been going fine but she seems sort of distant recently. And we haven't really been… intimate, since the big fight last week," Sally sighed, staring down at her feet which were concealed by the covers.

"She'll come around. I know Amy better than anybody, we were together for a long time. She likes to try to hold a grudge but it never lasts very long."

"Thanks, Sonic. So, what about you and Tails. Still in paradise? You guys are like the cutest couple I know."

Sonic sighed. "I wish the rest of the school thought that. Everybody is still kind of uncomfortable with the whole me and him thing. We are trying not to let it get to us but going from top of the school to the bottom is hard, y'know?"

"That's so wrong to say, but I get you. It's worth it for him though, isn't it?" Sally asked.

"Yeah I guess, but it's not just the popularity and awkward glances we get. It's just that… um… never mind. Forget I said anything," Sonic replied, trying to change the conversation.

"You know me better than that. I'm not going to forget anything. Come on, out with it. Or do you need to be visited by the tickle monster," Sally smirked.

"Really, the tickle monster? That used to be funny back when we were in primary school but we are 18, Sa- ahahahahahaha, quite it!" Sonic slapped her hand away as she writhed her fingers into Sonic's side, tickling his sensitive skin underneath the white t-shirt that he draped over his torso.

"What was that? You're too old for this to work?" Sally laughed back. Sonia looked over at the two, giggling silently to herself.

'He is so immature,' she thought to herself, watching the tickle fight display that she was witnessing.

"Okay, okay, I give," Sonic breathed, gasping for air after laughing too hard and for too long. Sally had him pinned underneath her, threatening to continue her onslaught unless he opened up to her. "You're mean."

"Thanks."

"Well… that thing it… I…" Sonic mulled over his choice of words in his head carefully, picking out the right words that he wanted to say. "It's not like it was at the start. Sure, there are perks, but it's just sort of, I don't know, weird now. Like Tails has changed so much and I don't like it. He's turning into Amy. He's jealous, he's clingy and whenever we are alone he just wants to cuddle or kiss or-"

"Okay, stop right there. I get your point," Sally interjected, piecing together the end of that sentence herself. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I love him, but I love him as my best friend more. I just want my best buddy back and if Tails can't be my best little buddy _and_ my boyfriend, well I chose best friend Tails over boyfriend Tails. Does that make sense?" Sonic finished.

"Not really, but I get what you mean. Maybe you guys were just meant to be best friends and nothing more," Sally nodded.

"Yeah… I guess I'll try to let him down gently next time I see him," Sonic breathed, saddened by his decision. Deep down, however, he knew he was making the right choice.

Meanwhile, on the bed beside them, Sonia frowned slightly, secretly listening into the conversation. She hoped that everything between the two would turn out fine, but after some past experiences she had a really bad feeling about the following day for her brother.

…

"I don't know man, I just feel really bad for not being able to go see her with Sally today," Silver sighed, turning over on his bed to face the dark indigo darkling that copied Silver's movements on his own mattress.

"At least you finished that project today, right?" Eclipse asked. Silver nodded, smiling at the darkling.

"Thanks to you. Thanks for staying to keep me company these past couple of days."

"Yeah, well I had to do the project too and since we are roommates for the next six months whether we like it or not, I thought we may as well get to know each other," Eclipse shrugged, shaking off the disguised compliment that Silver sent him.

"Well, we've been talking about my love life and Blaze and Breezie enough for tonight, what about you? I know nothing about your love life. Is there a special lady for you?" Silver asked.

"Well… maybe there is this one girl," Eclipse admitted after a slight pause.

"C'mon man, out with it," Silver pursued the small thread that Eclipse left hanging for him, hoping to unravel the whole sweater, and the truth concealed inside.

"Do you know this girl called Tikal?"

"Oh, Tikal, yeah she's alright. Horrible taste in men though," Silver admitted. "Why?"

"S-Seriously?" Silver just looked at the darkling. "Why do you think why? She is the one girl I like," he muttered, annoyed. Silver followed his grumblings with a long, drawn out 'oh.'

"Maybe you can change her taste in men then. Just be confident around her. She likes confident, funny guys," Silver added.

"Thanks, that's sort of along the lines of what Mighty told me. I'm thinking of asking her to go to Elias' big party next week with me," Eclipse sighed happily.

"What party?"

"Oh, yeah you new guys don't know. Elias is like, the king of the school here. He throws a really big party each term, or four a year if you want to look at it that way, and because of it he is like Mr. Popular here. All the girls love him, all the guys want to be him and everybody who is anybody goes to his parties. They are always so crazy and he always goes out and hires some big abandoned building or hotel or cruise ship or something since his parents are super-duper rich," Eclipse finished.

"Oh, that sounds awesome!" Silver cheered, but his happiness turned to a frown. "But I didn't get invited."

"Dude, you don't get invited. You just need to know where it is and when it is and you can go. Elias always just tells a couple people and by the end of the week, everybody in the school who has any connections knows when and where."

"But I don't have any connections," Silver whined. Eclipse just slapped his forehead, chuckling to himself.

"Man, you're such an idiot. I am you're connection," Eclipse stated. Silver's eyes suddenly lit up, understanding what his roomie and new friend was alluding too.

"So… we are going to go to the party together next weekend?!" Silver asked, trying to contain his excitement.

"Are you kidding me? The whole fucking school is going to go to Elias' big party next weekend!" Eclipse cheered.

"I can't wait!"

* * *

 _A/N: Poor Tails, it looks like he is in bliss while Sonic is about to call it quits. Are the dynamic duo about to enter splitsville? Is Blaze okay? What is Mina and Tails' connection? It seems like everybody has a connection with the new cast in some way or another, but all will be revealed in time. I hope you are all excited for the first big event of this story. There is no egg parenting or dance here. Just a good old fashioned gigantic party! Look forward to that. Everybody knows that shit goes down at parties and drama will run like wine!_

 _Anyway, normally I'd ask a question like who your favourite character is or if you think character A was justified in doing what they did to character B but this time, since Pokemon Go! seems to be all over the place at the moment, I'd like to ask one simple question to you all..._

 _Are you team Mystic, team Valor or team Instinct? Let me know, I'd love to see which team has the most of my readers. #TEAMINSTINCT!_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Jet can't stop having flashbacks to a simpler time with Wave_

 _Knuckles and Manic search for a lead singer..._ _separately_

 _Silver gets a bit too close with Breezie so he goes to visit Blaze to clear his mind of her_

 _Cosmo confronts Cream_

 _And Sonic and Tails have a much needed talk about their relationship..._

 _All this and so much more, next time in Chapter 10: Faithfulness_


	10. Chapter 10: Faithfulness

_A/N: Well I managed to do it. I made the deadline just in time :D Thanks for all the reviews and follows, it means a lot and I've recently just got a bit of inspiration and motivation for this story, although that is probably because my vacation is coming to a close, so hopefully I will be able to pump out the chapters quicker from now on. And with only one more chapter to go until the big party spectacular, a little more things need to be set up before all the pins come crashing down :P In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know a lot of you have been wanting this to happen for a while, whilst others have been dreading it... Either way, enjoy chapter 10._

* * *

Chapter 10

Faithfulness

 _I slammed my door closed, jumping onto my bed with my head buried into my pillow, masking the sounds of my cries and the tears pouring from my face. I didn't know how much longer I could take school. I raised my fist and slammed it as hard as I could into the dry wall, cracks emerging upon impact and one of my many Crush 40 posters peeled off and fell to the floor._

 _I heard some hushed whispers from downstairs and then the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs, heading towards my room. I looked around, trying to find an escape. I noticed my nail scissors glinting on my bedside table, the sharp edge calling out my name. Jet._

 _Knock, knock._

 _"_ _Go away, I'm not in the mood," I screeched at the door, hurling my pillow at it, only to watch it fall limp on the ground. Moments later, I heard the slow creak of the door open and a flash of pink entered the room._

 _"_ _W-Wave?" I asked, my eyes bulging at the sight of her. "Wh-what are you d-doing here," I sniffed, quickly wiping my eyes clean with the back of my hand to avoid her seeing my cry._

 _"_ _I've seen you cry before silly," she smiled warmly at me, approaching my bed and taking a seat at my side. I sat up to join her, looking into her eyes. "I saw what those mean bullies did to you at school today. I'm sorry," she whispered, wrapping her feathers around me and pulling me into a big, warm hug._

 _I might have only been ten at the time, but in that moment I knew that I was in love with her. My heart swelled from her presence, my skin sweated just from her touch and my skin melted when she gazed lovingly at me. Although, who am I kidding, I was in love with her ever since she first found me in the park, I just didn't know it to that moment._

 _"_ _Th-thanks," I mumbled shyly, pulling back from her hug, doing the best I could to hide my feelings from her._

 _"_ _Don't mention it, Jet. What are best friends for?" she smiled at me again and I could feel my heart beat race, beating several times faster than normal._

 _"_ _I can't believe I met you. I'm really lucky that I have you in my life," I replied, holding her hand in my own._

 _"_ _You too, Jet. And don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll never leave you…"_

Jet thought back on his fond memories of Wave, but no matter how hard he tried, the millions of questions about what went wrong continued to buzz around in his mind, clouding the fonder ones. But Jet couldn't help but ponder why Wave was here. Was this fate? Was this a sign? Despite everything she did to him, he still loved Wave, his first love.

Suddenly, Jet's phone buzzed. He groaned as he stood up, walking over to pick it up off of charge after the courteous yellow squirrel plugged it in for him the previous night.

 _Jet, where have you been. I haven't seen you in days. I miss you 3_

It was Cream…

…

Espio grabbed his towel from his locker and made his way towards the showers. Despite earlier transgressions and hard times, he had to overcome in the change rooms, Espio had gotten quite stinky and needed to clean himself. He had been avoiding this place for far too long and he knew sooner or later he would have to come.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up," Espio froze, hearing the wicked sounds of somebody he knew all too well.

"What do you want, Fiona," he scowled.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she mocked him, walking closer. Espio tightened the towel around his waist, stepping backwards until his bare back met the cold, tiled wall of the showers. "Is that how you talk to an old friend?"

"We are not, nor were we ever friends. I was weak and insecure and you used me but I've grown since then," he replied.

"From what I've seen, you haven't grown a lot," she snickered, tilting her head towards his manhood hidden behind the flimsy towel.

"Fuck off," he broke back at her.

"Whoa, where is all this animosity coming from? I wasn't the one who spread that picture around."

"Who cares who sent it, it happened and I've moved on."

"The rest of the school hasn't. They still make fun of you. I can't walk two feet without hearing about how gross you are or how horrible Shadow is," she smiled. She took a loud, deep breath and breathed out happily. "It warms my heart to hear how badly you are all going after being so rude to me last semester."

"Fiona, I'm sorry that you are so bitter and have such a tiny heart, but just give it a break and stop acting like a total bitch," Espio narrowed his eyes, taking a few cautious, determined steps towards her defiantly.

"How dare you," she spat back. "Take. That. Back."

"No. I've recently had the fortune of making some really great friends and I'm doing perfectly fine, even if most people make fun of me. Face it Fiona. There is nothing you can do to make my life miserable."

"You think that, but just you wait. Nobody breaks free of me without paying a price. Nobody," she narrowed her eyes, shooting daggers at him. Despite trying to convince herself otherwise, she couldn't quite get the annoying chameleon out of her thoughts. Ever since he broke free of her control and turned people against her last semester, she had been plagued by his image. She needed revenge and she needed it soon.

"Face it Fiona, I've won," he sneered, pushing her out of the way as he walked over to his locker, grabbed his things and made his way to the exit.

"Get back here!" She screamed, flailing her arms above her head and stamping her feet in annoyance. "Don't think I'm done with you yet," she whispered menacingly as she heard the sound of the large, metal door slam shut behind Espio. "Just you wait…"

…

Mina was sitting on her bed, the music of her favourite singer blaring out of her phones speaker that sat on her bedside table. Tikal was off hanging out with her best friend, Clove, that Mina could see laughing together at one of the wooden tables situated around the camp grounds and Breezie was off doing Chaos knows what.

Mina closed her eyes and began to sing along with the singer, matching the harmonies and humming the instrumental parts.

Meanwhile, Manic walked down the hall and approached the room, looking for Tikal. Knuckles had been meaning to talk with her but couldn't get ahold of her since her phone had broken on Saturday. Knuckles had asked Manic to go talk to Tikal for him since he had to go to basketball practice and so Manic grumbled as he stopped outside her dorm room, checking to make sure he had the right number.

He was just about to knock on the door when he suddenly heard it. A beautiful, melodious voice to match that of an experienced siren. Her voice was like a calling signal, entering through his ears and massaging his brain with its serenity. It was like he was being controlled by how beautifully she sung. Manic had to know who it was. Without knocking, he firmly grabbed the doorknob and wrenched it open, filing into the room.

"Ah! Don't you know how to knock," the purpled haired mongoose scolded him, quickly switching off her phone. Manic stuttered, mumbling something inaudible as he tried to understand the sight before him. There, in front of him, was the same magnificent girl that he saw the other day.

"You have a beautiful voice. It suits you," he smiled.

"What does that even mean?" Mina responded, crossing her arms. She was stilled pissed off by the sudden interruption. "What gives you the… the…" she tried to finish her sentence but her anger subsided when she looked into his face. More specifically, his charming smile.

The smile was so similar to that of the handsome blue hedgehog that she tried to hit on. It was almost uncanny.

"I was just saying you and your voice are beautiful…" Manic fumbled, losing his confidence almost immediately. Mina giggled slightly, earning another shy smile from Manic.

"Oh… well thanks, I guess." Mina gave Manic a look down, shifting her gaze from the shaggy quills atop his head, over his bulky red jacked and down to his worn out sneakers that had clearly been worn one too many times. Mina noted that he wasn't nearly as attractive as the other hedgehog, but somehow had this charm that she couldn't shake.

"Umm, so I was wondering… well I mean…" Manic stuttered, trying to force the words he wanted to say out of his mouth as he stared at his shoes. Mina stood there awkwardly, wishing she could be anywhere else. She gazed out the window, watching her roommate and her friend laugh together at the table, free from this uncomfortable situation.

"So what do you say?" Manic finished.

"Huh? Sorry what, I kind of zoned out there for a second," Mina admitted. "Look, my friends are waiting for me downstairs and I really need to get to them," the mongoose lied.

"Oh… okay, well here," Manic quickly took out a pen from his jacket pocket and grabbed Mina's arm. He swiftly, and messily, noted down a series of numbers on her hand and wrote his name underneath.

"What's this?" she asked, looking at the number.

"It's my phone number," he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "If you change your mind about the band then hit me up."

"Band?"

"Yeah, remember. You have a gift with your voice and I've got this sick new band. We are actually performing at that Elias guy's big bash next weekend and we would love to have you as lead vocalist."

"Oh… okay, thanks. I'll think about it," she lied again, grabbing her purse from the floor and fleeing the room.

"Okay… I'll see you around… I guess," Manic sighed, closing the door behind him as he stepped out into the hallway. 'What the fuck was that Manic!' he scolded himself as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and strolled back down the hall in the opposite direction of where Mina fled.

…

Knuckles yawned, stretching out his muscles in his usual routine. Practice was especially brutal that afternoon and Julie-Su really pushed everybody. She was still weeding out the weaker players and trying to narrow it down to a ten-person team from the fifteen teenagers that applied to the team.

Knuckles' muscles were sore and sweat coated his brow but he felt good, accomplished. He picked up his sports bag and made his way to the change rooms. He reached into the bottom of his bag and pulled out his mobile, noticing a missed call and text from Rouge.

Rouge: _Where have you been? I haven't seen you all weekend. What have you been doing that's kept you so busy?_

Knuckles sighed, deciding to call his girlfriend to avoid any unnecessary stress. He remembered back to the countless times that he screwed up his chances with the bat throughout the year.

"Hey Rouge… yeah I'm sorry I've just been really… yeah?... okay but… No I haven't… I've just been at basketball practicing for most of the weeken… what?... no I'm not practicing just because of that echidna, how do you even know about her?" Knuckles argued with the annoyed bat into the phone.

Knuckles strolled down the large, spacious gym and pushed open the swinging doors to the exit and into the winding hallway. He passed by the girls change rooms and placed his bare hand against the cold metal door of the boys change rooms when he stopped dead in his tracks.

Never put my love out on the line  
Never said yes to the right guy  
Never had trouble getting what I want  
But when it comes to you, I'm never good enough

"Knuckles, are you singing?" Rouge asked into the microphone.

"Hey Rouge, I'm going to have to call you back," Knuckles replied, removing his hand from the door, dropping his bag and making his way across the hall to stand outside of the girl's dorm.

"Don't you dare hang up on-" Rouge barked but was greeted by an all too familiar dial tone. She howled in annoyance, slamming her thumbs heavily into her phone as she re-dialed the red echidna's number.

Knuckles, curious to find out where the sound was coming from cupped his ear against the door, trying his hardest to hear a clearer sound.

When I don't care, I can play 'em like a Ken doll  
Won't wash my hair, then make 'em bounce like a basketball

That was it. That was the voice that Knuckles and his band had been looking for this whole time. He didn't care that he was entering the girls change rooms since he knew that most of them would have already left by now. Julie-Su and him played a little one on one after the others all left so he wouldn't be surprised if the rooms were completely empty except for the lone singer with the angelic voice.

Lightly, carefully and quietly, Knuckles gently pushed the door open and slipped inside. The rooms were slightly misty from the steam created from the searing hot water splashing against the tiles and clouding the air. Knuckles made his way towards the bathing girl, following the sound emanating from her throat.

But you make me wanna act like a girl  
Paint my nails and wear high heels, yes you  
Make me so nervous, that I just can't hold your hand  
You make me glow,

Knuckles eventually found his way to the showers and peaked his head around the corner just as the girl was belting out the extended 'glow' with all her heart, eyes closed and shampoo deep in her long hair.

But I cover up, won't let it show,

Knuckles' eyes bulged open and his mouth fell to the floor when he got a better look at who was singing. There, with the voice of an angel…

So I'm puttin' my defenses up  
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love

… was the pink haired echidna, and tomboyish captain of the basketball team, Julie-Su

If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack  
I think I'd have a heart attack  
I think I'd have a heart atta-

"Ahhh!" Julie screamed, reaching for a towel to cover herself as she immediately shut off the hot water.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I didn't mean…" Knuckles began but was silenced by a well-placed, and painful slap across the face.

"What the fuck are you doing? You almost gave me a heart attack, you pervert!" she yelled at him.

"Well, that would have been fitting," Knuckles chuckled to himself, earning him a kick in the balls. Knuckles' hands shot down to his privates as he toppled over in pain, streaks of tears falling from his eyes.

"You think this is funny? Watching me shower?"

"No, no, no. Julie it's not what you think. I was going to have a shower but then I heard this amazing singing voice from the girl's stall and I just needed to know who it was," Knuckles defended himself.

"So you came in here and watched me?!"

"No! I was only looking at your face; I swear. I didn't look down at all. I'm not like that."

"Well why couldn't you have just waited until I exited?" She growled, still quite angry.

"I'm part of this band and we need a lead singer and when I heard the voice I just couldn't wait to find out who it was and… look… I'm really, really sorry. I understand if you don't want me on the team anymore. I'll just get out of your hair," Knuckles sighed, looking down at his feet.

"Wait…" Julie called out. Knuckles looked around, hope glistening in his eyes. "You promise you didn't look." Knuckles nodded. "And you really think I'm that good of a singer?" Another nod. "Well, maybe you could tell me more about your band over coffee?"

"Yeah definitely," Knuckles nodded again, a great goofy smile crossing his face.

"But maybe wait outside the change rooms this time for me, okay," Julie sneered.

"Heh, yeah, again I'm really sorry," Knuckles blushed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly as he stared down as his sneakers.

"Yeah, whatever. Now get outta here you big goof," Julie chuckled, throwing one of the spare towels at him. Knuckles laughed as he rushed out of the door, closing it behind him. He let out a grandiose sigh of relief, thankful that he didn't just completely screw up his friendship with Julie when he felt his phone buzz for the second time in the past five minutes.

He glanced down to see a picture of a skinny bat wearing very little flash on the screen. Knuckles saw himself standing up behind her, wrapping his muscular arms around her midriff as they both smiled into the camera. However, instead of answering, Knuckles pressed his thumb firmly down on the red button and shoved his phone back into his pocket, waiting for Julie to emerge from the change rooms.

…

Mina rushed down the hall, chancing a glance behind her to see if the green hedgehog was following her. However, she suddenly collided with something in the hallway because her view was still looking behind her and fell to the floor with a thud.

"Ouch, watch where you are going," she heard an annoyed, high pitched voice ring out. Mina rubbed her head, sitting up to try to gather her bearings again after becoming discombobulated due to the sudden impact with the carpeted floor. As she opened her eyes, she noticed an angry pink hedgehog glaring at her from above.

"Watch where you are going," Amy growled.

"I'm so sorry," Mina mumbled as she quickly collected herself and stood up, brushing herself off.

"Hey wait, I know you," Amy thought, resting her chin on her hand in contemplation.

"Are you sure? I don't think we've met before. I'm-" Mina began but was interrupted as Amy snapped her fingers.

"Mina, right?" Amy cheered, earning a confused look from the mongoose. "Yeah I do know you. You were that girl who miserably failed to get with Sonic yesterday," Amy laughed. Mina blushed, casting her glance downwards.

"Yeah, sure, that was me," she mumbled.

"No, sorry for laughing," Amy sighed. "It's just, I don't know, in a mean mood I guess," Amy lied, feeling bad for her actions. Just because there was another girl who was pining after the hedgehog, that was no excuse for Amy to delve back into her old, spiteful ways.

"It's okay. I did screw up pretty badly," Mina admitted, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment as she placed the other hand on her stomach. That's when Amy caught sight of the writing that was still on the back of her hand.

"Hey what's that?" Amy asked, reaching out to grab Mina's hand without even a thought of personal privacy crossing her mind.

"Hey, hands off," Mina tried to wrench her hand back but Amy's grasp was too strong. She looked down and read the name Manic along with a series of digits.

"Is this his phone number?" Amy asked, stifling a small giggle.

"Yeah, so what?" Mina scoffed, taking her hand back as she pouted angrily.

"Nothing it's just… well you know that's Sonic's brother, right?" Amy asked. Suddenly it clicked in her brain. The sort of similar appearance, if a little shabbier, the similar attitude, except much less charming, and the same beautiful smile.

"That makes so much sense," Mina breathed as she contemplated. Suddenly, a deceitful, delusional thought popped into Mina's head whilst a selfish thought entered Amy's head.

"You should so ask him out," Amy smiled, faking sincerity and happiness.

"Yeah, maybe I should… well I'll see you around," Mina waved as she ran off, picking out her phone and saving the shaggy quilled, green hedgehog's phone number into her contacts.

…

Breezie sipped her fresh, fruit smooth happily, drowning down the beverage at a feverish pace. She hummed a sweet, little tune to herself as she basked in the morning sunshine. Breezie wasn't much of a coffee person, detesting the taste, so she often would get herself a fruit smoothie, especially on weekdays.

As she lay on the grass, hat covering the top half of her face to obstruct the intrusive rays of the winter sun, she felt a slight dip in the grass next to her and a foreign warmth dispel over her. She turned over to her side and gasped at the sight.

There, lying next to her with his arms behind his head, was the Silver hedgehog that she had missed dearly.

"Silver!" She gasped happily, causing the hedgehog to tilt his head, pretending that he hadn't noticed her sitting there in a messy attempt to seem suave.

"Hey Breezie, it's been a while," he mentioned casually, forcing himself to stay calm despite the nerves and the churning feeling he felt in his gut.

"I can't believe you are here. I haven't seen you in ages. I… I missed you," she admitted, a slight tinge of crimson crossing her face but she expertly hid it under the sun hat that she wore atop her head.

"Yeah, I missed you too. I didn't really believe it when I first saw you but… well after you came to my rescue from Scourge I knew that I just had to thank you," he smiled, turning over to gaze at her. He missed this, the closeness, both physically but also mentally, that the two used to share together.

"Even though time has passed, I still have to be your knight in shining armour, don't I," Breezie laughed, holding out her smoothie. "Wanna a sip?" Silver nodded, graciously taking the cardboard cup and slurping down some of the delightful mixture.

"Banana, mango and… watermelon?" Silver asked, smacking his lips together and swirling the mixture around in his mouth to fully absorb the flavour and distinct taste of the individual fruits.

"You always could guess which type I got," Breezie chuckled lightly, taking back her cup to take another sip of the straw that was now coated with Silver's saliva.

"Well, it helps that you almost always get the same fruits," Silver laughed, smiling at her. A few silent moments passed as the two gazed at each other. Although it had been years since they last saw each other, it felt like it was only yesterday and they didn't need to say anything together for all the blissful memories to come flooding back.

"I'm really glad that you came here," Breezie admitted.

"Yeah… me too…" Silver gulped. Breezie closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly as she began to lean in. Without realizing it, Silver's own neck began to move forward as he unconsciously began to close the gap, despite his brain yelling at him to do otherwise.

Their lips grew closer until there was barely a feathers gap between them when Silver managed to wrench his head backwards and jump to his knees, laughing awkwardly.

"Ha-ha, yeah, it has been a while. Well I've got to go back to Central City to visit Blaze in the hospital, I just wanted to come say hi and thanks before I left," he said frantically. He jumped up and ran off towards the ministration building, and Gold's office before Breezie could get in another word.

"What was that…" Breezie sighed as she watched the naïve, lovable hedgehog from her past run away from her yet again.

…

Cosmo sat alone at a small wooden bench, snacking down on a banana and cinnamon muffin that she purchased from the little campus store. Like most of the students, she was enjoying the little bit of sunshine that graced the campus that day.

Eventually, after scoffing down the rest of the muffin, she brushed off the crumbs from her short, green skirt and stood up only to be met with the sight of the one person she really didn't want to see, instantly souring her mood. There, sitting underneath a large tree, phone in hand and eyes glued to the screen was the familiar rabbit that Cosmo knew was seeing Tails.

'Just go up to her and talk to her,' her mind urged, forcing a few stuttered steps as Cosmo's nerves took over.

'No, it's a bad idea. I don't want to cause any unnecessary confrontation. Tails can date whoever he likes,' Cosmo tried to reason with herself. As a small war waged on inside of her, she noticed that Cream's phone began to ring and she seemed to pick it up eagerly, a smile crossing her face.

Without thinking, Cosmo found herself sneaking closer to Cream in order to be able to hear the conversation. Just watching the way she reacted when listening to the person on the other line, Cosmo instantly knew that it must have been the fox that she was dating.

"I'm going to come over to check on you, okay? Okay. I love you, Jet," Cream finished, saying her goodbyes as she hung up her phone and placed it in the pocket of her jacket. Cosmo gasped, scrunching up her fists in anger. Usually she was quite a passive person, sticking to herself and always running away at the sight of any sort of violence or anger but something took ahold of her that the seedrian couldn't control.

"Is it not good enough that you've already got Tails, but now you're cheating on him?!" She growled after stomping up to the startled rabbit.

"What are you talking about?" Cream asked, completely taken aback.

"I heard you tell that boy you love him," she pointed an accusing finger at Cream, puffing out her chest slightly to feign imitation, even though it had little effect.

"Yeah, because that was my boyfriend I was talking to," Cream replied indignantly, shooting an angry yet befuddled glace back at the out of place seedrian.

"Wh-what? But I thought Tails was your boyfriend? I saw the way you acted around him and the way he looked at you," Cosmo replied, her initial malice replaced with confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean the way he looked at me? Did he look like he was into me? Wait, no, never mind, that's not the point. You can't go around accusing people without evidence. He already has a boyfriend anyway," she replied.

"He… he's gay?" Cosmo mouthed, suddenly feeling a mixture of stupidity, embarrassment and sadness wash over her. "Great… why does this happen to me. I finally find a guy who doesn't hate me and he turns out to be into guys," Cosmo sighed.

"No… it's not like that, he's just…" Cream began, trying to explain the situation to the strange girl when Cosmo turned and began to run away as fast as she could.

"Sorry I said anything," she called out apologetically as she disappeared into the dorm rooms.

"What the hell just happened?" Cream asked aloud to herself.

…

Silver stood by the not-so-violet felines bed, tears dripping from his eyes as he watched her chest slowly rise and fall in a rhythmic fashion. The grey, dreary atmosphere of the pristine hospital room seemed to sap out any other emotion out of the silver hedgehog, leaving him with a dangerous mixture of sadness and regret.

His eyes fell upon the sleeping cat. Although not as charred as before, she still didn't look great. Small patches of the familiar shade of violet fur had begun to grow back in some parts of her body miraculously. Silver always knew that Blaze was a fast healer, but from the amount of severe burns that she adopted across her entire body, it was a miracle that there wasn't any permanent damage done to her skin. Silver shuddered to think what could have happened if the firemen hadn't rescued her in time.

Most of the damage done to Blaze was through smoke inhalation, which was made blaringly clear due to the special breathing tube that was connected to a face mask attached to the cat's mouth. The room around him was shrouded in eerie, bleak silence except for the periodic beeping emanating from the heart rate monitor every couple of seconds to replicate the beating of Blaze's heart. Although it infuriated Silver, whenever there were more than a couple seconds between beats, his own heart skipped a beat as he dreaded what that could possibly mean, despite his fears being put to rest moments later when another beep echoed through the room.

"I'm sorry but it's been a long day and I'm going to have to ask you to leave now Mr. Hedgehog," Geoffrey regretted to inform Silver as the skunk entered the room.

"Please doctor, can I please stay with her overnight," Silver begged, grabbing the white coat that the skunk was always seen with while at work, his eyes shimmering with words that all shouted their silent pleas. Geoffrey shook his head sorrowfully.

"I've spoken with Razor about the students that have come to visit Blaze while in her condition. He isn't allowing any students to stay the night here and visiting hours for Ms. Cat ended fifteen minutes ago. I'm breaking quite a few rules just to give you this extra time."

"But please. She hasn't woken up and I just want to speak with her," Silver pleaded.

"I simply can't allow it," Geoffrey responded plainly as Silver dropped to his feet. "This is quite immature behavior. I'll be sure to contact you if her condition changes and you are more than welcome to come visit next weekend but until then I must ask you to leave," Geoffrey said in a didactic tone that showed that he was done bargaining and stretching the rules for Silver.

"But I have the big party," Silver replied, but was met with the judgmental glare from the skunk. "Okay, I'm leaving. Thank you for everything you have done Doc. I'll just say my goodbyes and leave."

"One minute," the skunk called out as he left the room.

Silver knelt down next to the bed and grabbed Blaze's hand in his, wrapping his other hand around hers to cocoon it between his. He placed a subtle kiss on the back of her hand, whispering his goodbyes.

However, as he got up to look at his girlfriend, hanging on to the edge of life, his thoughts couldn't help but drift towards the smiling hedgehog that he greeted earlier that morning. Silver quickly shoot the image out of his mind as he finally walked out of the hospital room, but just like his physical body, his thoughts were also leaving the hospital bed of the cat and leading back to the school and to the happy remnant from his past that still had the same hypnotic control over him that it used to all those years ago.

…

"Okay, so Meph and I are going out to get some diner at the dining hall with Tikal, Clove, Ray and Eclipse. You and Tails are welcome to join if you want," Mighty asked, hooking the straps of his backpack around his back.

"No thanks, it's our… date night tonight," Sonic sighed.

"You don't sound so enthused. Wanna talk?" Mighty offered, looking sympathetically towards the down-trodden sapphire hedgehog.

"No, it's cool. Just not looking forward to something I have to do tonight," Sonic replied solemnly. Mighty nodded in acknowledgement, understanding what Sonic meant. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Mephiles who was waiting, arms folded over each other at the door.

"Come on Mighty, we're already late," he said in his usual dead pan tone.

"Sorry, Sonic. I've gotta run. Remember I'm always here if you want to talk," Mighty smiled before dashing out of the room with Mephiles close in tow.

"I've got the movie, you got the snacks?" Tails smiled as he entered the dorm room, taking a seat on the bed next to Sonic. "I borrowed it from Sonia who said it was quite steamy, if you know what I mean," Tails giggled.

Sonic sighed, staring into Tails' eyes, dreading the conversation he knew that he couldn't avoid any longer.

"Is everything alright? Where are the snacks?" Tails asked, concern flooding his voice as he reached out and placed his hand on Sonic's cheek, rubbing it gently with his thumb. Sonic pulled away slightly and Tails flashed a look of hurt. "Is everything alright?"

"Look, Tails… I need to talk to you about something," Sonic eventually muttered.

"Me too. I have something important to say to you," Tails replied. After his talk with Shadow and seeing Sonic so sad, he wanted to tell Sonic just how much the sapphire hedgehog truly meant to him.

"Oh really," Sonic suddenly raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering if Tails was feeling the same way he was. "You go first."

"No, no you. I insist," Tails insisted.

"Same time?"

"Deal."

"I wanna go back to just being best friends."  
"I wanna let you know just how much you mean to me."

Tails' face drooped as all the colour suddenly drained from it. It felt like his heart had suddenly been ripped out and broken in one fell swoop. He had to take a quick, deep breath just to stop himself from bursting out in anger or sorrow or a strange, messy mixture of the two.

"What did you say?" Sonic muttered, trying to see if he heard the fox correctly.

"You know…" Tails choked the words out, struggling to push them through the lump that had been created in his throat. "Like, you're my best friend and all," he lied.

"Oh thank Chaos. Tails, look, I do really love you but things have just been getting too… I don't know, weird." Weird. That's the word he used. Tails felt so hurt and betrayed by that word.

"Wh-what do you mean weird. Do you think I'm weird?" He sniveled, forcing the tears back into his eyes.

"No, not at all. Tails, buddy, you're my best friend. I just mean us. What we have been doing is kinda weird, y'know. No, I-I mean weird isn't the right word. I just… ugh," Sonic sighed in frustration trying to find the right words.

"Did I do something wrong?" Tails' bottom lip quivered. He was hitting his breaking point but was determined to stay strong. He didn't want to let Sonic see him cry. Sonic didn't deserve to see him at his most vulnerable.

"No, it's not you. It's me," Sonic said. There it was, the line. The bullshit line. Tails knew it all too well from all the sitcoms he used to watch as a kid. "It's just, I miss what we used to have. You and me, best friends forever. Something has just changed recently and I don't know, it's not the same. Can't we just go back to the way things were? When things were simpler?" Sonic asked.

"I can't fucking believe this," Tails whispered under his breath.

"What was that little buddy?" Sonic asked, resting his hand on Tails' shoulder.

"Don't fucking touch me," Tails exploded, gripping Sonic's wrist tightly in his hand and wrenching it off of his body.

"Whoa buddy, what's up?"

"What's up!? What's up!? How the fuck could you say shit like that. After everything I fucking sacrificed for you, for us!"

"Come on little buddy, calm down," Sonic soothed.

"Don't you call me your little buddy. Don't you ever," Tails looked up at Sonic through crinkled eyebrows, a look of disgust and an overbearing intense hatred emanated from his glare. "Fuck you."

With that, Tails stormed out of the room, blowing passed the door in a raged frenzy, passing by a confused armadillo who stood in the doorway who just watched the whole thing transpire.

"I just… I just came back because I forgot my phone," he said under his breath.

"You probably think I'm a dick too," Sonic cursed aloud, falling backwards down onto his pillow and screaming his lungs out.

"Sonic, you could have handled that better but… you did what you thought was right. Sometimes relationships just don't work out, despite how much you want them to. He'll come around eventually," Mighty said calmly, taking a seat beside Sonic after grabbing his phone.

"yeah whatever," Sonic grumbled into his pillow.

"Do you wanna talk about it," Mighty asked.

"No."

"Okay, well do you want me to leave?"

A few moments of saddened silence passed.

"No," Mighty heard a silent whisper emanated from the hedgehog. Mighty sighed, placing a hand on the hedgehog's back as he quickly whipped out his phone and shot off a text to Clove saying that he was going to have to skip dinner that night.

Meanwhile, Tails rushed down the stairs, crossed the lounging area, ignoring all of the sidelong glances and whispered comments on his state as he rushed back up the girl's side of the dorming house. He kept running until he came to a stop outside one of the rooms and pounded his fists against the door frantically until an individual answered it.

"C-C-Can I c-c-come in," Tails sniffed, barely able to contain himself. "Do you have it?"

"Always," the girl replied, inviting Tails into her room. The despaired fox quickly rushed into the room.

"I knew you'd come back sooner or later," the red furred vixen smiled as she closed the door behind herself.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, there you have it. Sonic and Tails are officially broken up and it looks like Tails didn't handle it that well. But why did he run to Fiona of all people and what is the 'it' he was referring to? All in due time :P Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that chapter and I hope you are all enjoying the direction that this sequel is going in. Please let me know how you are enjoying this. Question of the chapter though... with the recent break up of Sonic and Tails, one of the longest running relationships in the story (The longest title goes to Silver and Blaze, naturally. Actually, technically it goes to Mighty and Clove but it's Silvaze for onscreen romance) is, are you glad they finally broke up or are you saddened by the news?_

 _Now is the time where I like to interact with some of my loyal readers who have written reviews and respond to some questions you may have..._

 _Soniclover: I'm glad you like Mighty, I always have a blast writing for him but stay tuned, things aren't always going to look so pretty for him. And yes, as of the end of this chapter, it is officially Sunday night after the first week that the students have been at the new campus, and two weeks overall in the story. Chapter 12 will be the start of the big party two-parter and that takes place next saturday so chapter 11 will take place over the coming week. I know it's hard to keep timing around your head, trust me it is a lot harder to write because I'm always worried that I'm doing things that can't have possibly happened at that point but just focus on the drama, not the timing. Thanks for all the reviews, yours is a name I recognize in every chapter and I thank you greatly._

 _Snowbrony: That scene with Mina was supposed to be cringe, haha. But you said you are about done with Sontails, well it looks like your wish was just granted. I hope you enjoyed the break up scene because the drama it created is only just getting started. Yours is also a name I recognize in most chapters and I thank you also._

 _ThievingCooper: I recognize that name too and always love it when I see a review from you. Sorry that you were a big fan of Sonic and Tails but, at least for now, they are done. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the scene. As for Shadow and Tails... well only time will tell :P_

 _WIBG: A name that I recognize over all of my stories, thanks for all the reiviews, I love hearing from you :) So you think Cosmo is going to go on a rampage? Well, I can tell you that next chapter we get a little more insight into how she took the news that Cream delivered and a little bit of her backstory, but only crumbs... THanks for the reviews!_

 _Snow: Of course I recognize you :P You hoped they would break up, well you also got your wish :P And yeah, boys do get boners easily, remember they are all in peak puberty time so hormones are running rampant in all of them. And don't worry, although Sonia hasn't had much of the limelight since we arrived at EL, she is about to have a BIG ark of her own, but you'll just have to wait to find out._

 _Calling you out: I normally don't reply to these type of comments, just a personal rule, but I just thought I'd clear the air. Firstly, I'm glad that you read this far and I'd love to see a review from you as your account, I'm always down to talk with my readers :) However, yes I am aware of Green Hill Academy, I've been following it since the begining because Snow and I have become very good friends because of this site and we constantly talk and throw ideas at each other for suggestions and opinions. I just wanted to say that I didn't copy that scene from her story, although there are similarities, but with a high school AU with many different characters, there are bound to be a bunch of similarities between out works. What you need to understand is writing a story like this is tough and it involves a lot of planning. Although the plan is constantly changing, shifting and evolving as I write and hear feedback, the main outline of it was created back when I was still writing my original story. I planned out that Knuckles and Julie would meet on a sporting field with her being better than him all the way back in early April, over three moths ago and before Snows scene even happened and I ever knew it was a thing but I wasn't going to change my plan because of similarities. Julie is a tomboy so that introduction came naturally for me, although it was originally going to be football, I though that a co-ed football team sounded too farfetched and basketball made more sense. Thanks for the review though and I hope this cleared some things up._

 _Well, that's it for responses now. I'll do another big responding to reviews after the big party so if you guys still have any questions or things you'd like me to address, keep those reviews coming :P They all mean a lot to me. And, as always, thanks for reading._

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Shadow reveals some of his past to Mephiles_

 _Eclipse finally makes his move_

 _Jet and Cosmo both admit their secret pasts to Cream, but can she handle them?_

 _Jet finally confronts Wave_

 _And Espio decides to visit the incapacitated cat about his leaked nudes_

 _All this and so much more, next time in Chapter 11: Haunted Pasts_


	11. Chapter 11: Haunting Pasts

_A/N: Welcome back to another chapter of Sonic High:Emerald Lake. I've somehow managed to keep up with my four day schedule, despite me just finishing this chapter an hour before midnight. Who cares, that's still making the deadline. And on top of that, this chapter is almost as long as last story's finale. Get excited for a chapter that is hitting the 5 digit number of words! I hope you all enjoy and remember, next chapter is the big two parter party chapter and shit is about to get real so enjoy chapter 11!_

* * *

Chapter 11

Haunting pasts

Tikal sat in the dining hall, a fresh grilled cheese sandwich thrown onto one of the thousands of metal trays lay in front of her. She gripped the sandwich with both hands and shoved it into her mouth, taking a sizable bite as she happily munched down on the tasty lunch.

"Quite the appetite you've got there," she heard a voice say from behind her. Startled, Tikal almost choked on the mixture of cheese and break, barely able to swallow it due to the awful fright she got.

"Ohmygosh, sorry," Eclipse burst out, dropping his façade for a moment as he quickly slammed the bottom of his palm into the echidna's back, dislodging the caught morsel of food. Tikal coughed tremendously as the morsel flew from her mouth, landing with a squelch on the floor. She turned to face Eclipse, his face filled with worry.

"Th-thanks," she breathed, still trying to get ahold of herself after the close encounter, greedily sucking up air around her. She quickly turned back to the table, trying to hide the embarrassment that crept its way onto her face.

"You okay?" Eclipse asked, the mysterious, deadpan tone returning to his voice after his moment of worry.

"Yeah, it's all good. I guess I was just a bit hungry," Tikal laughed it off, acting like it was nothing as she waved the air, dispelling the thought from her mind. "Would you like to have lunch with me?"

"Sure," Eclipse shrugged, acting like the gesture was no big deal despite the wave of happiness that washed over him. He kept his joy under control, refusing to even crack a smile as he took a seat on the bench next to her.

A few awkward moments of silence passed where neither one said anything to the other. Feeling like she was boring him, Tikal quickly moved the topic of conversation to the only thing she could think of. Gossip.

"So… did you hear about Sonic and Tails?" She asked, taking another, smaller cautious bit of the sandwich, chewing it carefully before swallowing this time.

"Who, Mighty's and Mephiles' roommates?" he queried.

"Yeah, I heard they had a big break up last weekend," she whispered, looking around the dining room. Eclipse followed her gaze, falling upon Sonic who sat next to a pink hedgehog and auburn haired squirrel at one corner of the table. Meanwhile, as they moved their gaze across the sea of unfamiliar faces greedily indulging themselves on a smorgasbord of different delectables, they eventually landed on a dark eyed Tails, lying with his head in his hands.

"They don't look too good," Eclipse sighed, letting his more compassionate side shine through as he noticed the sapphire hedgehog sneak a sidelong glance at Tails, frowning at the sight of his best friend.

"Since when did you start caring about people Mr. Dark and dreary," Tikal quipped, turning back to study Eclipse who quickly wiped the sympathy off his face, steeling his features.

"I don't, it's just, I don't know, annoying that their sadness is ruining the atmosphere," he dodged unconvincingly.

"Anyway…" Tikal said awkwardly, turning to Eclipse. "What's been new with you?"

"Umm… well…" Eclipse began, suddenly choking on his words as he mumbled. "You know this guy Elias is throwing this big party on Saturday night and he's hired out this big stadium this time and… umm…" Eclipse trailed off.

"Yeah, I've heard about it," Tikal responded, trying to act like it wasn't such a big deal. However, deep down she was secretly hoping that Eclipse was asking what she thought he was eluding to.

"Do you maybe, um, want to like, go to the party, together or something," Eclipse fumbled through his sentence. His curtain of mystery completely shattering as his anxious nerves completely clouded his brain, making him out to be a bumbling mess.

"Why Eclipse, are you asking me on a date," Tikal teased, winking at him as she saw how hard this was for him.

"Well, yeah, if you want that is. Or we could just go as friends or whatever," he quickly back peddled slightly.

"What happened to mister emotionless? Not so cool anymore," she giggled. Eclipse swallowed, sweat staining his brow as he tried to keep his straight face despite the shame and embarrassment overtaking him. He thought quickly, feeling horrible as he tried to come up with some excuse to get out of that room.

"I'm still me," he corrected her. "Parties are lame anyway, I need to go anyway so don't choke while I'm gone." He stood up and tried to get away when he felt the edge of his black jacket get snagged on something. Eclipse thought he was going to die of embarrassment right then, assuming that he had himself stuck on the table corner. He turned to try and unhook himself but was saw Tikal's hand covering part of his jacket.

"No, Eclipse wait. I'm sorry, I would love to go to Elias' party with you," she smiled warmly.

"Wait you mean it," he smiled, shaking with anticipation.

"You're such a weirdo," she chuckled as she got up and gave him a quick hug. "Be by my dorm at 7 on Saturday, okay," she whispered into his ear before turning and walking off. Eclipse slouched back down leaning forwards as he bashed his forehead against the table in frustration.

'What the hell was that,' he sighed to himself, annoyed that he let down his guard around Tikal.

"Man, I thought I was awkward but that was just hard to watch," he heard a voice say as a silver hedgehog sat down beside him snickering.

"At least I got a date to the party," he smiled.

"Yeah about that…" Silver began.

…

 _I don't remember much from my childhood. I was told by my father that my mother died during childbirth and it was a miracle that I even survived the process at all. He called me his miracle child. Despite all that, I don't remember much of my dad, or really anything before my nanny 'adopted' me._

 _I was young, innocent and scared. Well, not entirely. After my dad was killed, I was bounced from foster home to foster home, all over the country. None of them wanted to keep me. All the kids there would bully me, call me names and make fun of how my dad was murdered. I'd snap, every single time I would snap._

 _I don't know how, but I'm much stronger and more skilled than I'd look._

 _After about my 10_ _th_ _foster home, I went too far. A couple of the brats that were staying there decided it would be funny to pull a prank on me, pretending that my father contacted the home and that he miraculously survived. I thought, for once, that he was my miracle._

 _It was all a lie. When I found out, I couldn't take the anger anymore. I snapped, putting all three of the kids in the hospital on life support. The head of the foster home threw me out, cursing my name and saying how I was a devil child._

 _After that, no other home would take me and I was forced out onto the streets, living in cardboard boxes and eating from the trash. I spent my 13_ _th_ _birthday starving in the gutter, rats my only friends. What kind of life is that for a kid entering his teenage years?_

 _That's when they found me. My nanny and her daughter, my adopted sister, Maria. They took me in, helped give me a roof over my head, a warm bed at night and three meals a day. She even moved enrolled me in Mobius high where I've spent the rest of my years, happy for the first time in my life…_

"I…I'm so sorry, Shadow," the dark hedgehog breathed deeply, sitting next to him at the bench. "I had no idea."

"Nah, it's fine. I don't really like talking about my past but there is something about you that just makes me feel… comfortable," Shadow shrugged.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"I know you said you still had your nanny, but what happened to Maria?" Mephiles asked, peering deep into the crimson center of Shadow's eyes. He tensed up, averting his gaze downwards. "Oh, I'm sorry, don't bother answering," Mephiles quickly said, realizing Shadows evasion to the question and generally how uncomfortable he felt about the topic.

"No, it's okay. She just… left one day. I think she must have found out about my past, found out what I did to those kids and ran away," he sniffed through dry eyes.

"I think she loved you, Shadow despite what you think," Mephiles said, placing his hand on Shadow's. Shadow looked up, peering into Mephiles' eyes neon, green reptilian eyes. Shadow quickly grabbed his hand away, shielding it from Mephiles.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mephiles said, hiding the shame in his voice.

"It's not you, Mephiles… it's just… The whole school hates me. They blame me for putting Blaze in the hospital on life support, although it isn't the first time I've done that so they have a reason to hate me anyway. I don't want the whole school to hate you too," Shadow finished.

"Don't worry. The school thinks I'm a weird goth kid anyway. They don't understand me and they don't want to understand me either. If it wasn't for Mighty, Ray, Eclipse and Clove I probably would have left a long time ago. I was thinking of ditching this year until…" Mephiles trailed off.

"Until what?"

"Until you came over to me last week."

…

"You have a date to the party? How come you didn't tell me Blaze is out of the hospital? That's great news," Eclipse cheered, happy for his new friend. "I can't wait to meet the infamous Blaze."

"Well… it's kinda, not… Blaze…" Silver admitted, earning a confused glance from Eclipse.

"Did you guys break up?" Eclipse asked.

"No, not at all."

"So you're cheating on her then?" Eclipse concluded, a deadpan and disappointed tone evident in his voice.

"What? No!" Silver said defensively. "It's not like a date, date, y'know. It's just… well… Blaze and I have been best friends for ages. We were best friends for the better part of four years and have been dating for about six months too. But… she wasn't my first best friend… or my first love," Silver admitted. Eclipse stared at him, nodding as he listened and shot him an inquisitive glare that asked him to continue without the words needing to be said.

"Her name is Breezie. Our parents were very good friends and because of that we grew up together and became best friends. But it was more than that. So much more. I was in love with her. Always have been and probably always will be," Silver sighed.

"Did she love you back?"

"I don't know. She never seemed to. She always seemed so oblivious to my feelings. I think she just always saw me as her best friend, like a little brother or something. But… well we were in middle school and Breezie's parents moved away and I assumed she moved with them, leaving Mobius High. I guess she didn't leave after all but just moved to board at this campus."

"Why did she never contact you during the breaks?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Silver suddenly snapped, raising his voice. The whole cafeteria grew silent, intrigued glances thrown his way. Silver looked around, noticing that he had become the center of attention and sat back down.

"Look, sorry. It's just… it's a touchy subject," Silver apologized.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. She probably just went overseas and stayed with her family during the breaks or something like that," Eclipse nodded, trying to make the hedgehog feel better.

"That's the problem though. She never showed any feelings towards me that weren't platonic until the day she told me that she was leaving. I lost my shit because she didn't tell me until the night before she was scheduled to leave."

"She probably didn't have the heart to tell you that she had to go. I think she wanted her last few weeks with you to be happy, not sad because you were her best friend," Eclipse offered reasons, trying to cheer up the saddened silver hedgehog.

"That's what I told myself afterwards but at the time I was just so mad…"

 _"_ _How could you not tell me!" I screamed, throwing my hands in the air as I paced back and forth in my room. It was late at night and Breezie had asked to come over and visit me. I thought it would just be us two hanging out like always, munching down popcorn and watching a stupid comedy or horror film that she loved so much._

 _"_ _I didn't want things between us to change," Breezie admitted, lowering her head. "I wanted out time together to be happy, not dragged down by the news."_

 _"_ _I thought we were best friends. How could you not trust me enough to tell me you were going to leave me forever," I growled, all my emotions turning to anger because I couldn't cope with the news of her leaving any other way without breaking down into tears like a sniveling little baby._

 _"_ _Silver… please… I'm sorry. I just… I don't know. I didn't want to leave," she tried to reason with me, a stray tear streaking down her cheek._

 _"_ _Then don't go," I bargained. "Stay here, with me. We have a spare room."_

 _"_ _We both know I can't do that Silver," she sighed._

 _"_ _But… but I…" I stammered. I had buried my feelings for her so far deep down inside of me, scared of what she would say if she ever found out how I felt about her._

 _"_ _You what?" Breezie asked, smoothing a stray strand of hair back behind her ear, staring at me with those shimmering eyes, filled with care, beauty and love._

 _"_ _Breezie… I l-l-l… I'll miss you," I sighed in defeat, unable to admit my feelings for her._

 _"_ _I'll miss you too, Silver. You're my best friend and I'll never forget you," she cried, rushing over to wrap her arms around me as the two of us stood in my bedroom. I couldn't take it anymore. The tears came, spurting like waterfalls as I tried to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground._

 _After a few minutes passed, Breezie finally broke contact, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her green sweater._

 _"_ _I guess I should go now," she sniffed, heading towards the door._

 _"_ _Breezie, wait!" I yelled, grabbing her sleeve. I didn't know what came over me, but I just couldn't let her leave just yet. "I have something I need to say," I admitted._

 _"_ _Silver?"_

 _"_ _Breezie… I, um… I…" I stumbled over my words, unable to admit the truth. "Good luck at your new school," I sighed, looking down as my nerves got the best of me._

 _"_ _You really are an idiot, aren't you," she giggled before stepping up to me, gripping my shoulders between her hands and placing her lips softly against mine. Her sweet, supple lips felt like heaven as I tilted my head and closed my eyes to enjoy the moment that felt like it lasted forever._

 _"_ _H-h-how did you…" I stammered after she finally pulled apart from me._

 _"_ _Know you loved me?" she finished my sentence._

 _"_ _I thought you didn't like me back," I said, still stunned by what just happened after years of dreaming about it at night._

 _"_ _Silver, I've always known you liked me. I was just scared that a relationship might ruin our friendship. But… well since I'm leaving I thought this was long overdue," Breezie smiled at me, gazing deep into my topaz eyes._

 _"_ _Breezie… I love you," I finally was able to say it to her, the girl of my dreams and my first love…_

Eclipse stared at me, not knowing what to say.

"I know Blaze is in the hospital but… Breezie is finally back into my life and… I just don't know," Silver sighed, letting his head fall into his hands.

"Look, Silver… I don't know what to tell you. I have no idea what you are feeling right now but I think you should just let your heart decide," he smiled. "If you really love Blaze, then nothing will happen between you and Breezie on Saturday night but if Breezie really is the hedgehog for you, you'll know it and Blaze will understand."

"Thanks Eclipse… You're a really good friend," Silver smiled thankfully at the darkling.

"Anytime."

"Hey guys, I have something I need to ask you," a stunned fox asked as he waddled up, struggling to keep his balance as the world spun around him.

…

 _My world was suddenly brighter from then on. It was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders any time she walked by. Her smile was like the spinning light of a lighthouse, shining through the fog and guiding me safely through the storm, saving me from the jagged rocks and roaring waves that were the rest of my classmates._

 _I never thought I'd be happy, but she changed everything. My pink angel. Granted, my life wasn't perfect. I was still ridiculed and bullied like crazy, same with Wave, but together we were happy. My feelings for her continued to grow exponentially to the point where I was sad whenever I wasn't with her._

 _Wave, the girl that saved me from misery and depression and helped me see the brighter side of life. I didn't just love her, I needed her and I think she needed me too. That's why I finally worked up the courage to say what I needed to._

 _It was a normal night like any other. I invited Wave over and we set up the little bed in my room before throwing on the newest Rosemary Prower movie that Wave was so into. My knees were weak and my palms were sweaty but I couldn't let my nerves get in the way. I needed to tell her. She deserved to know my true feelings. I needed Wave to be more than my best friend. So much more._

 _"_ _You feeling alright?" Wave turned to ask me after noticing how uncomfortable I was._

 _"_ _Yeah I'm fine, better than fine actually," I said confidently despite the butterflies swarming around inside my stomach. I turned to her, taking her hand. "Wave, there is something I need to tell you."_

 _"_ _You can tell me anything Jet, you are my best friend," Wave smiled, not understanding the atmosphere until it was too late._

 _"_ _Wave… I love you," I proclaimed as I closed my eyes, tilted my head and leaned forward, closing the gap between our lips. My lips crashed against hers and for a split second, she returned the gesture. I was in complete bliss… for about five seconds._

 _After giving herself over to me for mere moments, Wave quickly pulled back, repeating the word no over and over to herself._

 _"_ _W…Wave?" I asked, hurt and confused by her strange behavior._

 _"_ _Jet… I…I'm so sorry," she sniffed before grabbing her bag and rushing out of the room, her eyes filled with tears._

 _"_ _Wave…" I sighed under my breath. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to chase after her and apologize but I couldn't move a muscle. I couldn't even force myself to cry, to let my feelings out. All I could feel with the large crevice that had been created in my heart as I sat, slouched on my bed sleepless for the whole night._

 _I tried to find her, to contact her after that. I didn't see her at school and neither her, nor her family were at their house. I was too late. She was gone… or at least I thought she was until I came face to face with her at my new Emerald Lake campus at Mobius High._

Jet sighed as he finished recounting his tale to the sympathetic rabbit who lay next to him in his bed. Jet had spent most of his time since he first saw Wave in his room and Cream had finally had enough. She had come to find Jet and figure out what was wrong with her boyfriend, but she wasn't prepared for the story he told her.

"Jet… I'm sorry that happened to you. It was wrong and cruel," Cream said, placing her hand on his back.

"I just… I don't know what I did wrong," he sighed.

"Is that why you seemed so distant in that hospital bed?" Cream enquired. Jet nodded solemnly.

"I had just given up at that point and in what I thought were my last moments, I thought about her. Then suddenly you saved my, my bunny angel. I didn't trust you, or anybody. I didn't want my heart broken again but you were so calm, gentle and… well you know the rest," he managed to show the slightest curvature of his mouth. Cream smiled, any resemblance of that trademark smirk that she knew too well was welcome.

"Don't worry, Jet. I won't leave you," Cream said, kissing him on the lips. Jet returned the kiss happily, but it still wasn't the same. Everything he had done with Cream was heaven, and he enjoyed it all but now that his thoughts flew back to Wave, he couldn't help but think that it just wasn't the same. It was never as good as that one, first kiss he had.

"I know, Cream. But… I just don't know what to do about her, Jet sighed, leaning back against the wall of his room. "I replayed that night, and many others over and over in my head. I've thought of a million things I wanted to say to her if I ever got the chance but now that I've found her again, I just can't face her," Jet admitted solemnly.

"Jet, you're not going to get past this until you face her and talk to her. Just let her know that what she did hurt you, but you don't want to dwell on the past. You won't be able to avoid her all semester and will be forced to see her so if you push passed this, it will be easier," Cream said, giving out her sage advice.

"You really think I should do it?" Jet asked.

"Yes. I'll be here every step of the way if you need me. I trust you and I love you, Jet," Cream nodded.

"Okay, I'll do it! I love you, Cream. I don't know what I would ever do without you."

…

"You know Razor's rules. No going into the city unless there is a serious emergency or it's the weekend," Gold dismissed the purple chameleon with a mere wave, turning back to her mountain of work that she had been given. On top of all that, Gold was still looking feverishly for the person who set the fire and the stress was clearly evident on her face.

"Gold, please I really need to see Blaze," Espio pleaded.

"I SAID NO!" Gold suddenly snapped, her face turning red with a sudden rage. Espio cowered backwards, taking a few cautious steps away from the tenrec. Gold's eyes slowly opened with realization as she looked down at her shaking hands in fists.

"Oh my Chaos, I'm so sorry, Espio. I didn't mean to snap at you," Gold apologized, hiding her shame and embarrassment. "I just have a lot on my plate at the moment and I guess the stress is just catching up with me."

"I-It's okay," Espio replied, still a little shaken up by the sudden outburst of the normally calm and collected secretary that he had known for almost four years.

"Look… don't tell Razor about this but… the bus driver is heading into the city at two. Just make sure you are back before diner time," Gold whispered, handing Espio a permission slip that allowed him access on the bus.

"But the hospital closes at five and the trip takes almost two hours! By the time I make it to Blaze I won't be able to visit her," Espio complained in a whining voice.

"IT's the best I can do Espio, take it or leave it," Gold finalized. Espio sighed, accepting the slip and saying goodbye to Gold. He walked over to the bus stop, sighing as he pondered whether this was all worth the effort.

"Hey freak, where's the special lady," he heard a voice call out to him.

"She probably dumped him after seeing those pictures," the hedgehog next to her laugh. Espio covered his face, his walk turning into a sprint as he made his way to the bus to avoid further taunting by the student body who clearly all had seen the nudes.

'I guess all the new kids have seen it now two,' he sulked as he regretfully climbed aboard the bus, silently handing the paper to the driver as he made his way to the back seat, plugged his headphones in and sat in silence as the bus eventually reversed out of the school and set out on its journey towards Central City.

After a few hours, and a memory filled walk through the city later, Espio finally arrived outside the gigantic, white building. Rows of windows lined the side of the building in a coordinated, symmetrical fashion. Espio strolled through the sliding glass doors and made his way to the receptionist to enquire about Blaze. After receiving her room number, he made his way up to her room to catch her just as she was slowly slurping down a fresh bowl of chicken noodle soup.

"Hey, Blaze," Espio greeted her awkwardly, standing at the door as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Espio…?" Blaze asked, confused and surprised by the chameleon's presence. "You are the last… person I expected to see… today. What do I owe the… pleasure?" Espio tilted his head in confusion, not expecting this kind of warm reception from the cat. Not only was he surprised at how well she was healing, but also that she was acting so nice considering how much the cat despised him.

"Are you feeling alright?" Espio asked as he took a few tentative steps into her room.

"I've been better… a lot better. I'm not in as much… pain anymore and my vocal chords… aren't as sore when I speak… I'm also coughing a lot less… now," she smiled as she slowly let the words escape from her mouth. Espio smiled, keeping patient as he let her try to speak, noting how it was extra hard for her to speak at a normal speed, let alone at all given her condition.

"That's good… that's good," Espio repeated, trying to make some small talk despite the uncomfortable, awkward atmosphere that had descended upon the hospital room.

"Espio… seriously… why are you here?" Blaze asked again.

"I just wanted to come see how you were doing," Espio began but seeing the deadpan stare that Blaze was giving him, he knew that she wasn't believing any of his crap.

"Okay, okay… I just wanted to ask if… maybe… you were the one who… kinda, sorta… sent around all the leaked nudes of me," Espio finished by spewing out all the words at once without a break or breath.

"I'm sorry I missed that… Could you say all of that… again," Blaze strained. Espio sighed, taking a deep breath.

"Did you send the nudes to everybody?" Espio asked confidently.

"Are you serious…" Blaze stated plainly.

"I know I screwed around with you last semester and was just wondering if you…" Espio began but was cut off.

"If I what… sent naked pictures of you to… everybody in the whole school? No! No I didn't send… the pictures… Silver has helped me not give into… my revenge seeking ways," she scolded Espio. "I can't believe you would…"

"I was just asking," Espio interrupted her.

"Don't interrupt me! How can you… come in here with me like this and… accuse me of something so… horrible?! I'm not you," she growled angrily.

"Hey! I've changed."

"Bullshit!" Blaze raised her voice slightly louder. Although she was not able to yell due to her burnt lungs and vocal chords, she was still able to give off her normal fiery personality when she got mad. "Get out."

"But Blaze, I just…" Espio began but was cut off again by Blaze.

"Get out now! Doctor!" she called. "Doctor help!"

Espio quickly darted out of the room, narrowly avoiding running into the skunk doctor who rushed to Blaze's help. The purple chameleon rushed down the hallways, staircase and out onto the street, barely being missed by a speedy car whose driver honked viciously at Espio's stupidity for running across the road.

"Do you want to die, kid?!" The driver screamed as he drove past.

'Maybe it would be best…' Espio thought to himself as he trudged back to the bus, head fixated on the ground the whole walk back.

…

The corridor around him was spinning as he struggled to connect his key to the lock on the door. Eventually, after his third attempt, Tails managed to stick the small, silver key into the lock and relished in the sound as the lock clicked open.

He threw the door open, startling Mighty, Mephiles and Sonic who all arose.

"There you are buddy; we were worried about you. It's curfew in like five minutes," Sonic mentioned, clearly relieved that the fox had returned back to the dorm room.

"Where have you been Tails?" Mighty asked, concern flooding his voice. "You haven't been here in the past couple of days."

"Yeah ever since Sonic Broke-" Mephiles began but was cut off as the armadillo threw his pillow at the hedgehog, silencing him.

"Shut up," Mighty hissed under his voice, shooting Mephiles an angry glare before turning back to Tails, putting on a happy smile again.

"Whatever," Mephiles huffed as he picked out his phone and sent a text to the other dark hedgehog, and the only other person who seemed to understand him.

"I've been staying at friend's dorms," Tails huffed angrily as he pushed past Sonic who had stood up to greet him. Tails wasn't in his right mind at that point and the sudden emotions that flooded his system upon laying eyes at the hedgehog for the first time in a couple of days were effecting him in negative ways.

Tails stomped over to his bed and began ripping off the sheets. He noted the familiar scent of the sapphire hedgehog staining them and only ripped them off faster, stripping his bed clean so that the mattress was bare.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Sonic asked, grabbing Tails' arms and stopping him.

"Don't touch me," Tails let out a guttural growl which scared Sonic. He quickly let go and stood back. "I talked to Silver. He has a spare bed in his room so Razor said I could transfer rooms."

"But Tails, this is your room," Sonic pleaded with the fox.

"Not anymore," Tails dismissed him, keeping his emotions as in check as he could. Tails then stormed out of the room, carrying his sheets with him as he began to walk down the hall. "I'll come get my stuff tomorrow," he finished, not turning back as he left.

"I've ruined everything, haven't I?" Sonic sighed, sitting on his bed with his hands on his knees as the rain began to pelt against the window.

"He's just going through the stages of somebody who got dumped. He'll settle down eventually, just give him time," Mighty said calmly.

"He wants to go, let him go. Good riddance," Mephiles stated plainly eliciting an angry scowl from Mighty and Sonic. "What? More room for us."

…

Jet stood underneath a tree, concealing himself from the outside world. He wore a wide brimmed, black hat that he tilted downwards to shroud his face in shadows as he watched the students rush from building to building. The clouds rolled in late last night and rained non-stop since.

Small puddles formed in the low-lying areas of the ground, flooding the sports ovals and creating little rivers in the over flowing gutters that lined the crisscrossing gravel and cement pathways that connected all the buildings together.

Jet shivered, the wind whipping his damp feathers causing chills to rupture all over his body but he was determined. He was thankful for the grand tree that hung above him, sheltering him from the worst of the torrential down poor but he was still soaked to the bone whilst waiting. He knew that Wave would pass by eventually, moving from her classes to the dorm and he waited for his moment.

There. As if Chaos had heard his plea, a little pink dot appeared from one of the large buildings that housed most of the classrooms and gradually got bigger as the swallow that Jet cared about so much rushed through the rain, one feather raised above her head to shield her face from the piercing droplets.

"You should go for it," he heard a seductive voice purr from behind the tree.

"Rouge?" He yelped quietly, startled by her sudden appearance. She smirked, pushing herself off the tree that she was leaning against with her boot and turned to him.

"It doesn't matter how you still feel about her. You both need closure and it's unfair on my little funny bunny to put her through this," Rouge sighed.

"How do you know about me and Wave?" Jet asked, flabbergasted. Rouge just chuckled lightly, placing a gloved hand to her mouth to stifle the laughs.

"Honey please. I know everything that goes on in this school," she smirked. "And most of the time it can be solved if people just talk to each other, which is what you need to do. Now go to her."

"Okay, I will. Thanks Rouge," Jet smiled, steeling his nerves as he turned to see that Wave was nearing the dormitory.

"You're missing your chance," she urged. Jet nodded before he turned and sprinted off into the rain, calling the swallows name. Rouge smiled, watching as Jet approached Wave and sighed as she continued to view the events transpire.

"Wave! Wave!" Jet called, waving his hand as he rushed towards her. She turned around and her mouth flew open when she saw the green hawk rush up to greet her. In her startled state, her grip loosened and the textbook that she held fell to the ground, getting coated in a thick layer of mud from the wet dirt.

"Here, let me get that for you," Jet stumbled, bending over to pick up her book. He took a quick, deep breath before straightening up. "It's… it's good to see you again."

"Cream told me about you being here but I didn't believe it…" Wave breathed, still processing seeing her old friend standing in the flesh in front of her.

"Wait, you and Cream were talking? No, that's no important now, I have something to tell you," Jet confirmed, shaking the thought out of his head for the time being. However, before he began, Wave quickly threw her hands around him and brought him close to her chest, nestling his head in her neck.

"I missed you so much," she sniffed, her tears mixing with the rain that was pouring down tremendously. Together, the two stood there, embracing each other until Jet finally pulled apart.

"You… you did?" Jet questioned.

"Of course I did, stupid," Wave laughed with tears still in her eyes, punching Jet in the arm. "How could you think I didn't?"

"Because you ran away and left me forever," Jet sighed, looking down. Wave breathed deeply, a feeling of hurt and regret crept over her.

"Jet… I had to," she whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Why?! Because I kissed you! Because I said I loved you! Were you so repulsed by me that you had to run away and never tell me about it again?!" Jet yelled, his emotions getting the better of him. All the pain and hurt he felt from that night began to bubble inside of him. All the years of pain, of pushing down his feelings. All the years of his insecurities from that night erupting inside of him, warping and altering into a manifestation of anger itself.

"Jet… it wasn't-" Wave tried to begin.

"Do you know how hard it was? I loved you, I loved you more than myself. Do you know how it felt when I finally admitted it to you and you just left? Didn't you stop to think how that would affect me? For years I felt worthless, like I wasn't good enough for anybody. I tried to hind behind this stupid, cocky ego because I needed to mask the pain and worthlessness that I felt on a day to day basis. There was only one way to relieve the pain you gave me…" Jet trailed off after interrupting her.

"Are you seriously pinning all of this on me!? Don't you think I knew it would hurt you! I didn't want to go but I had to! I fucking had to, okay and I didn't want to hurt you! When you kissed me, I realized that I did love you and it made it that much harder to leave, but I didn't have a fucking choice so I ran. Did you ever stop to consider that?!" Wave yelled, exploding with anger herself as those same emotions that had accumulated within her also bubbled to the surface.

"Wave…"

"But look at you. That didn't stop you from moving on! I never liked any other guy because I never gave up hope on one day being able to see you again, but you couldn't care less. You have a girlfriend now. I heard that you also were dating this pink hedgehog _and_ an auburn haired squirrel?!" Wave shook with fury.

"Wave, it's not like you think. Those two didn't-"

"No… I can't believe you honestly thought I could be that cruel. I can't believe I ever had faith in you," Wave sighed as she turned and ran into the dorm house.

"Wave, wait!" Jet called but was met with a textbook thrown into his gut, causing him to topple over in pain. He just managed to tilt his head upwards as he caught a glimpse of pink feathers disappear through the doors.

…

Sonic walked down the many corridors that twist and turned around one of the large buildings situated near the center of campus which hosted the majority of the classes in the campus. Sonic, wanting some of the exercise since it was a lot harder to go for runs due to the constant downpour of rain that persisted throughout the week, opted to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator to descend.

"Can you stop," Sonic called out as he continued to walk down the flight of stairs, not even bothering to stop or look back. No response. After a few moments, he heard the footsteps continue.

"I said can you stop," Sonic growled angrily, swiveling around to come face to face with a startled, orange porcupine.

"Oh, hey Sonic, fancy seeing you here. I was just going to class and-" Spike began with his excuse when Sonic cut him off, fed up beyond his limit.

"I have seen you following me around for the majority of the week. Can you just quit it?" Sonic yelled. After having his best friend leave his dorm room the previous night, he was in no mood to have to deal with his annoying little shadow.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You helped me out when I needed you so now I'm just returning the favour," Spike cowered slightly, not expecting this sudden angry outburst from the sapphire hedgehog.

"What the fuck does that mean? I don't remember you at all, kid. So why don't you do us both a favour and just fuck off," Sonic growled.

"I heard about the break-up and-" Spike began but was once again interrupted.

"How the fuck do you know? Only Sally, Silver and my dorm room knows about it," Sonic glared at the porcupine.

"I just know, okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and stuff."

"Well I'm fine so can you fuck off now," Sonic bellowed, completely losing any form of composure he had left. "Look, I'm flattered that you remember me and whatever I did and wanna be like me but you just need to step back and be yourself. I don't need more fucking fanboys in my life!"

"Fine, be that way. Throw away somebody just trying to help," Spike spat back, clearly hurt by the way the conversation was going. It wasn't at all like he imagined it would go in his head. "I'll leave but if you need somebody, you know where to find me."

With that, Spike turned and sprinted up the stairs faster than Sonic could have imagined. Sonic stared at the spot the porcupine once stood, feeling slightly guilty for the way he handled that but the feeling of relief to finally be rid of Spike far outweighed his feeling of guilt.

"Finally, some peace and quiet," Sonic breathed silently.

…

Cream: _Is she still in her room?_

Amy: _Yeah, she seems really pissed off recently but like also sad. What did you do to her?_

Cream: _Nothing. Is she in the room now?_

Amy: _Last I checked she was but I left like 20 mins ago_

Cream: _Okay, thanks Amy_

Cream put her phone back in the small little pocket attached to her yellow skirt as she walked a few doors down the corridor, stopping outside the dorm room of her pink friend Amy. She gracefully knocked on the door and after a few seconds was greeted by an unfamiliar face.

"Hey, can I help you?" A green and black pronghorn greeted Cream at the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry is this Cosmo's room?" Cream asked, putting on the sweetest and most innocent voice that she could muster.

"Yeah, I'm her roommate, Clove" the pronghorn greeted her, shaking the rabbit's hand. "Cosmo, there is somebody…" Clove began but as she whipped her head behind the door to see her seedrian roommate, she noticed Cosmo frantically shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Cosmo isn't here right now," Clove quickly said, covering her tracks as she began to close the door.

"Clove, don't," Cream begged, placing her foot inside the door so Clove couldn't completely shut it.

"She doesn't want to see you," Clove stated.

"Please, she has it all wrong. I just need to speak to her and then I'll leave," Cream pleaded.

"I don't think that's the best idea," Clove held her ground.

"Just five minutes, that's all I ask and then I'll leave." Clove darted her head back to Cosmo, who was still sitting on the bed and then back to Cream.

"…Okay, five minutes," Clove gave in, eliciting a small happy gleeful hop from Cream. "But I'll be right outside and if I hear any yelling I'm coming in," Clove warned as she stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

Cream took a few tentative steps towards Cosmo before the seedrian held up her hand, signaling Cream that she had gone far enough.

"What do you want?" Cosmo asked, turning her head. "Tails and Jet not enough for you? Are you going to try and take Clove's boyfriend next?" Cosmo spat bitterly

"Cosmo, it's not what you think," Cream begged.

"I know. He's gay. I got it," Cosmo sighed angrily.

"Well, he's bi. I actually used to be his girlfriend. We were going out for about a year before he dumped me," Cream sighed. Cosmo looked up at the rabbit. She wanted to be mad, she really did but seeing how the breakup still clearly held some sadness inside the rabbit, she couldn't help but feel a bit empathetic towards the rabbit.

"At least you had a boyfriend. All boys hate me," Cosmo sniffed.

"Come on Cosmo, don't say that," Cream cooed, taking a cautious step forward. When the seedrian said and did nothing to halt her advances, the rabbit continued until she got to the bed and took a seat next to Cosmo.

"It's true. Tails was the first guy in the longest time that ever even looked at me twice. He was so nice and friendly and I could tell he actually cared about me. He even asked me to hang out with him again," Cosmo said sadly.

"I'm sure plenty of guys want to hang out with you," Cream soothed.

"Not really. Back at my old school, everybody hated me. Anytime I tried to talk to a boy, they would laugh at me. Call me ugly or just walk away without saying anything. I got so shy, so self-conscious of myself because of it," Cosmo sniffed.

"That's… that's awful," Cream breathed.

"I thought a guy loved me once, but after a date I tried to kiss him, my first kiss… but it was all just a dare that his friends made him do," Cosmo let a few stray tears leave her eyes. "I thought Tails might be different, but of course the only guys that would ever talk to me are the ones who turn out gay… or bi or whatever."

"Cosmos… come on… you're beautiful in your own way," Cream tried her best to comfort the seedrian but didn't know what to say without making the situation worse.

"Get out, now." An indignant voice shouted at Cream from the door.

"What?"

"I said get out," Clove said as she came in. "How dare you make Cosmo cry!"

"But… it wasn't-"

"No Clove… it's okay. She is only helping me," Cosmo sniffed through her tears, drying her face on her light green sweater. Clove raised a skeptical eyebrow towards the rabbit but decided not to take any further action.

"If you say so. I'm always right here if you need me," Clove said, smiling at the saddened seedrian.

"I know… thank you," Cosmo sniffed again.

"Well… guys suck anyway. Who needs them. You have Clove and I here and we aren't going anywhere," Cream tried to cheer her up.

"Yeah, we think you're cool," Clove chimed in.

"Th-thanks," Cosmos choked as she managed to forge a slight smile on her face. Together, the three girls continued to talk and, eventually, laugh through the day as the heavens continued to dowse the world below in the unrelenting rain.

…

Manic smiled to himself as he strolled down the staircase of the male dormitory, striking his twin set of drumsticks along the metal railing in rhythmic fashion. After finally receiving a message from the purple mongoose accepting his invitation to join the band, he was in extremely high spirits and nothing could topple him from his cloud.

He closed his eyes in his blissful state, twirling the sticks around in his hand when the railing came to an end and he stepped out into the lounging area. However, he didn't get far before he collided with something hard and toppled to the floor.

"Ouch, why does this keep happening to me," a shrill voice whined in pain. Manic groaned, rubbing his backside as he stood up, retrieving his drumsticks off of the floor. "Watch where you're walking."

"Sorry, my bad," Manic sighed as he stood up to be stared in the face by a particularly angry pink hedgehog.

"Yeah, it was."

"Geeze, I said I was sorry, what is your problem?" Manic growled.

"I'm just not having a good day and I don't need more people smashing into me," Amy snapped back, clearly in no mood to argue with the green hedgehog.

"Fine whatever, I need to go to band practice anyway," Manic shrugged the hedgehog off and continued along his path.

"You're welcome, by the way Manic," Amy called out behind him.

"What?" manic asked, turning back around to face her.

"Well you didn't thank me making Mina text you back after you gave her your number," Amy giggled slightly.

"How the fuck do you know about that?"

"Mina bumped into me the other day, complaining about your brother and how he isn't into her even though she loooooooves him," Amy taunted slightly, earning a disgruntled grunt from the shaggy quilled hedgehog.

"Yeah right, Mina wouldn't love him," Manic shot back, feeling slightly self-conscious and envious.

"Yeah, it was quite embarrassing when she tried so hard to flirt with him," Amy shot back.

"Why don't you just shut the fuck up," Manic tried to shout in a hushed whisper to not gain the attention of the rest of the room. "Sonic wishes he was half the man I was."

"Don't talk about Sonic that way," Amy spat back stomping up to him and standing up next to him, their body and faces mere centimeters apart. Manic could feel the angry, warm breath emanating from her nostrils as she tried to control her temper.

"Why do you care? Are you going out? Oh wait, no, your jealous because he has his dick up that stupid little fox instead of in you," Manic sent Amy a crafty grin, enjoying the metaphorical steam erupting from her ears due to anger. Neither one could understand why the other made them so mad, but both assumed it was just because of the way they thought of and treated the sapphire hedgehog.

"At least the girl I like isn't in love with his brother. It must feel bad being a step down in Mina's eyes," Amy yelled, finally snapping and earning the glances of everybody in the room, including a quite surprised pink hedgehog.

"Amy, Manic, what's going on here?" Sonia asked, rushing up to get between the two. "Manic, stop yelling at her!"

"Nothing, I'm outta here," Manic threw up his arms, giving up as he turned to stomp out into the snow.

"Good!" Amy shouted back at him.

"Great!" Manic yelled back.

"Sorry for him," Sonia apologized before turning to sprint after her brother. "Manic, Manic what's up?" she asked after finally catching up to him.

"Sonia, what the fuck was that? Why do you never, ever stand up for me? How could you take her side?" Manic was fuming at the mouth.

"I just didn't want to cause a scene," Sonia replied, cowering back slightly at the immense rage bubbling inside of her normally calm and care-free brother.

"That's always your excuse. I'm your brother, your real brother, but you never take my side. Ever!" Manic began. Sonia sighed, knowing exactly where this was going. This wasn't one of the first times they had had this argument.

"Manic, please, I'm sorry. You are my brother and I love you. I'll always be on your side no matter what happens and you can always rely on me but I just wanted to defuse the situation as quick as possible," Sonia admitted.

"Yeah, and that always involves making me look like the bad guy, doesn't it? I have to go to band practice, cya," Manic waved as he began to head off.

"Manic please," Sonia begged, reaching her hand out to grip his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't be so distant with me. We haven't hung out at all since we got here. I miss you."

"Sonia," he sighed. "Look, I'm just really busy. Don't worry, I won't become distant with you. I promise," Manic concluded. "I'll cee you around," he waved as he walked off, leaving Sonia alone with her thoughts.

…

Espio sighed as he darted past the ridicule that the students continued to throw his way. Despite over two weeks passing by, him and his nudes were still the center of attention in the school and he never seemed to be able to catch a break.

Despite all the mean comments and name calling that he was subjected to, he managed to smile as he was on his way to band practice. He heard from Manic and Knuckles that they had gotten a new lead singer and that they were all ready for the big show on Saturday at the stadium.

Espio checked his watch, picking up his pace when he looked down and noticed that it was almost five o'clock. He was already about ten minutes late and didn't want to keep them waiting any longer. He skidded to a halt as their practice room appeared in his field of vision.

Espio smiled as he found his way to the music room that their teacher so graciously let them use to practice outside of class hours. However, the smile was instantly wiped off of Espio's face as he entered the room.

"Oh yeah! Well at least she isn't a fucking slut who throws herself at every boy she meets!" Knuckles snapped back at Manic. Both of them wore scowls on their faces and their eyes were red with anger. Espio could see by the tossed instruments and body language that this fight hadn't only just started, but had been raging for a while.

"Maybe that's because she is probably a boy!" manic fought back.

"Just because she is into sports doesn't mean she is a fucking guy! I've seen her and she isn't," Knuckles spat back.

"Yeah, but I don't have to check Mina out while she is taking a shower to know that she is a girl. She isn't a flat chested bitch like Julie, you fucking pervert," Manic yelled.

"That's it. I've fucking had enough. Why don't you go start your own band with Mina, despite the fact that she is probably choking on your brother's dick as we speak. I'm out of here!" Knuckles growled angrily.

"Whatever, at least she isn't tongue deep in some other chick's pussy! I'm fucking gone too," Manic bellowed with anger.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Guys, guys. What's going-" Espio rushed into the room, trying to calm them down but was interrupted as both of the doors that connected to the room were slammed shut simultaneously as Knuckles and Manic both left in a huff.

"Please… this band is all I have left," Espio sighed as he slumped to the floor.

* * *

 _A/N: Well there it is, chapter 11. I hope you all enjoyed and are excited for Elias' big bash. Rich kids always throw the best parties, naturally :P Please don't forget to review to let me know what you thought of the chapter and what you hope transpires in the next one. There will be at least one, maybe more, relationship that are going to be over by chapter 13's end so the question of the chapter... Which relationship do you hope gets the boot at the party and which relationship do you hope stays strong?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Relationships will blossom, relationships will fall_

 _Sex, Fights, a lot of alcohol and even more drama_

 _Next time in Chapter 12 and 13: Elias' Big Bash_

 _Elias' Big Bash!_


	12. Chapter 12: Elias' Big Bash (I)

_A/N: Hey everybody, sorry I'm super late with this one but life has been hectic. University just started back up this week and I'm up at the snow most weekends (Yes Australia has snow, we have quite a few ski mountains actually) and my computer recently got hit with a pretty damaging trojan virus so I had the pleasure of dealing with that noise. On top of everything, about 2000 words of this story went unsaved so I had to write even more. Anyway, long story short the world has just been against me recently and I'll try to get these out as quick as possible. But the first part of the big party is here so I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

Chapter 12

Elias' Big Bash (I)

The rest of the week passed quickly for most people and all the gossip floating around the grounds was non-existent as instead the student body were all eagerly awaiting the big term party. Finally, Saturday night rolled around and all the students began getting ready for the big event.

Sonia sat on her bed, a small circular portable mirror held in her left hand as she puckered her lips to apply some of her cherry-red lipstick. Opposite her, slipping on some of her signature black socks was the fiery vixen known as Fiona Fox.

"Are you really not getting dressed up?" Sonia asked as she placed the small mirror back into her purse and tossed her phone inside too.

"I don't do dresses," Fiona replied bitterly, slipping on her cut-off, black leather jacket over a simple white shirt with some black jeans to boot. "I see you are going a bit overboard tonight," Fiona snickered as her eyes fell upon Sonia. The small pink hedgehog blushed slightly as she stood up, wobbling slightly on her high heels.

"I guess I'm just not quite used to high heels," she gave a small embarrassed giggle.

"Well I think you look great," Fiona smiled as she pulled her long hair back with both hands and tied it into a small pony tail with a yellow ribbon, making a nice bow in her hair.

"That looks cute," Sonia winked with a laugh, eliciting an annoyed grunt from Fiona.

"It's not cute," she snorted indignantly, only earning another round of giggles from Sonia. "I just don't like going out with my bangs. That's all," she shrugged it off as she turned to grab her phone, wallet and keys that were sprawled out on her bed. Sonia smiled to herself behind that fox's back. She was glad to have met Fiona. Despite what some of her friends said about the vixen, Sonia didn't listen to them. She just thought Fiona was misunderstood and nobody gave her a real chance.

"So, you ready to go?" Fiona asked after shoving her belongings into the deep pockets of her slightly faded jeans.

"Yep, let's get going. I can't wait for this party," Sonia cheered as she walked ungracefully towards their door.

"Just stick with me and I'll show you a good time," Fiona smirked as she closed the door behind the two, locking it before they set out towards the busses that were all commissioned to take the school towards the large stadium that Elias had rented out for the festivities.

…

Sonic slipped his long sleeved, un-buttoned black collared shirt over a crisp new white t-shirt, examining himself in the mirror. He quickly applied a bit of gel to his quills and rolled up the sleeves to his elbows before setting out towards Silver and Eclipses dorm room.

"Oh Sonic, come in. We're almost ready to leave," the Silver hedgehog greeted the sapphire hedgehog once he arrived.

"Somebody looks fancy tonight," Sonic laughed as he noticed Silver's attire. The hedgehog wore a simple patterned woolen jumper and some cream coloured chinos and converse sneakers.

"Sorry we can't all look as cool as you," he quipped back.

"Sonic, cool? Don't make me laugh," Shadow scoffed as Silver shut the door. Eclipse was busy combing his hair, using the mirror hung up in the room. Jet and Knuckles were talking to each other in the corner of the room while Shadow was sat on Silver's bed, phone in hand as he texted feverishly away on his device.

"At least I don't look like an emo reject," Sonic laughed back. "So, you texting a special somebody?" Shadow avoided the question.

"Yeah, don't think I haven't noticed you and that other emo hedgehog sneaking around in the shadows together," Knuckles piped up.

"Shut it," Shadow growled, hurling a pillow at the red echidna who caught it with ease. "At least I'm not cheating on my girlfriend."

"I am not!" Jet and Knuckles both replied at once before exchanged intrigued glances.

"Jet?" Eclipse asked, turning to the green hawk.

"Is this about that pink swallow Rouge was talking about?" Shadow asked.

"Fucking Rouge. Can't that slut keep her mouth shut," Jet growled.

"Hey!" Shadow and Knuckles both yelled back in defense of their best friend and girlfriend. Knuckles reeled back and punched Jet hard in the arm. He stumbled backwards slightly, rubbing his feathers and inspecting for a bruise that was sure to follow.

"Can you give him another one for me?" Shadow called out. Knuckles nodded and stepped closer to the green hawk.

"No, no I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he held his hands out in front of him to shield from the impending punch.

"You better be," Knuckles said seriously before breaking into a laugh.

"Are your friends always like this?" Eclipse asked, watching the event unfold.

"Most of the time, yeah," Silver replied with a shrug.

"Unless Sonic and Shadow are off fucking each other," Jet piped up.

"Do you want to die tonight," Shadow shot him an angry glare, to which Jet just replied with a cocky grin.

"Ow! What was that one for?" Jet asked, rubbing his same arm after being punched a second time by the strong echidna as he shot Knuckles a look.

"That one was for Sonic this time," Knuckles smiled, nodding to the sapphire hedgehog. However, a saddened frown crossed his face when he noticed Sonic looking up to the top bunk with a depressed expression. "Everything okay, bro?"

"Huh? What? Yeah, I'm all good," Sonic shook off the glances of every guy in the room.

"Sonic, just don't think about it," Silver sighed, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Where is he anyway?" Sonic asked, noticing the absence of the fox.

"Oh, he went to meet Fiona at the busses. The little guy has been spending most of his time over at her dorm room," Silver sighed. Shadow and Sonic both turned to glare at each other, exchanging worried frowns and silent words, both knowing what the other was thinking.

"Wait, why is Tails hanging out with Fiona?" Jet asked.

"And why is he sleeping in this room?" Knuckles added.

"Okay, do you guys promise to keep this a secret, at least for now?" Sonic asked them. They both nodded. "I kind of broke up with him and now he moved out of our dorm and is staying here with Silver, Eclipse and Espio," Sonic sighed.

"Oh, I'm sorry bro. That sucks. You guys were my OTP," Knuckles said solemnly. "No offence Shadow."

"None taken," Shadow replied darkly.

"That sucks, you guys were like perfect together," Jet added. "No offence Shadow."

"I said none taken," Shadow slammed his fist into the mattress underneath him, grounding his teeth together.

"Is Shads a little bit sensitive," Sonic mocked.

"Do _you_ want to die tonight?" Shadow spat back, emphasizing the you.

"Wow, look at the time," Silver suddenly piped up. "We better get to the busses."

"Why, you want to get there early so you can get a seat next to Breezie," Eclipse snickered.

"Who?" Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles and Jet all turned to stare at the now red faced silver hedgehog.

"Just a friend," Silver waved their gazes off, opening the door and ushering them all out of his room.

"Is she just a friend? From what I've seen-" Eclipse began but was quickly interrupted by Silver's palm being stuffed into his face, blocking his mouth.

"Yeah, she is, now quick we don't want to miss the busses," Silver said quickly, pushing them out of the door before closing it. "And you," he whispered to Eclipse. "Shut it, you get- ew!" Silver reeled his hand back after Eclipse licked the length of his palm with his tongue.

"Don't shove your hand on my mouth then," Eclipse shot back. "But okay, your secret is safe with me," Eclipse smiled before walking off to join the rest of the guys who were still grilling Jet about the pink swallow.

…

"I'm so excited. This party has been all anybody has talked about all week," Tikal cheered as she twirled around in front of the mirror, watching her dress lift slightly off of the ground.

"Oh yeah, this is your first party, isn't it?" Breezie commented as she applied a final coat of polish to her nails, holding her hand in the air to examine her handy work.

"My city girl is growing up," Clove teased, adopting a motherly tone to her voice and pretended to be a sad mother seeing her child off on their first day of primary school.

"I'm older than you!" Tikal retorted. "And you live in the city too."

"Only in the holidays. The rest of the time we are country gals," Breezie replied, trying to put on a fake southern American accent but failing miserably.

"And city boys love small town country girls," Mina giggled, earning a high five from Breezie. She held up her hand to Clove but didn't get a reciprocated high five.

"Mina, you know I have a boyfriend," she pouted playfully.

"I know," Mina whined sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Oh my Chaos girls, did you hear what my boyfriend Mighty gave me last night? Girls, girls, girls, you have to see this bracelet that my boyfriend Mighty bought me," Mina mimicked Clover in a voice similar to the pronghorns.

"Shut up I don't sound like that or talk about him that much," Clove responded, earning a stare from the two girls mocking her.

"Puh-lease," Breezie flicked her wrist for emphasis. "We can't go one conversation without you bringing him up."

"And you never tell us any of the juicy details," Mina added, causing Clove's face to flood a beet red.

"Don't be such a pervert. Back me up, Tiks."

"Well… she does always talk about Mighty-" Tikal began but was interrupted by the two girls.

"See!"

"But! She doesn't always leave out the juicy details," Tikal winked.

"Well go on."

"Do tell."

"Tikal I swear to Chaos if you breathe a word," Clove warned, making a fist with her hand for emphasis, earning a chuckle out of the orange echidna.

"Oh wow, look at the time. We better get to the busses," Tikal dodged the two girls prying for more information before getting up and pushing them towards the door.

"Aww," Breezie and Mina whined in unison.

"I'll tell you later," Tikal whispered quietly as she passed the girls. Once she got to the door she turned around to face the three other occupants of the room. "Now, who's ready to party!" They all cheered simultaneously before filing out into the hallway, chatting away eagerly about what they want to do that night.

…

"She is actually a massive slut, no wonder everybody hates her," Rouge mentioned from her seat in front of the mirror as she carefully applied her eye liner. "I'd probably just go kill myself if I were her."

"Rouge, that's not cool," Cream chimed in from the bed. She turned to Cosmo who just seemed to stare at her feet, uncomfortable about the whole conversation to begin with.

"What? She deserves all the shit she got coming to her," Rouge huffed, putting her eye liner away before picking up her eyelash curler.

"Come on Rouge, she didn't actually do anything. They just play basketball together. Nothing is going to happen, I promise," Wave placed a hand on Rouge's shoulder, smiling at the bat through the mirror.

"I've dealt with their type before. They ain't got the curves to get their own men so they have to steal others," Rouge huffed.

"I think she seems lovely," Cosmo commented shyly.

"Yeah, well you don't have to live with her, do you," Rouge snapped back, silencing the nervous seedrian. Cream frowned, getting mad at the bat for how rude she was being to their new friend.

Suddenly the four girls heard the sound of jingling keys, followed by the turning of a lock as the door slowly swung open and in stepped a stunning pink echidna. She pulled out her make-shift scrunchie, letting her long, luscious hair fall gracefully down over her shoulders.

"Speak of the devil," Rouge mumbled.

"What was that?" Julie-Su asked as she strolled into her room. "Sorry I'm late girls. I had to quickly have a shower after basketball practice and get my dress from my friend Saffron."

"Nothing, nothing at all," Rouge beamed through a happy façade. "We were just talking about the party, right girls?"

"Yeah, we were talking how fun it is going to be," Cream smiled, just glad that they were done bitching about the echidna that Cream honestly liked. Rouge stood up, making her way over to one of the drawers and pulled out a shiny, golden bangle with a giant, green shimmering emerald fixated into it. She made a big show about pulling it out and slowly putting it around her wrist, marveling at its beauty. After a few moments, she quickly gave Wave a quick elbow in her side.

"Huh, wha? Oh, yeah," she mumbled under her breath before speaking up in a dramatic, quite fake tone. "Wow Rouge, that looks beautiful. Where oh where did you get something that amazing?"

"Oh this old thing?" Rouge dismissed the swallow with a smile who just frowned and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over each other. "My boyfriend Knuckles got this for me. He said it was a family treasure and he only could give it to his true love," she shot a sneaky glare at Julie when she said true love.

"Wow, that looks amazing. You must be one lucky girl," Cosmo breathed as she marveled at the bangle in all honestly. Cream just placed a hand on her forehead and shook her head, sighing at how naïve Cosmo actually was. "I bet that's worth like at least ten thousand dollars!"

"Not even close," Rouge shook her head.

"I bet it's fifteen then," Cosmo replied.

"Nope."

"Twenty?"

"It's priceless. Knuckles really went all out. Oh," Rouge paused, turning to Julie. "I think you and Knuckles met. He told me he was joining the basketball team so you must have met."

"Knuckles? Yeah, we had an uncomfortable meeting the other day," Julie-Su coughed.

"Uncomfortable how?" Wave asked, intrigued.

"Well I was having a shower in the change rooms when I heard footsteps coming towards me and-" Julie-Su began recounting the story of how Knuckles saw her naked when Cream quickly interrupted.

"We are going to be late if we don't leave now," Cream practically yelled, grabbing Cosmo as she squirmed under the firm grasp of the rabbit uncomfortably.

"But I didn't finish my story," Julie said.

"You'll thank me later," Cream whispered as she rushed passed the echidna. "Now let's go!" she finished, leading the group of girls out into the hallway, making sure to keep the bat as far away as the pink echidna as possible.

…

The small amounts of the remaining leaves that still hung around the grounds crunched loudly underneath Espio's flat soled shoes as he strolled through the grounds. He breathed out, watching the steam come from his breath due to the cold outside before shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his un-zipped, black hoodie for warmth. He quickly glanced down at his wrist watch, noting the time. He didn't want to be late for the party. Despite the fighting, his band was still going to perform for the whole school and he knew that if everything went okay, Knuckles and Manic would be sure to make up.

Espio smiled to himself as he made his way away from the busses and towards the administration building and the little golden tenrec that worked behind the desk.

"Um, hello?" Espio called out, knocking on the door as he entered into the little foyer area. He heard a stack of papers fall and a voice swear out in frustration before Gold suddenly appeared from her office dressed for a party.

"Oh, Espio, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be boarding the busses with all of your friends?" Gold asked whilst simultaneously applying some lipstick to her lips.

"Ha, friends, that's a laugh. After those leaked pics nobody wants anything to do with me," Espio sighed, looking down at his sneakers.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better I didn't look at them. Even though I'd probably lose my job if I did," Gold chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll look into that after I figure out this pyro case, okay?" she blinked her eyelashes at him and beamed him a smile.

"You'd do that? That would mean a lot," Espio smiled sheepishly at her. Despite being about four years older than him, he was still quite a bit taller and had to look down a bit at her.

"Yeah, now go run along. Maybe I'll see you at the party. I've gotta go chaperone," Gold sighed.

"Yeah… maybe," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Anyway… I noticed the other day how stressed you seemed to be so when I was in the city I kinda got you something," Espio said nervously, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box wrapped with yellow paper and tied off with a red bow.

"Oh… wow Espio… this is really nice," Gold said as she took the gift and examined it. "Thanks so much."

"Yeah, no problem… anyway I got to go," he stuttered before rushing out of the room leaving a bewildered tenrec to stare at the little gift in her hands. She smiled to herself as she carefully pulled back the red bow and tore open the paper to reveal a small scented candle with a little note attached to it.

 _To Gold,  
You don't deserve to be so stressed. Thanks for all you do for us,  
Espio_

Gold smiled before she tore up the note into tiny pieces and placed it in the bin, knowing that Razor had a strict policy on students giving gifts to teachers. She then walked into her office, placed the candle on her desk next to a picture of her and her best friend celebrating Gold's 23rd birthday over the holidays. She smiled, reminiscing about the party she had not three weeks' prior, missing her city friends dearly before she grabbed her coat, making her way over to the busses whilst the image of the shy chameleon never left her head.

…

There was a constant, droning chatter that filled the air surrounding the stadium as all of the fancy dressed, ecstatic students filed off of the busses and rushed inside the main gate of one of the many Central City stadiums. The gaggling group brushed passed the interior, some glancing as the normally busy food stalls were lit up with bored looking employees ready to hand out all the free hotdogs, fairy floss, burgers, chips, pizza and any other foods that the guests could think of.

The crowd moved slowly like a babbling brook out into the stands, carefully descending the steps whilst passing that hundreds of rows of seats until the crowd dispersed like the gulf of a river, spreading out into the vast sea of grass on the main field of the grand stadium.

"This is amazing. Did he really book out a whole stadium?" Tikal breathed as she looked around, marveled at how empty the stadium was. She remembered coming here a couple times with Knuckles, hating the jeering crowds, gross mess and constant noise but now it seemed like some kind of enchanting colosseum from a fairy tale.

"I don't think you understand just how rich Elias' parents are," Clove chuckled, keeping in step with the orange echidna as the glanced around in strange mix of bewilderment and amazement.

"Does he normally go all out like this?" Tikal asked.

"This? This is nothing."

The two girls giggled before Clove felt somebody breathing on the back of her neck. Before she could turn around, everything went dark as a figure placed their hands over her eyes and she let out a quick shriek that was quickly overshadowed by the joyous laughter of the one behind her.

"Mighty! You know how much I hate that," Clove pouted playfully as she wrenched his hands off of her eyes and spun around to face him.

"C'mon, you love it," Mighty smiled his charming, innocent smile.

"No, but you're lucky I love you," Clove returned the smile before tilting her head upwards to kiss the armadillo on the lips.

"Hey guys," Ray smiled as he walked up behind Mighty.

"Hey Ray," Clove responded, waving at the smaller boy standing next to the armadillo. Tikal watched the two kiss, happy for her best friend but still slightly envious until she spotted a certain darkling making his way towards the group.

"Hey Eclipse," Tikal smiled at him.

"Wow, you look amazing tonight Tikal," he replied, marveling at her stunning dress and beauty. The two stood there, looking at each other for a few moments until Mighty piped up.

"Well… maybe we should give them a little privacy," he said to Clove and Ray but spoke purposely loud enough to ensure that the two heard. Eclipse coughed into his hand before taking a step back.

"Hey guys, how have you been," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Eclipse, can I see you over here for a second?" Mighty smirked, grabbing Eclipse by the wrist and heading off, brushing past two individuals who just walked up to the dwindling group.

"What was that about?" Mephiles grunted as he emerged from the crowd of people into the small circle that Tikal, Clove and Ray had created, stepping apart to let Spike and Mephiles join.

"I don't know. It's just Mighty being Mighty I guess," Ray shrugged.

"Isn't it like your job to know about him?" Spike laughed.

"I wish I knew what was going on in his head sometimes," Ray replied.

"Meph, it's been a while. How have you been," Clove greeted him with a hug that he reluctantly accepted.

"I said don't call me that," he grunted.

"And I said you need to come eat lunch with us more but I guess we both can't do what the other says," she laughed in response.

"I don't know how Mighty puts up with you."

"I'm Tikal by the way," the orange echidna smiled, holding out his hand in front of Spike.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to introduce you two. This is Tikal," Ray pronounced proudly.

"Yeah, I kinda got that little buddy," Spike replied before greeting Tikal with a handshake.

"You know you sound a lot like a friend I know," Tikal pondered in thought but shook that idea out of her head just as it entered, not bothering to entertain it for any longer. Meanwhile, a few steps away, but far enough to be out of earshot and sight from the group, Mighty began to talk to Eclipse.

"Dude, what are you doing. Remember, act cool," Mighty emphasized the coolness with a slide of his hand through the air like a blade, palm facing downwards in his horizontal stroke.

"I think she likes my more nervous side anyway. I wasn't really getting anywhere with the mysterious act but when my true self shined through a bit she totally accepted a date," Eclipse tried to hold his excitement in a little more.

"Ah, there you go. You finally understand the language of love. Be yourself," Mighty nodded, earning a frown from Eclipse.

"You're just making shit up as you go along and whenever something works, you're just going to take credit for it yourself, aren't you," he rolled his eyes.

"The love doctor never reveals his secrets," Mighty declared, holding a hand up in the air. "I've got a one hundred percent hit rate with couples I've matched so make sure you don't ruin my reputation."

"What, one hundred percent out of two couples," Eclipse quipped back.

"Three now," Mighty winked.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"I might be an idiot, but I'm also an expert. The love doctor is out," Mighty laughed as he rushed back to the group just in time before a hush fell over the crowd. A large sound began playing over the speakers situated around the stadium as the flagged off area in the middle began to creak. Slowly, the grass began to slide sideways to make way for a large, rectangular stadium that rose from the ground, elevating higher and higher as the music that was blaring from the speakers grew more and more intense and up-tempo. Finally, as the stadium finally stopped its ascent, the music crescendoed into the chorus of a popular pop song as a tall, handsome blonde squirrel popped through the curtains holding a microphone.

"How is everybody feeling tonight?" He screamed into the microphone and was greeted with a tremendous roar from the crowd.

"For those who don't know me, what's wrong with you?" he began, earning a laugh from the crowd. "But either way, I'm Elias and I'd like to welcome you all to this semesters big bash!" he declared, earning a thunderous applause from the crowd.

"Rules are as usual. No fighting or violence but other than that, just have a good time. Food and drink stands are all around the interior of the stadium, free of charge of course and, for those of you who want a little bit of privacy, the private rooms that are normally closed off to the public are all open for you horny teens to enjoy all night," he laughed into the microphone before running up the stage and diving into the crowd only to be caught by the hundreds of hands that were raised skywards.

"Wow…" Tikal mentioned after the cheering began to die down a bit and was replaced by chatter whilst some music started to play from the speakers. "That is one egotistical douche."

"Nah, he's pretty chill once you get to know him," Mighty dismissed the echidna.

"He just likes to go all out and always loses himself in the moment at these things," Ray added.

"People love it though because if you think about it, he did do all of this for us so we just entertain him for the night," Spike finished before he spotted a certain green echidna out of the corner of his eye. "And with that, I take my leave," he said before sprinting off in the direction of Breezie and her best friend Mina.

"I must be off too," Mephiles stated dryly before leaving without another word.

"And we've got a date with some food," Tikal declared, placing her hand in Eclipses and entwining their fingers before the two darted off towards one of the stalls.

"C'mon Mighty, let's go dance," Clove announced.

"Right behind you," he cheered. "I'll catch up with you later," he smiled to Ray before leaving him standing all alone.

"yeah… okay," Ray sighed, looking all around at the sea of faces that he couldn't work up the nerve to go talk to.

…

Fiona led Sonia by the hand through the crowd of cheering people as Sonia glanced backwards over her shoulder to get a glimpse of the party prince himself diving off the stage into the crowd before her view was obstructed by one of the thousands of pillars holding up the second floor of the grand stadium.

"Where are we going?" She asked, whipping her head back around to ask Fiona.

"We're going to get our drink on," Fiona laughed as she arrived at one of the small counters that were built into the side of the table. A rather gruff looking dog in a tux asked what they wanted.

"Tequila shots, and don't be skimpy on the tequila," Fiona barked assertively. The dog disappeared behind a wall and came back with two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila that he expertly poured into the glasses.

"But Fiona, I don't really drink," Sonia protested but Fiona shoved the tiny glass into her hand.

"It's a party. Loosen up a bit and learn to have a little fun."

"But I-"

"C'mon, don't you trust me," Fiona pouted.

"Okay, yeah. Let's do it then. It's just one night," Sonia smiled as she tilted the glass backwards, letting the liquid burn the back of her throat as it made its way down her esophagus. Sonia gagged, coughing slightly at the burning sensation she felt.

"Here, suck on this," Fiona shoved a slice of lime into her mouth before the pink hedgehog could protest. Sonia tried to stop her but after drawing some of the flavour out of the fruit, realized how much it soothed her.

"See, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Fiona smiled.

"You're quite the expert, aren't you?" Before Fiona could answer, a scowling green hedgehog clad in a leather jacket similar to the fiery vixen's walked up to the two, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in for a quick, intense kiss.

"Wow… who's that?"

"This is my boyfriend Scourge."

"Hey little lady, don't we look cute tonight," he winked, showing his sharp, pointed teeth as he did. Fiona brought her boot down onto his foot as he bellowed out in pain.

"Compliment me, not her," Fiona whined.

"How 'bout I just buy you a drink," he offered.

"That'll do. Two margaritas for me and my new good friend Sonia the Hedgehog," she commanded with extra emphasis on her last name before sending him off to get the drinks. "Now come on girl, let's go wait over there." The two girls made their way across to sit down on two of the drinks, watching the large crowd on the lawn disperse into different sections of the stadium whilst a portion remained to dance the night away.

Meanwhile, Scourge got the drinks from the bar tender and walked over to the two girls. He quickly took out a small vial from his jacket pocket and emptied the contents into one of the drinks, mixing it slightly to hide the evidence as he finally appeared from the corner.

"Oh, thanks so much," Sonia said, reaching out to grab one of the drinks before Scourge quickly swiveled his hands around, handing her the other drink. She looked at him quizzically but Fiona offered her a genuine smile so she returned the gesture and took the drink.

"To good friends," Fiona said.

"Cheers," Sonia replied as the two girls clinked the glasses together and took a couple sips of the drink. It took effect immediately. Suddenly the stadium felt like it was spinning and Sonia was filled with a sudden burst of energy.

"Oh wow, this is great," the mentioned before sucking down the rest of the drink in one quick sip, surprising even Scourge at how quickly she was being effected. "Come on Fi, let's go dance," she said, trying to stand up but falling over almost immediately. Fiona quickly stuck out her hand, catching her before she smashed into the ground.

"You go. I'll catch up with you soon. I want some time with my baby, you understand," Fiona said.

"Okey, dokey doo," Sonia sung before turning and running down, almost tripping over everything as her vision blurred and the world continued to turn around her, drumming out any thoughts or cognitive skills that she normally had.

"Oh, sorry," Sonia laughed giddily as she almost smashed into a gorgeous looking bat who had her nose stuck into her phone, desperately trying to find her boyfriend. Rouge cocked an eye at the normally calm and studious hedgehog, wondering how much she had already had to drink.

'Maybe I should keep an eye on her…' Rouge thought to herself, stalking Sonia through the crowd as she tried to re-dial the stubborn red echidna's number for the third time.

"What did you put in her drink?" Fiona asked after Sonia had hit the grassy lawn of the stadium.

"Just a little drug that will help get her buzzed and keep her that way for the rest of the night," he snickered.

"This should be interesting," Fiona laughed.

"So, why don't you and me go find one of those private rooms," Scourge whispered sensually into her ear.

"Calm down there, cowboy, not just yet. Let's go prowl the crowd and have a bit of fun. I still need to find my little foxy buddy," she sneered as she stomped down the steps, followed by a disgruntled green hedgehog.

…

"Breezie, hey Breezie," Silver called, waving his hand in the air as he spotted the familiar hedgehog dancing with Spike and Mina on the lawn. He rushed up to her, but before he could get near her, an annoying purple chameleon stepped out from a crowd of people intercepting Silver in his pursuit.

"Get out of the way," he growled angrily, pushing Espio to the side but the determined chameleon grabbed his arm, keeping hold despite Silver's efforts to throw him off. "What do you want?" Silver turned around angrily, small droplets of spit staining Espio's face.

"Did you send the photos of me around to everybody at the school? You hated me more than anybody but this is a new low, even for you," Espio narrowed his eyes, his voice deep and gruff.

"Look, not that I'm not ecstatic that the whole school hates you, since you kinda deserve it, but how would I have even gotten ahold of those pictures?" Silver sighed more in annoyance than anything else.

"How long are you going to hold this grudge?"

"How long are you going to hold my arm?"

"Just tell me if you sent the pictures!" Espio barked angrily.

"I didn't! I'm not even really super good friends with Tikal so there is no way that I could have gotten them from her."

"I didn't send them to her. I accidentally sent them to somebody else but I don't know who and your one of the only people who hate me enough to send them to everybody if it was you."

"I'm not that mean. Besides, have you thought about Tails? He's super good at all that techno stuff and hacking and shit. Maybe he got into your phone."

"Tails wouldn't do that."

"Then it was probably Fiona trying to get back at you for skipping out on her last semester," Silver shrugged. "Now will you let me go?" Espio released his grip and watched as Silver ran off into the group of his friends. Espio felt ashamed. Ever since Fiona showed him the picture in the first place he hadn't even thought about the fact that the fiery vixen could have been the one to send it to everybody.

Espio quickly set off, searching the stadium until he noticed the rusty furred vixen that he had been searching for, arms wrapped around Scourge. He sprinted up to Fiona, grabbing her by the arm and wrenching her away from Scourge.

"You wanna die?" Scourge growled, sending a firm punch to Espio's gut.

"Scourge, it's okay. I'll go see what he wants, meet back with you soon," she smiled before following Espio away from the disgruntled hedgehog who just crossed his arms over his chest and huffed in annoyance.

"So, what do you want?" Fiona asked, disinterested.

"Why did you spread those pictures around?" Espio narrowed his eyes.

"Me? What? Why, I would never!" Fiona replied with an inflection in her voice, pretending to be hurt and offended by his words.

"Cut the crap, I know you too well."

"That is something I'd do, isn't it?"

"So you admit it?"

"I wish it was me, it was deliciously devious, but alas I can't take credit," she said in a mocking tone as she taunted Espio.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Like you said, you know me. If it was me, I would have taunted you further and gloated about how I did it. When I saw the picture, I loved it but was ashamed that it wasn't me so I did the next best thing and made sure I was the person to show you the picture to see your reaction," Fiona smiled when she saw a frown cross the chameleon's face.

Espio wanted to argue but he knew that Fiona was right. If she really did send the pictures to everybody, she would have made a much bigger deal about it and rubbed it in his face.

"Then… who did it?" Espio sighed, utterly defeated. "I can't take this abuse anymore."

"As much as I'd love to help, seeing you depressed is just too much fun. Now run along, I hear that your band is playing soon. Don't want to be late for the ridicule," she chuckled as Espio turned and walked off.

'I wonder who did send those pictures,' Fiona thought as she strolled back to Scourge who was blowing out smoke from a freshly lit cigarette.

…

Jet sighed aloud, standing with his hands in his pockets next to the sapphire and pink hedgehog's and the auburn haired squirrel, scanning the crowd.

"So Jet, how come you're here with us, not that we don't all love you," Sally remarked casually.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be off dancing with Cream or doing whatever it is you guys do?" Amy chimed in. Jet looked between the two, not knowing what to say until Sonic interrupted.

"Hey Jet, can you come with me to get some beers," he said, taking him by the wrist and dragging him away from the two girls who just exchanged confused glances as the two boys faded into the crowd.

"Hey Sonic, what was that for?" Jet asked, perplexed.

"No reason, it just seemed like you didn't want to talk about it and I understand complicated relationships so say no more," Sonic smiled.

"Thanks man. Thanks a lot," Jet returned the smile, thinking back to the moment when Sonic and him started to become friends before it subsequently blew back up in his face.

"Yeah, oh, and I know it's been a while but I never did get to apologize for all the shit I put you through last semester. I was just in a bad place and…" Sonic began.

"Don't worry I understand, now you don't have to say anymore." Jet held out his hand and Sonic placed his in the hawk's shaking it as the smiled at each other, a newfound depth to their friendship forming.

"Hey blue, can I borrow this one for a moment," a seductive voice purred from his ear.

"Huh, Rouge? Yeah sure, go ahead."

"Rouge, where are we going?" Jet asked as he craned his head around to see Sonic wave at him before a crowd of people obscured the hawk's view.

"I needed to talk to you. I saw what happened between you and Wave the other day and I can't sit by and watch you give up that friendship like that," Rouge stamped her foot for emphasis.

"Since when do you care so much about me and my prior friendship with Wave?" Jet grunted, annoyed by the bat's persistence in his relationship with his former best friend.

"Since I knew what it was like to have a best friend suddenly get up and leave you for a long period of time without explanation," she sighed, thinking back to the night when Shadow left her crying on the hood of a car. Jet looked down at his feet, realizing just what Rouge was on about when he remembered Knuckles tell him the story of what went down between the two of them at the dance.

"Yeah but at least he's back now and you guys are best friends again," Jet tried to reason with her.

"Yeah, and Wave is back too. Don't let her slip away again," Rouge urged, pointing behind him. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of pink feathers out of the corner of his eye.

"She hates me after what happened and after hearing about all the girls I've been with," Jet sighed, his gaze shifting to his shoes.

"Well, it's up to you but I can't stand here and watch you throw her away and be an idiot. I'm outta here," she scoffed before turning to waltz away. Jet stood in place, weighing up the pros and cons in his mind. He desperately wanted to see her again, to have that close connection that they used to. To talk together, laugh together, feel her touch… but the image of the rabbit he loved kept pushing through his mind.

'No, I can't go talk to her. It'll only end badly,' he decided, making up his mind. Suddenly, as his decision to refuse seeking her out finally took its toll, Jet was flooded with a wash of depression and he felt the desperate need to suddenly get a drink. He quickly ran up the steps into one of the interior sections of the stadium and rushed up to the bar tender, getting a fresh beer.

However, as he turned to walk away, bringing the neck of the bottle up to his lips, he bumped into somebody coming the other way, dropping his bottle. He turned to yell, but his words failed to find his mouth as he stared into the caring eyes of Wave the Swallow. Small fractals of broken glass peppered the air from the broken bottle, but neither bird bothered to look down.

"Wave…" Jet breathed.

"What do you want now?" She asked, shaking herself out of her trance and adopt her standoffish tone again. "Come to insult me again?"

"Wave, it's not like that, just let me explain," jet begged.

"Explain what? How you think I just took off and left my best friend for no good reason? Like I chose to abandon you?" Wave huffed, standing up toe to toe with the green hawk, their faces mere centimeters apart.

"Well you did! Right after I confessed my love for you," Jet shot back.

"It was just bad timing."

"How would I know that? How could what you did mean anything else?"

"Because, you idiot, I never gave up trying to find you! After I returned to the city, my parents sent me to the school but I never gave up trying to find you again over the breaks," she retorted.

"You knew what school I was at; why didn't you just find me there?"

"Are you even listening to me? I could only search on break, meaning you weren't at the school!"

"That's bullshit. You left because I ruined our friendship," Jet sighed, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes as all the years of lost thoughts and memories that taunted him churned around inside of him.

"Our friendship wasn't ruined because of me, it was ruined because you gave up on me," Wave protested.

"Me? I never stopped loving you but you hurt me."

"You… never stopped loving me?"

"No, but after you abandoned me, I can't ever even begin to forgive you either. Do you know how hard it was to even function after I saw you in the courtyard the other week?"

"You thought it was hard? How about seeing the guy you are in love with suddenly walk up to you and accuse you of ruining his life in the middle of a fucking rain storm."

"The guy you love?"

"I meant loved, as in past tense," Wave corrected herself in an angry tone.

"Well good."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine. It's not like I could ever have feelings for you ever again after the shit you put me through," Wave stated aggressively.

"My thoughts exactly. It's not like our first kiss even meant anything anyway since you up and left me," Jet retaliated.

"I told you it wasn't because of the kiss!" Wave practically screamed in anger, her face glowing red with fury. "It didn't even mean anything anyway! It was just a fucking meaningless kiss, see!" Wave protested before closing the gap between their faces and crushing her lips against his.

Jet widened his eyes, completely taken aback as a warm feeling flooded his whole body. He didn't want to kiss back, he wanted nothing more than to turn and run away but he couldn't help himself as he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

After a few moments, the broke apart, both panting for breath as they greedily filled their oxygen deprived lungs with the air they both desperately needed.

"See, nothing," Wave panted.

"Yeah… nothing at all," Jet repeated as he stared into her eyes. Something deep down inside of his stomach stirred. All of the pent up feelings began to bubble to the surface, building up in gaseous bubbles after the catalyst kiss was added. Suddenly, without warning, both teenagers suddenly fell back into each other, wrapping their arms around one another as their lips met again in a fiery passion.

Jet gripped Wave's hips tightly as she roughly combed her fingers through his feathers, their tongues dancing the tango together between their mouths. Slowly, without either of them realizing what was happening, the two started moving towards one of the doors without breaking the kiss. When the two arrived at one of the private rooms, Jet gripped the handle and spun it open without removing his lips from Wave and kicked the door backwards until it finally gave way and spun open.

Wave broke apart from him, pushing him inside the room. He stumbled backwards, slamming his back against one of the tables. He collapsed down onto it whilst he let out a pained moan. He tried to sit up, straining his abs to see a seductive pink silhouette slam the door shut before she leapt at him and they eagerly both started ripping off each other's clothing, completely losing any composure they had left.

* * *

 _A/N: And with that, the big special is going to be cut in half with the two lovebirds (literally) getting down to business. This was six years in the making, but what is going to happen next part. What relationships will be broken, which will be formed and what else will our alcohol educed teens do to ruin their lives? Find out on the second part of Elias' Big Bash. Question of the day: Who do you think is going to make up and break up by the end of the party and who do you want to make up and break up?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _The party continues_


	13. Chapter 13: Elias' Big Bash (II)

_A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been a while and you're all sick of my excuses but they still stand. Only a new development was that my computer was infected with a serious virus that was attacking all my files and completely corrupted Chrome, making it impossible for me to use it no matter how me re-installs. I've finally managed to locate and delete the virus, but I was without a computer for 3 days so I got no writing done so you will just have to be extra patient for the next chapter. I am writing as fast as I can. Either way, enough excuses, you came here to read so read away :)_

* * *

Chapter 13

Elias' Big Bash (II)

Espio took a turn after storming away from Fiona, wrenching open the door and pounding down the steps. He navigated his way down the crisscrossing hallways that created maze like passageways underneath the stadium that loomed overhead until he made it to a small little room that had stairs leading up to the stage. He ascended the stairs and stepped out into the large stage area that was hidden behind the crimson curtain that covered them from view of the rest of the crowd.

"Okay, I've had a really bad night so far but let's make some music and blow the roof off of this place," Espio cheered, trying to lift his spirits but the sight he saw immediately dashed them down.

"Guys, guys it's cool we can both just sing," Mina offered, trying to defuse the situation.

"Stay out of this," Knuckles growled.

"Hey, lay off her man. This is between you and me," Manic shot back at the infuriated red echidna, gripping his black shirt and pushing him backwards.

"Look Knuckles, maybe I should just go. Let Mina sing, she's much better anyway," Julie turned to face Knuckles, trying to calm him down.

"Yeah, listen to her," Manic agreed.

"Manic, come on this is ridiculous. I'll just go," Mina held back the shaggy quilled hedgehog before he could stand back up to Knuckles.

"Why don't you listen to her," Knuckles growled angrily.

"Guys, guys, GUYS!" Espio yelled, standing between the two. "Come on. You guys have quickly become closer than brothers. I look at both of you and I'm honestly jealous at the connection I see between both of you and I'd hate to see that go away."

Knuckles and Manic smiled, turning to each other. Despite previous feelings about the purple chameleon, Knuckles had to admit that his words really meant a lot to him.

"Now come on, let's get out there and show them what we can do and put this whole idiotic feud behind us."

"Oh, it's idiotic now," Knuckles yelled.

"It's not fucking stupid bro, it's serious," Manic agreed with Knuckles.

"Oh god, I'm so sick of this," Mina sighed.

"Yeah, let's go," Julie added as the two girls turned to walk away.

"Julie, where are you going?" Knuckles asked, ignoring the phone vibrating relentlessly in his pocket as he put down his guitar and chased the pink echidna back down the stairs.

"Mina, come on not you too. This is all your fault," Manic shot an annoyed glance towards Espio before disappearing down to stairs in pursuit of the mongoose.

"What the hell just happened?" Espio asked allowed.

"And now, introducing, Underground Sound!" Espio heard the voice of a very intoxicated squirrel declare as the curtains began to pull back and a thunderous roar echoed throughout the stadium.

…

Mephiles carefully made his way down the stairs and turned into one of the many rows of chairs, making sure to step carefully in order to avoid spilling the full drinks he held in each hand.

"Here you go," he said, handing one of the glasses to the ebony hedgehog who was resting backwards, feet up in the chair in front of him. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Shadow replied gruffly as the two clinked their glasses together. Shadow took a sip of his but watched in astonishment as Mephiles tilted his head backwards and let all of the liquid in the sizable glass wash down his throat in a matter of seconds. He took his sleeve and wiped some of the liquid that drizzled down his mouth from his lips.

"Wow… you must really have been thirsty," Shadow chuckled darkly, taking another controlled sip of his beverage.

"Hey, I need some liquid courage tonight," he said, slurring his words ever so slightly.

"Oh, so who's the lucky girl?" Shadow asked, trying to mask his slight disappointment.

"Well they are super-hot, really sexy and kind of mysterious but the best part about them is that they actually get me," Mephiles smiled, staring at Shadow.

"She sounds pretty cool," Shadow sighed as he leant back, propping his elbows up on the seats beside him and peered out at the crowd of people who were all talking, laughing and dancing across the big lawn.

"Somebody sounds a bit jealous," Mephiles teased as he took a seat next to Shadow and kicked his feet up on the chair in front of him.

"I'm not jealous," Shadow grunted, tilting his head away. Mephiles grabbed his face with his hand and lead Shadow's head around to face him. Shadow stared into Mephiles' eyes before he tilted his head back and quickly downed the rest of his drink.

"Look, I'm sure you'll find a girl eventually," Mephiles began as he saw Shadow remove his hand to finish off his drink. "Wow… and people think I'm an alcoholic," he joked.

"Well I hope you and whoever the chick that you're into are very happy," Shadow said with a sincere smile. "You deserve to be."

"I don't know if they love me back. I haven't let them know about my feelings yet," Mephiles admitted solemnly.

"Well why don't you do something to show her how much you feel about her," Shadow offered, giving Mephiles a smile that made the hedgehog's heart skip a beat.

"What would I do?" Mephiles asked.

"Go up and tell her what you just told me and then kiss her."

"But I've already said it."

"I thought you said you didn't?"

"I just did now, and now it's time for the second part of your suggestion," Mephiles purred, tilting his head and leaning into Shadow. Shadow's eyes widened as a wave of realization washed over him at the same time that Mephiles' lips were firmly pressed against him.

Shadow was so taken aback by surprise that his mind was running loops and instead of kissing back or pulling away, he just sat there frozen. After a couple seconds, Mephiles pulled apart, realizing that Shadow wasn't kissing back and his face went bright red.

"Oh my Chaos, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I… I should go. Bye," he stuttered, slowly backing up before he turned and ran away.

"Mephiles…" Shadow whispered as he brought a hand up and touched his lips gently, watching Mephiles rush up the stairs and over towards where the gruff canine bartender was situated.

…

"And now, introducing, Underground Sound!" Espio heard the voice of a very intoxicated squirrel declare as the curtains began to pull back and a thunderous roar echoed throughout the stadium.

Espio stood, frozen in place as the curtains were completely drawn backwards to reveal the purple chameleon standing alone in the middle of the stage. His eyes scanned the crowd as a quiet hush flew around.

"H-Hi everybody," he croaked as he leant into the standing microphone that was situated in front of him. His heart began to race as he saw Knuckles and Manic emerge from the small door at the back of the stadium and walk off in separate directions.

"Get on with it!" A voice yelled from the crowd.

"Hey, isn't that nerdy nudey?" A shrill voice called out, eliciting a laugh from the crowd, all directed towards Espio and amplified by the position he found himself in. He wanted to flee but his knees buckled underneath him. He wanted to say something but his voice was caught in his throat. He wished desperately that he had his band mates up here with him but he was left all alone to feel the brunt of the tormenting and mockery from the crowd as they shouted the horrible name he adopted after the nude picture incident.

He quickly scanned the crowd of taunting faces, each jeering and laughing at him. Their silhouettes from the lights casting horrific shadows of monsters around the room. He felt like he was about to collapse until he spotted a small little yellow tenrec in a spectacular blue dress. She smiled up at him, adjusting her signature glasses onto her face as she mentally urged him to perform.

Espio took a deep breath, bent down and picked up Knuckles' guitar that he dropped to the floor during the big argument and placed the strap over his shoulders.

"Hey guys, nerdy nudey is going to play something for us," he heard another voice ring out from the crowd. Espio blocked it all out, stared out towards the back of the crowd as he struck the first chord and began to play an acoustic version of a song, that Knuckles and Manic rejected previously, without accompaniment.

 _Look up at the sky  
Wishing that I could just fly, away  
To go back to another day  
When my surroundings, weren't so grey_

 _Soar over the horizon  
Escape to my salvation  
Use my imagination  
To flee from humiliation  
Coil breaks when I'm up high  
No turmoil with cumuli  
No hazy tears cloud my eyes  
When I'm alone in the sky_

 _Just me with the diamond dust  
There's no one left I can trust  
I finally can be free  
I'm not treated abusively  
Paint magnificent pictures  
Like those times I can't remember  
I hide 'cause words do leave scars  
They fade when I fly through the stars_

 _There words strike me down like diseases  
Break my heart, on my knees, gotta pick up the pieces  
Hurt me, slowly, like they're the terminator  
Grab a match and light up my own detonator  
See me later, pushing me to the edge of a ledge  
but instead, pull ahead and I fled  
Lock the door, to my heart and my sores  
and build walls to protect me and escape to a fantasy_

 _Always on my own, alone  
won't answer the phone, oh-no  
I know what they'll say, today  
The same insults from yesterday_

 _Soar over the horizon  
Escape to my salvation  
Use my imagination  
To flee from humiliation  
Coil breaks when I'm up high  
No turmoil with cumuli  
No hazy tears cloud my eyes  
When I'm alone in the sky_

 _Please  
Break me down, all the time, how can I be tough  
I can't take this anymore, I've had enough_

 _Just me with the diamond dust  
There's no one left I can trust  
I finally can be free  
I'm not treated abusively  
Paint magnificent pictures  
Like those times I can't remember  
I hide 'cause words do leave scars  
They fade when I fly through the stars_

Gold looked on, her heart breaking as she listened to Espio continue the song with all his raw emotion and pure passion mixed with the steady, melodic stringing of the guitar before increasing tempo for the chorus'. He looked over to her as he finished the second chorus and continued to sing, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

His nerves were flaring up and every part of his being was screaming to let his anxiety and self-doubt take control and flee off of the stage but he stood his ground through the rest of the song. The only saving grace was that the intoxicated audience had stopped their taunting and instead were listening intently, their hearts all breaking as guilt washed over the entire stadium.

Fiona stood next to the gate at the edge of the main grounds, leaning back against it with one boot propped up behind her and arms crossed as she listened. As she saw and heard the pain he felt emanate from his body, a small smile crept over her face.

'This is what you deserve,' she thought.

…

Mina quickly downed a couple shots at one of the small bar openings in the stadium, trying to make herself feel better after that annoying argument.

'This is the good stuff,' she thought as she downed another shot of Vodka. She turned around, noticing the same pink hedgehog that she met in the hallway that other day standing next to a certain sapphire hedgehog. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but suddenly the crazy plan that Amy and Mina had talked about didn't seem so stupid after all. Mina quickly rushed down to the group and stepped between them.

"Sonic, there is something you really need to see," she pretended to pant, raising the tone of her voice and inflection on her voice to make it seem like it was urgent.

"Mina, quick what is it, what happened?" Sonic said quickly.

"Mina are you okay?" Amy asked, placing her hand on Mina's back but the mongoose secretly winked at her and Amy instantly knew what she was planning.

"Come on Sally, we should go," Amy whispered.

"What, why? The girl clearly needs help," Sally protested but was forcibly dragged away by the surprisingly strong pink hedgehog. "Hey, what? That's not cool, we seriously need to talk…"

"Please, follow me," Mina said, rushing off after Amy and Sally were gone. Sonic thought for a moment but threw caution to the wind as he chased after her, dreading the worst. He followed her up the stairs and down the circumference of the undercover edges of the stadium until they came across one of the private rooms that wasn't occupied.

Mina wrenched open the door and fled inside, beckoning Sonic to follow her in. As he entered, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary except a normal little room which looked like a conference table area with Mina standing in front of the table.

"What's happening? Where is the danger?" Sonic asked.

"Oh Sonic, your so brave," she cooed, wrapping her arms around his neck as she closed the door with her foot. "Coming to my rescue."

"Wait, what are you doing?" he gasped, trying to pull away from her.

"What we both want," she smiled as she pressed her lips against his. He instantly pulled away but her barrage of kisses was relentless.

"Mina, Mina stop!"

"What? Rumor has it that you're single now," she smiled as she began to nibble his neck.

"Yeah, but I don't like you. Look Mina, you seem like a fine girl but I-ahhh," Sonic squealed as she felt Mina put her hand down his jeans and cub his junk.

"Now doesn't that feel good," Mina whispered into Sonic's ear as the hedgie tensed up a bit, trying his hardest not to get an erection.

"Mina," he said calmly, taking deep breaths. "Get your hand out of my pants."

"But don't you want a feel too," Mina insisted, grabbing his hand with her free arm and placing it on her breast, pushing his hand into her flesh firmly. She then crushed her lips against his again and kept her lips against his through his muffled protests.

"Mina, enough is enou-" Sonic began but was interrupted by a loud yell.

"Sonic, what the fuck!" Manic bellowed, wrenching open the door and storming into the room. Mina quickly whipped her hand out of his pants and pushed him away.

"Sonic, what are you doing? Don't touch me there it's just gross," She spat, running up to Manic. "Oh baby, thank god you are here," she sighed, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "He said he wanted to show me something and just threw himself on me.

"Baby?" Sonic asked, his mouth ajar.

"Ruining my life wasn't enough for you, 'bro', but now you are trying to take my girlfriend away too," Manic growled, seething with anger as he clenched his fists, grinding his teeth together to calm himself down.

"G-Girlfriend? Manic, I swear I didn't know and besides. She threw herself onto me," Sonic defended himself.

"Bullshit, I saw what I saw." Manic quickly told Mina to go wait for him outside for him. Mina winked at Sonic, blowing him a secret kiss before Manic walked up to Sonic until their eyes were barely apart and he jabbed his finger into Sonic's chest. "Don't let me ever catch you near her again, or else I'll have to break my promise to _my_ sister."

"Dude, bro, I swear I," Sonic began but was cut off again.

"And don't ever call me bro. I have no brother, only a sister," he said with pure hatred and anger in his voice before he turned around and stormed out, slamming the door loudly behind him.

"Manic, where are you…" Mina began but Manic just waved her off, telling her to wait there while he solved one thing. She stood at the top of the stairs that led down to the field, watching where he went.

In blind rage, Manic made his way towards a dancing fox who was barely able to stand up, clearly too much alcohol rushing around in his veins. Manic stormed up to the innocent fox and pushed him to the ground, alerting some of the people around her.

"Whoa buddy, what are you doing?" An angry, defensive armadillo stood between Manic and Tails as a green pronghorn held out a hand to help Tails up.

"Stay out of this man," Manic growled.

"Don't attack my friend," Mighty warned, standing his ground as he rolled up his sleeve. "If you want to pick on somebody, why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

"Back off, this is between me and Tails," Manic warned.

"What did he do?" Mighty asked, refusing to back down and let his friend face Manic.

"He let his stupid boyfriend feel up my girlfriend, Mina!"

"H-He what?" Tails asked.

"Keep your fucking boyfriend in check, okay? He was trying to get with my girl. You're his boy toy so keep him on his fucking leash next time," Manic pointed a finger towards Tails. With every word the green hedgehog threw his way, Tails got more and more infuriated as his anger plumed inside of him, ready to erupt like a deadly volcano that stopped being dormant years ago.

"Fuck off!" Tails screamed, pushing Mighty aside to go toe to toe with Manic. "You think I need this right now? I've had a fucking shit week and I don't need all this shit. Why don't you check your facts? Sonic dumped me last fucking week so he can go screw around with whoever he wants!"

A few gasps were heard around the crowd and Amy tilted her head towards the commotion, slightly intrigued at the new news about Sonic's sudden break up with Tails.

"If you're going out with Mina and she is messing around with Sonic then maybe you need to go yell at her," Tails finished with a shout before he stormed off towards the seats. He sat down and combed a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Why that little…" Manic muttered under his breath but Mighty and Clove stood between him and Tails. "Fine, I'm outta here," Manic cursed as he pushed through the circle of people that had crowded around to witness the event unfold.

"Come on Mighty," Clove soothed, kissing his cheek and rubbing his shoulders to calm him down. "I know something that will make you feel a little better," she laughed but as the two walked away, Mighty looked over to the disgruntled fox and frowned.

…

Cream searched around the stadium but couldn't find her boyfriend anywhere. She noticed the big circle of people and heard the distinct voice of Tails screeching at somebody but by the time she managed to wiggle her way through the hordes of people to see what was going on, the people involved had all dispersed. She saw Mighty and Clove walk away but couldn't find where Tails was.

She shrugged, assuming it was just some drunken feud and continued her search to find Jet. After a few more minutes of searching, she decided to ask some people if they had seen him anywhere. She noticed a grey albatross, who she recalled often spent a lot of time with Jet and was his best friend.

"Hey, Storm was it?" Cream mumbled shyly.

"Oh, hey Cream. Sorry, Jet's not with me. I haven't seen him all night," Storm replied with a warm smile.

"Oh, that's okay. Thanks anyway," she waved at him before walking away. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and somebody stopped her.

"Sorry but did you say you were looking for Jet?" Cream turned around to see the innocent eyes of her new seedrian friend, Cosmo.

"Hey Cosmo. Yeah, I haven't seen him all night. Do you know where he is?" Cream asked.

"I saw him go into that room up over there with some pink girl," Cosmo replied.

"Pink girl?" Cream thought. "Ugh, what is Amy up to now," Cream sighed before thanking Cosmo and legging it up the stairs towards the door that she was pointed towards.

"Oh yeah, oh Jet, right there, right there!" Wave moaned as Jet slowly yet firmly thrust up and down on Wave.

"Chaos I missed you so much," Jet breathed sensually as he began nibbling her neck, all the while thrusting faster and harder.

"I'm so sorry I left, left, left," Wave moaned as Jet shifted over to the left slightly, smiled when he heard Wave give out a satisfied grunt. "Yeah, right there."

"I always knew you would cum to me," Jet smirked.

"You mean come _back_ to you," Wave kissed him back as she pushed herself further into him, enjoying the feeling.

"I know what I said," Jet laughed.

"J-Jet," a voice cried out. Jet suddenly whipped his head around and saw her standing there. There, in the doorway, was the small little rabbit that he had fallen in love with.

"C-Cream?" Jet asked, stunned.

"Oh my Chaos, Cream, this isn't what it looks like," Wave suddenly cried out, pushing Jet off of her and reaching for her shirt.

"Jet… how could you… I thought you loved me," Cream sniffed, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

"Cream… I-" Jet began but was instantly cut off.

"No, fuck you Jet," she yelled, tears streaming freely down her eyes like a river after a dam burst, staining her makeup and taking all the love out of her to sprawl out on the floor in little droplets.

"Cream, I can explain," he begged, stepping towards her with his pants still down at his ankles.

"Get away from me," she warned. "I hate you. We are done," she cried out before turning to sprint away.

"Cream… please… I'm sorry…"

…

"Amy, I've really been meaning to talk to you…" Sally began but Amy cut her off, straining her ears to hear Tails yell.

"Just a minute," she held a finger up to the offended and annoyed squirrel, signaling her to be quiet.

"What is it?"

"I said shush."

"Don't shush me."

"Sally, shut up please. I think I just heard Tails say that Sonic dumped him," Amy admitted.

"Yeah, Sonic broke up with Tails last weekend," Sally shrugged, not thinking it was such a big deal.

"Wait, you mean you knew and didn't tell me," Amy suddenly turned around to face Sally.

"Oh, so now you want to talk to me as soon as the conversation turns to Sonic. Amy, be honest with me, do you still have feelings for Sonic?" Sally asked, throwing her arms down for emphasis as she stared into Amy's eyes. The pink hedgehog was going to protest but just faced down.

"You don't love me anymore, do you?" Sally sniffed.

"Sally, come on, that's not true at all," Amy soothed, cupping the squirrel's cheek in her gloved hand.

"But you still have feelings for him. Everything is just going shit in my life right now and I just really need somebody but you always seem to be hanging out with him or your new friends or…" Sally began but couldn't get far as the weight of the immense stress and loneliness that had plagued the squirrel for the past couple of days finally broke her and the tears began.

"Sally, Sally, Sally. Come on now, don't cry. I do love you, I promise."

"It's just that we hardly ever see each other and I have so much work to do and just knowing that Blaze is in the hospital struggling every day because of me has just become too much to bear," Sally cried, her tears staining her mascara. Amy patted her on the back, rubbing in circular motions to sooth her until she suddenly stopped.

"Wait… what did you say?" Amy asked.

"Wh-what? Me? I just said how I miss you," Sally corrected herself, sniffing again.

"What do you mean the guilt is too much to bear. Sally… were you the one who set the school on fire?" Amy asked, her mouth falling open as the realization slowly hit.

"N-no I… yes, yes it was me," Sally admitted. Amy gasped, stepping back. "I-it's not what you think," Sally sniffed. "It was an accident. You see…"

 _"_ _I said leave. Now," Sally stood her ground, staring down the cat. She lit the last of her cigarettes that she had retrieved from the box before Blaze had thrown them away and smoked it spitefully in front of the cat._

 _"_ _You know what. Fine, I'll leave. Kill yourself with those things. See if I care," she cried out defensively before turning to storm off. "Cigarettes sure as hell aren't going to kill me," she cried as she disappeared._

 _"_ _What is her deal?!" Sally cried out exasperatedly. Suddenly, as if to curb her anger, the bell rang. Sally flicked her last cigarette to the ground and walked off, muttering to herself, "Now I've gotta go buy a new packet."_

 _"_ _Oh shit, I must have dropped my keys," Sally sighed in annoyance once she got to her locker and reached into the pocket of her denim jacket to realize that they were not in the usual pocket. She rushed back, fearing that she would be late, to the last place that she remembered having them. Behind the classroom where she often fled to smoke. However, this time there was a lot of smoke before she got there._

 _"_ _Shit," Sally cursed as she saw the dry, extensive amount of leaves begin to rapidly burn as the lit end of her cigarette that she flicked carelessly over the fence without stamping out continued to light the undergrowth on fire. Sally quickly tried to climb the fence, her lighter falling out of her jacket in the process._

 _However, suddenly when she was lifting her first leg over the fence, it began to give way and bend backwards. Sally was perched precariously on top of the fence that began to bend and buckle under her weight. She stopped moving, hoping that the old wire fence wouldn't break if she ceased moving. She watched in horror, unable to do anything as the small flames grew and grew, igniting more of the foliage until a large flame was created._

 _'_ _I need to fucking stop this, now,' Sally thought, trying to use her weight to jump over the fence before it broke. She shifted all of her weight onto her back leg, gritting her toes into one of the little wireframe diamonds for support in an attempt to bound over the fence and stamp out the fire before it became too unstable._

 _Suddenly, as she tried to bounce upwards, the rusty old wire underneath her leg gave way and she fell backwards, taking the fence with her. She crashed hard into the ground with her shoulder before rolling along the ground. She grunted with pain, stifling the scream that would surely alert those around her._

 _Sally spent a few agonizing moments on the ground trying to deal with the pain but by the time she finally managed to stand, the fire had gotten too far out of control, engulfing one of the nearby trees that hung over the school. Sally heard a faint creaking sound and looked up above her._

 _She gasped, jumping out of the way just in time to avoid a thick branch snap off of the tree and smash into the ground next to her. The burning tree rolled slightly, resting against the wooden supports that held up the structure._

 _"_ _Shit," Sally said aloud as the building began to catch fire from the bottom and top simultaneously. All Sally could do was flee the crime scene and pull the nearest fire alarm in an early attempt to try to save all the students. Unfortunately, not every student was lucky enough to make it out of the school that day._

"So that's why you keep visiting her," Amy breathed after Sally finished her recount.

"I found out that the reason Gold followed us here to this campus was because she is trying to find out who lit the fire. They must have found my lighter and seen the broken fence and assumed somebody lit the fire on purpose. Please don't tell anybody," Sally begged, getting to her knees and pressing her hands together.

"Sally, don't worry," Amy said, trying to formulate a plan in her head. "I won't let anybody find out it was you. I'm going to protect you, okay."

"Thank you, thank you so much Amy, I love you. But what are you going to do?"

"Just leave that to me," Amy smiled as she wrapped her arms around the still shaking, crying squirrel.

…

Spike span Breezie around in a little twirl under his arm as the two shared in a little laugh. Silver danced next to them, the three of them all bobbing to the music and moving their hips to the infections, up tempo beat that was pounding out through the speakers after Espio ran off the stage following his song.

Breezie smiled, turning from the porcupine to the hedgehog without a care in her world. Her old best friend and her new best friend, both dancing with her happily. It was like a dream come true for the hedgehog.

"I'm so glad I have you guys in my life," she laughed.

"Me too," Spike and Silver both declared at once before turning to stare at each other.

"Now, now boys, there's enough of me to go around," Breezie giggled as she stepped up to Silver and grabbed his arm, spinning him around before hopping into his arms, much to the distaste of Spike.

Silver smiled as he spun Breezie around in his arms. He admired her facial features, marveling at her beauty and the way her hair blew about in the Breezie before it fell neatly at her shoulders once he placed her back on the ground.

"Spike. Can you be a darling and go get me another glass of wine," Breezie asked, flashing her eyelashes at the porcupine. Spike felt his heart skip a beat at the way he looked at her and nodded overly enthusiastically before running off to hide the blush that had formed on his cheeks.

"So, y-you and Spike hey? W-what going… what's going on there?" Silver teased.

"Shut up, he's just my best friend. Why, are you jealous?" Breezie teased, winking at the now blushing hedgehog.

"Well apparently th-there isn't anything to be jealous about," Silver replied with a sneer, slurring his words slightly from the amount of alcohol he had ingested over the course of the night.

"Maybe your jealous that I called him my best friend instead of you," Breezie laughed.

"But he's your best friend, I mean he's my best friend, I mean…" Silver paused, hiccupping slightly. "I'm your best friend."

"You've also had a bit too much to drink," Breezie laughed as Spike ran back to her with another glass of wine. Breezie quickly tilted her head backwards and skulled the entire glass, handing it back to the porcupine.

"Spike, be a dear and get me another w-wine?" Breezie smiled at him, swaying slightly.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Love you." Spike blushed, quickly running away again, unable to believe that she had just said that she loved him. He didn't care that she said it after drinking a whole glass of wine in a couple seconds. He didn't care at all.

"So, are we just going to dance all night?" Breezie smirked at Silver, bringing her face closer to his.

"Do you have any-anything else in mind?"

"Follow me," Breezie teased, running her hand up his chest, across his shoulders and down his arms to place her hands in his. Silver gulped as the two swayed slightly before the both rushed off, giggling like a couple of school girls.

"Breezie I…" Spike began when he got back but noticed both of them disappearing off into the crowd. He narrowed his eyes, watching the two as the ascended the stairs and slipped into one of the private rooms.

"Son of a bitch," he cursed under his breath as he threw the glass down against the ground. It smashed, glass shards shattering everywhere as red splotches of wine stained his pants. Spike didn't care. All he could feel was the envious jealousy that began to fill up the place where his heart used to be.

…

"Julie come on, don't storm away, we need you. The band needs you," Knuckles called out after her, sprinting to chase up to the escaping echidna.

"Knuckles, look at yourself. Look at what's happening. Your friend is up their right now all alone and you've basically ruined your friendship with Manic all because, what, because I have a good voice?" Julie turned to cross her arms, disappointed at the red echidna and the actions she had just witnessed.

"But we need you," Knuckles whined.

"Do 'we'? Or do you? When's the last time you hung out with your girlfriend? I heard her bitching about me to everyone earlier tonight and now everybody hates me because she thinks I'm trying to steal you away. That is so unfair to put me in this situation," Julie-Su commented, slightly annoyed.

"Why would Rouge do that? She knows nothing is going on between us, right?"

"Why don't you tell her that, because here she comes now," Julie pointed behind Knuckles. He turned around to see a flustered, angry bat storm her way up the stairs, cocking her hip in a sassy stance when she made it up to them.

"So this is why you didn't return any of my calls or texts? Because you were hanging out with her," Rouge spat, eyeing the echidna angrily. "He's my boyfriend so why don't you just back off?"

"Rouge I'm not trying to take him from you," Julie protested while Knuckles quickly took his phone out of his pocket for the first time since he had met up with Julie-Su and scrolled through the several texts and calls from Rouge.

"Why did you call me so much?" Knuckles asked stupidly.

"Why? Maybe it was because I wanted to spend tonight with you but instead you were off running around with this slut."

"Julie is not a slut, lay off, Rouge," Knuckles stepped up to her defending his friend who watched, mortified at the fight.

"Oh, so now you're taking her side over mine?"

"Yeah, because you are stepping way out of line Rouge. I love you, but you are taking this way too far."

"Am I? Do you know how much time you've spent with me since you met her last week? None! You've never been with me. Now how much have you been with your new toy?" Rouge yelled, raising her hands in the air for emphasis. Knuckles turned to Julie-Su, then back to Rouge before settling his gaze at his feet, ashamed.

"That's what I thought," Rouge snarled.

"Guys, come on don't fight. You guys were made for each other," Julie stepped between the two, trying to defuse some of the escalating tension but her actions only proved to be more wood, fueling the raging fire inside of Rouge.

"Why don't you stay the fuck out of this," Rouge growled.

"Rouge, that's fucking enough. Leave her alone!" Knuckles snapped. "Don't talk to her like that!"

"Oh, this is real fucking rich Knuckles. Do you even remember what you said to me when you gave me this piece of shit?" Rouge said cynically, removing the golden bangle with the encrusted emerald off of her wrist. "Remember how you said I was the one?"

"Rouge, don't do this," Knuckles begged.

"No, fuck you Knuckles, I'm so done with all this crap you have been putting me through. You can have this ba… wait, no. I have a better idea. If this actually meant anything to you and wasn't just a trinket you threw around to everybody then maybe you can go fish for it at the bottom of Emerald Lake where it belongs," Rouge warned, turning to walk off.

"Rouge, come on babe, please you're being ridiculous."

"Fuck you Knuckles, it's over," Rouge called back without turning around. She didn't want him to see the tears that were freely falling from her eyes, staining the layers upon layers of makeup that was applied to her face. Her tears dropped onto the shimmering emerald, making it sparkle and refract the light around it as Rouge broke into a sprint, despite the pain she felt from running in high heels. She didn't stop until she arrived at one of the busses.

She quickly climbed inside, much to the disgruntled yelling of the driver that had seen her entered and ran after her, trying to stop the bat. Rouge quickly found the key that the driver had carelessly left above the sun guard and started the bus. Even though she had never driven a vehicle this large before, her actions were overtaken by blind rage and sadness.

She removed the handbrake and rolled off down the road, heading back to the campus and the lake that sat adjacent to it, calling out to the driver that she would come return it after she did what she needed to.

…

Tails sat with his head in his hands, trying to compose himself. The sadness and anger mixed with the alcohol that was fueling his system and messing with his cognitive thoughts, creating an unappealing mix.

Tails felt horrible, like his whole world was crashing down around him. He refused a spot at the prestigious school to be with Sonic, but he couldn't even tell his homophobic father the truth. Sonic then broke up with him, despite everything he sacrificed, and now it seems that everybody hates him. Tails felt like screaming, just letting all of his emotions out in one big eruption, but the fear of social ridicule kept him ground. It wasn't until he felt a weak hand on his shoulder that he was able to shake these thoughts out of his head.

"M-Mina?" Tails asked. He tried to strain his eyes, but he saw double of a blurry girl. It was only when he heard the familiar voice that he could finally make out the image of his old friend.

"Tails, I saw what happened between you and Manic. I don't know what that was all about but I saw the way he tried to beat you up. I'm so sorry about him," Mina soothed, concern and legitimate care floating on her voice as she smiled down at Tails.

"I-it was my, it was my fault," Tails hiccupped through his tears and slurred speech.

"No, it wasn't. Manic was just being a big meanie," Mina said, sitting down next to Tails. "I'm sorry that you've been feeling so horrible lately and I haven't been here for you," Mina continued, wrapping her arms around Tails and giving him a big squeeze. He returned the hug just as tight, not wishing to ever let go of her.

"Thanks M-M-Mina, thanks. Have I ever, have I ever told you that I really… I really missed you," Tails said as a shade of crimson slowly crept its way onto the mongoose's face.

"I missed you too, Tails. Do you remember that stupid promise we made each other all those years ago," she laughed, trying her best to cheer Tails up and keep his mind off whatever was bumming him out so much.

"I can't really remember much of anything right now," Tails laughed, wiping his face. "Sorry about being, about me being a mess."

"It's okay Tails. I'm just glad I have you back in my life after all this time," Mina smiled.

"M-me too Mina. I know I've never really said this but I love you Mina. You're like, my first friend and I know I don't say it too you but I do love you," Tails slurred, bringing her into a hug again.

"Y-You love me…?" Mina gasped, pushing Tails off him and gripping his shoulders at arm's length, staring into his eyes.

"I know we were pretty young but I was super serious about that promise we made," Tails said. Despite his current speech impediment, Mina couldn't help but realize how charming the cute little fox was.

"Tails, that's the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me," she breathed. Slowly, the two leant forward closer and closer until their lips finally met and they embraced each other in a long, passionate, yet sloppy kiss.

"Shhh, come with me," Mina laughed as she grabbed him and pulled him along behind her with his tie, smiling gas he stumbled after her.

…

Cream sprinted down the winding walkway that stretched around the circumference of the stadium, passing the many gates that signaled the entry and exit. She was overcome with grief and pain. Her tears stained her hands but she kept running, not knowing what to do.

Her heart ached, feeling like it had been split in two. She spotted Clove down, dancing next to her armadillo boyfriend and sprinted over to them, wanting desperately to find the one person that she knew could always cheer her up no matter what. Tails.

"C-C-C…" she stammered as she ran up to Clove.

"Oh Cream, what's the matter sweetheart?" Clove cooed, bending over so that she was the same height as the rabbit that was bawling her eyes out.

"I saw Jet w-w-with another woman," Cream admitted through her gasps and sniffs. Clove looked up towards Mighty and frowned sadly. A gesture which he mirrored back at her.

"Do you want to go somewhere private and just hang out?" Clove offered, grabbing Cream's hand to try to calm her down a bit. Cream shook her head rapidly.

"H-H-Have you seen T-Tails? I just really need h-him right now," Cream sniffed again. Clove, again, looked towards Mighty as they shared a knowing glance about what they had just witnessed. He shook his head, deciding it was best not to let the rabbit know what they had seen. However, Mighty didn't have a say in it as a frustrated orange porcupine walked up to them.

"Hey, Cream was it? Yeah, if you're looking for Tails I saw him and that purple haired chick go up into that room over there," he pointed, thinking he was being helpful. Suddenly, all the noise around rabbit went quiet as the world spun around her. Her heart skipped more beats as the worst possible scenario's bombarded her thoughts without sympathy.

"Come on Cream, maybe we should just go grab some food and…" Clove began but Cream shook the pronghorn off of her and sprinted towards the room, her heartbeat growing louder and louder in her ear drums as she got closer.

"Please no, please no, please no," she repeated to herself as she bounded up the stairs and rushed over to the door. She wrenched it open, only to reveal the naked mongoose on top of the bare chested fox with his pants down around his ankles.

"T-T-Tails," her words were caught in her throat.

"Cream?" he questioned, trying his hardest to understand if it was really her or not through the spinning room. Mina quickly rolled off Tails to look quizzically at the girl crying in the room.

"I can't believe this," she burst into another round of tears as she sprinted out of yet another private room that night. Without thinking, she pushed passed one of the exits and sprinted off down the street and into the night without a plan.

"This was the worst party ever," she cried aloud into the dark night sky, screaming at the shimmering stars above her as the stadium behind her grew smaller and smaller.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, there you go. The end of the big party. A lot of things happened and we will see the repercussions in the next few chapters, don't you worry. Yes, Sally was indeed the arsonist and only Amy knows but will she tell anybody? So, just in case it is a bit confusing, here is a little update on the characters currently._

 _In a relationship: BlazexSilver, SallyxAmy, MightyxClove, ScourgexFiona, EclipsexTikal_

 _Broken up: SonicxTails, KnucklesxRouge, JetxCream,_

 _It's Complicated: BreeziexSilver, TailsxMina, JetxWave, MephilesxShadow, ManicxMina_

 _FriendZoned: Tails to Cream, Tails to Cosmo, Breezie to Spike,_

 _No Relationship or Relationship Drama: Espio, Ray, Gold, Julie-Su, Sonia_

 _Okay, so hopefully that cleared up any questions but as always if you have a question then just leave it in a review and I will do my best to answer it unless it's a spoiler. Also a quick response to a review, I always saw Wave as a colour between pink and purple and not completely defined as either so I refer to her as pink. As for Elias... I have no idea why I thought he was blonde but don't worry since this is the only chapter he is actually in :P Finally, I know that some of you have been missing our favourite conniving vixen but don't worry as next chapter is very Fiona heavy so stay tuned and don't forget to leave a follow if you want to be kept up to date, it means a lot. So as always, don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought about this chapter and as always, have a good day._

 _Question of the day: Which couple are you the most sad broke up, SonTails, Knuxouge or Jeteam?_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Sonia and Silver get rude awakenings_

 _Jet confronts Cream but Rouge steps in to defend_

 _Amy breaks up Fiona and Tails' private times they have been having_

 _Ray reveals a devastating secret to Mighty_

 _...And Gold finally cracks the arson case thanks to an unexpected new piece of evidence_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 14: Aftermath_


	14. Chapter 14: Aftermath

_A/N: Hey guys, sorry again about the long wait but it looks like these updates will end up being weekly from now on since it's just too hard for me to make the every 4 day dealine with all the stuff that is happening in my life at the moment. Anyway, enough about me, let's get on with the episode..._

* * *

Chapter 14

Aftermath

The birds chirped loudly, their piercing morning songs penetrating the silver hedgehog's eardrums. The sun rose steadily over the surrounding country hills, shining through the thin layer of low lying clouds and glowing through the dorm room window, expelling the darkened shadows that had previously encroached upon the room throughout the night. Silver squinted, raising a hand over his eyes in a lazy, sleep induced fashion as the sun shone across his face, stinging his sleep deprived eyes. His head was still pounding from the night before, resonating with each heartbeat was a painful pulse of his alcohol infected brain.

"Ugh," Silver groaned as he rolled over onto his side to shield himself from the harsh rays when his face bumped into something soft and fleshy next to him. He peeked open one eyes to get a glimpse of the bare shoulder of somebody beside him. Silver quickly sat up, holding his head and gasping silently in pain from the excruciating sudden jab he felt from the quick movement.

Silver looked around the room, noticing that his surroundings were foreign to him. He noticed a familiar orange echidna sleeping in the bed adjacent to the one he sat in and suddenly a feeling of dread mixed with excitement swept over himself.

He quickly pulled the covers back slightly to inspect the individual lying next to him. Silver let out a small gasp when he noticed Breezie snoring next to him.

"Shoot," he cursed under his breath as he quickly hopped out of the bed and rushed over to grab his chinos. He quickly checked his pockets, noting that he had his wallet, keys and phone still in the pant pockets before he made a speedy exit. He tried to silently close the door behind her but as he released the handle, a loud clicking sound echoed through the room. Silver turned and sprinted down the hall without a second thought.

"Wh-wha?" Tikal yawned, stretching her arms and sitting up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She looked around to find the source of the sound but only noticed her two roommates fast asleep. She shrugged it off before throwing the covers back over her head and collapsing back onto her soft, inviting pillow and let the clutches of sleep take ahold of her again.

After Silver descended the steps, stopping to catch his breath and clutch his head, he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed the only number that could come to his mind.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice replied on the other line. "S-Silver? Is that you?"

"Eclipse, I really fucked up," Silver whispered, scared that he would wake up any of the other girls sleeping on the floor or alert Gold to his presence after curfew.

"Wait, where are you?" Eclipse responded through another yawn as he sat up and looked around the room. He saw the purple chameleon and golden fox fast asleep on their beds in the top bunks but noted the absence of his friend in the bed adjacent to his.

"I'm in the girl's dorm."

"Why?"

"I really screwed up. I just woke up in Breezie's bed."

"Dude, congrats. Wasn't she the chick that you said you had a massive crush on but never liked you back?"

"Yeah," Silver sighed, letting a small smile creep its way onto his face before the thoughts screaming at him in the back of his mind wiped it off. "But Blaze…"

"Oh yeah, she's gonna be so pissed when she finds out."

"Not helpful," Silver replied with a deadpan tone.

"What do you want me to say then?" Eclipse asked. "You have a girlfriend and you fucked another chick."

"Yeah, I already know I fucked up. I didn't mean to; I was just so drunk."

"Silver, that's bullshit and you know it. Despite not being able to think properly when drunk, alcohol only amplifies feelings deep down inside. Clearly you still love Breezie."

"No I-"

"And clearly you still love Blaze or else this wouldn't bother you so much."

"So what do I do? I have no idea what I should do. I missed Breezie so much and when she came back into my life I just felt so happy but…"

"Blaze makes you that happy everyday too?" Eclipse finished his sentence.

"I just need advice."

"Well, firstly, come back to the dorm before Gold or any other faculty member catches you out and secondly, confront Breezie about last night and see what she has to say about it all. The worst thing you can do right now is avoid her and create unnecessary drama," Eclipse responded didactically.

"Okay, thanks Eclipse. You're a true friend," Silver responded finally before hanging up the phone, stuffing it in his pocket and fleeing back down the stairs and across the foyer towards the boy's side of the dormitory.

…

The blaring sirens of Sally's alarm clock rung out through the room, sending Fiona into a crazed fury.

"Sally, it's a fucking Sunday morning after a massive party. Why the fuck is your alarm going off at nine in the bloody morning?" Fiona cursed, covering her head with a pillow.

"Need some fresh air so I'm going for a run. Maybe if you didn't drink so much then you wouldn't feel so horrible," Sally said with a sneer as she slipped on a tank top.

"Tell that to miss lightweight over there," Fiona remarked in a snarky tone, pointing a finger towards the pink hedgehog lying on the floor, not quite making it to the bed last night. Sally looked to Sonia, frowning to herself and filing the scene away in her memory banks. She decided she would have a talk to Sonia later but thought it best not to wake her.

"And don't make so much sound. My head is killing me," Fiona complained.

"Okay," Sally replied as she slipped on her runners and jogging shorts. She made sure to slam the door loudly as she left, sending a jolt of pain through Fiona's head. Sally smirked in the hallway as she placed her ear buds in her ears when she heard the vixen shriek in pain.

"What?" Sonia screamed, jolting up and smashing her head against the bed next to her, cursing aloud in pain.

"Morning princess," Fiona smirked as she looked over towards the hedgehog. "Rough night?"

"Ugh, what happened?" Sonia winced in pain as she rubbed her forehead. Suddenly, she felt something rumbling in the pit of her stomach and crawled over to the nearby trashcan, making it just in time before the bile pushed its way up her throat. Sonia thrust her head forward, burying into the bin as she vomited loudly.

"Aw, this is precious. My little girl's first hangover," Fiona chuckled, taking out her phone and quickly snapping a picture of Sonia with her head in the bin. "Attractive," she commented as she tapped Scourge and Sonic's names on snapchat before sending it off to them.

"Fiona… I thought you were going to take care of me last night and stop me from having too many drinks," Sonia complained.

"What are you insinuating? I made sure you only had three drinks and not a drop more like a true friend," Fiona faked insulted, stifling a chuckle.

"Well how did I end up like this? I remember having a couple drinks and then you got Scourge to go get us drinks and then…" suddenly a lightbulb when off in Sonia's head as she turned to Fiona to study the vixen. "Did Scourge spike our drinks?"

"No! How could you accuse my baby of doing something so horrible? He would never so anything to hurt me. Just you," she winked, much to the surprise of Sonia.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he only spiked your drink. And trust me, it was so much fun to watch you parade around like a drunken shmuck," Fiona laughed out loud, enjoying the hedgehog's pained expression.

"B-b-but I thought we were friends?" Sonia babbled, hurt and confusion gripping her thoughts. "When Sonic and Sally badmouthed you I defended you!" She protested.

"That's very kind of you," Fiona said without sympathy.

"But we would hang out and talk every day. I thought we were good friends," Sonia sniffed.

"We did talk every day. We talked all about the drama Manic confessed to you in private about him, Knuckles, Julie-Su and Mina. You told me all about Sonic's break-up with Tails. You revealed delicious insights into the flaws of Sally and Amy's relationship. All the information was positively wonderful," Fiona smiled wickedly at the saddened hedgehog, showing her pointed white teeth.

"So all this time you just used me for gossip?" Sally gasped.

"Yep, pretty much. I didn't have my normal little purple pawn in their inner circle anymore so I thought some fresh blood would make a perfect new mole. A girl needs her secrets for elevation."

"I was just a… pawn?" Sonia said, her heart breaking as the one person who she thought she had made a genuine connection with outside of her brother's friends had just been a fabricated lie with no veracity.

"Don't flatter yourself honey, you aren't my only pawn but you were the most fun."

"Why tell me this now," Sonia said, disgusted with the vixen but more with herself for ever believing her tantalizing words.

"You've outgrown your usefulness and honestly this charade of liking you was becoming tiring quickly so Scourge and I decided to have a little bit of fun with you before we said our goodbyes," Fiona laughed as Sonia finally gave into her emotions and let her tears begin to fall.

"At least tell me what I did last night," Sonia whined through her hands, tears falling through the gaps between her fingers whilst trying to fill the gaps in her memory.

"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," Fiona winked. "I'll see you tonight, I'm gonna go chill with Scourge," Fiona waved as she strutted out of the room, making sure to slam the door as loud as the squirrel before her did to inflict a little more pain while she still could.

…

Cream's eyes were red and puffy as she lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep the entire night. She watched lifelessly as the sun slowly rose above the trees that surrounded the campus, wishing that she could just run away and never return.

Not only did her boyfriend, somebody who she really cared for despite the unlikely relationship that the two found themselves in, but she also saw that boy that she had always had her long time crush on sleeping with some other girl right when she needed somebody to just be there to cheer her up the most.

"Hey Creamy, you awake" she heard somebody whisper through the dim lighting. Cream craned her head, noticing that it was only six in the morning and didn't expect any of her roommates to be awake.

"Yeah," she replied sheepishly. "Couldn't sleep."

"I feel that. It's taking all my will power to not strangle that stupid pink echidna in her sleep," Rouge snarled silently at the echidna. "But…" she sighed, "I still feel really bad about throwing Red's bangle in the lake despite everything."

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll forgive you."

"I don't want his forgiveness. I just wish I could go back and stop myself from acting so rashly, you know. I just felt so deprived and unappreciated, like an old toy that he had his fun with and threw away so I thought it would be only fair for me to throw away one of his things as a little revenge," Rouge admitted.

"Revenge only leads to more pain and unfulfilled justice. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," Cream replied.

"Yeah, I really fucked up, didn't I," the curvaceous bad sighed to herself, deep in self-thought before she suddenly slapped her forehead. "Oh Creamy, I'm so sorry, I'm making this all about my selfish self. How are you holding up?"

"No, it's fine. It was nice to have my mind on something else for at least a little bit," she sniffed, the waterworks beginning to start up again, despite almost being depleted from a night of crying.

"Sorry, I heard you crying most of the night. I wanted to say something but I didn't know what to do and I know that it's always good to let it all out before healing can begin."

"Yeah… I just… after the whole hospital incident Jet changed as a person. He became less cocky, more kind and he was so sweet when he wanted to be."

"Yeah, but he screwed up and threw it all away like the idiot he truly is and you shouldn't get so hung up over a guy like him," Rouge huffed, trying to cheer up the rabbit in her own forceful way.

"Yeah… but I can't help but feel like it was my fault. Was I just not good enough for him?"

"Cream, stop it. Don't even go there. Just don't. You did nothing wrong and don't even consider changing yourself for one second. He's a dick and you deserve better."

"…thanks," Cream replied, a slight smile crossing her face for the first time since she walked in on her ex-boyfriend not ten hours prior. There were a few moments of silence before Cream heard silent chuckles. "Rouge…?"

"It's funny. Just look at us, two recently single girls crying about ourselves and our old men. Such different people yet here we are," Rouge smirked.

"Fate is cruel," Cream responded, but secretly she was happy for the bat's words. Despite feeling like her world had caved in on itself, she was glad that she at least didn't have to brave this storm alone.

…

Ray emerged from the steamy showers, a towel wrapped around his skinny waist as he made his way over to the lockers. It had been a little over a week since the big party and everyone seemed to be on edge throughout the entire week.

The nervous squirrel had noticed a lot of his friends, and other people in his year level, acting stranger than normal and trying to avoid each other. He didn't understand why. He was just glad that nothing seemed awkward between his small, close knit group of friends.

He smiled to himself as he removed the towel from his waist and began to drape it across his back to absorb the moisture from his fur, facing the wall to avoid being seen from any of the other guys who spoke loudly to each other, trading insults and joining together in infectious laughter.

Suddenly, Ray felt somebody grab the towel and wrench it out of his weak grasp. Ray yelped in surprise before turning around with fuming anger, intent on snatching back his towel from his pursuer.

"Oh sorry, did you want this back?" A green hedgehog asked, an old claw mark scar gashed deep into his bare chest staring Ray back in the face.

"Y-yes please," Ray stuttered, losing his sudden confidence in the face of the intimidating hedgehog. Without a response, Scourge burst out laughing all of a sudden, calling some of the other guys in the room to come over here. Ray looked around, confused. IN the moment, he had completely forgotten that he was standing in the change rooms completely naked.

"Guys look. Shrimp has a shrink," Scourge laughed, pointing towards Ray's genitalia. A chorus of horrid laughs emerged from the small crowd of onlookers and Ray immediately went red in the face, throwing his hand down to shield himself from the other member of the room. He quickly snatched the towel out of Scourge's hand and wrapped it around himself before any of the guys could make it to their lockers and retrieve their phones to film and photograph the evidence.

"Look, a lot of guys have it that small, there's nothing to be afraid of," Scourge taunted, his malice growing as the shouts from those behind him fueled his insults.

"J-J-Just leave me alone," Ray whimpered, trying to stand his ground and stay brave despite all those crowding around him, laughing at the thing he was the most insecure about.

"Hey, look at the bright side. Now that purple chameleon freak will have somebody to hang out with," Scourge smirked.

"Back off!" A voiced called out from the door.

"What was that?" Scourge snapped.

"I said back off," an angry armadillo emerged from the steam, standing in between his best friend and the gloating hedgehog.

"Aww, how cute. His little boyfriend has come to back him up," Scourge sneered, poking Mighty in the chest.

"Fuck off," Mighty snarled. "Or else."

"Or else what," Scourge taunted, not afraid of the armadillo.

"If you don't leave now, you'll regret it." Scourge called Mighty's bluff, pushing the armadillo out of the way as he reached for the towel that the squirrel clung tightly to his chest. In a split second, Mighty quickly lashed out his arm, wrapping his hand around Scourge's arms and twisting it backwards at an awkward angle.

"Fuck," Scourge cursed as pain rushed up his veins and signaled his brain. Mighty narrowed his eyes, bringing the lanky hedgehog around closer to him and pining his bent arm against his bare back. Mighty placed his mouth next to Scourge's head.

"Don't ever touch my friend again," he whispered before letting go, taking Ray by the hand and grabbing the squirrels bag in the other and rushed out of the room before Scourge could reply.

"He'll regret that," Scourge snarled under his breath as he watched the armadillo rush away, rubbing his wrist to soothe the pain he felt.

A short while later, Mighty and Ray arrived back into Mighty's room, who breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that all of his friends were out. He finally let his guard down, dumping Ray's bag on the bed as he turned to make sure Ray was alright.

"You okay, buddy?" He asked, placing a hand on Ray's shoulder. The squirrel nodded, not saying anything as shame, embarrassment and sadness washed over him. Mighty frowned, not knowing what to say so he did the only thing he could think of. He bent over, wrapped his hands around Ray and brought the squirrel in for a long, warming hug.

"Umm, Mighty?" Ray whispered as he pushed his face out of the white t-shirt Mighty wore.

"Yeah?"

"I'm kinda still naked." Mighty chuckled as he quickly released his friend and chucked him the clothes that he found in Ray's bag. He turned around to give his friend privacy as Ray quickly put on his clothes and mentioned to Mighty that he was safe to turn around again.

"That was a close one back there," Mighty laughed.

"Yeah… thanks for saving me," Ray breathed in thanks.

"Don't mention it. What else are best friends for? I know you would have done the same for me," Mighty smiled as he gave Ray another hug. However, this time Ray pushed the armadillo away and went to sit on the bed, clearly distraught. Mighty turned his head, confused.

"I'm sorry… I won't hug you if you don't want me to," Mighty apologized.

"No… it's not that," Ray sighed. "I like hugging."

"Well what's bothering you?" the armadillo asked, walked over to take a seat on the bed next to ray, assuming that Sonic wouldn't bother them messing up his blankets. "You know you can tell me anything and trust me."

"Yeah I know… I just, I don't know."

"Hey, it's okay if you don't want to tell me."

Ray thought for a moment before breathing out a long, tired breath.

"I don't deserve you," he pouted.

"What? What do you mean? Of course you deserve me. If anything I don't deserve having you as a best friend."

"No, you don't understand."

"No, you don't understand," Mighty interrupted Ray. "Don't think about yourself that way. You are an amazing person and trust me, you wouldn't be my best friend if I didn't believe that with my whole heart."

"Mighty… I…" Ray said, staring into the shimmering eyes of the armadillo, contemplating whether he should reveal the big secret that he had worked so long to hide from his best friend. However, recently these feelings that had been stirring around inside of him had become too much for him to handle and he felt like he was just betraying his best friend for not letting him know.

"Ray… nothing will change anything between us. You can tell me anything," Mighty smiled a comforting smile that helped shed some of the squirrel's fears.

"Okay… here goes…" Ray sighed again as he steeled his nerves, waiting for his friend to explode in anger. "I've had these feelings for a long time now and I've always tried to ignore them but it's just become too hard."

Mighty said nothing, just giving off a sign that Ray should continue.

"I don't want these feelings but they have steadily grown more and I'm scared that you won't want to be friends with me anymore if I tell you."

"Ray, nothing could ever make me not want to be friends with you," Mighty said, placing his hand on the back of Ray's. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I-I… I'm in l-l-love… with… Clove!"

…

The thick foliage of the forest canopy swung gently in the nightly breeze, whistling their song of the forest as the wind vibrated the leaves. The owls perched in the trees hooted as the moon slowly began to peak over the horizon.

Tails sat, his back leaning against the tree stump in the open field, as his thumbs were madly at work smashing the screen of his phone, typing up a storm. He jumped slightly at the sound of a twig snapping in the nearby forest but relaxed his tense shoulder muscles when he saw the outline of the intruder to his little field.

"I thought you said you were busy with Scourge tonight," Tails said, placing his phone back in his pocket, ignoring the text message from a worried silver hedgehog that had just chimed through.

"Scourge and I hung out most of the afternoon so I decided I should give you a little bit of love too," she smirked, dropping down next to the fox and removing her backpack from her shoulders.

"Did you bring the good stuff?" Tails asked, rubbing his hands together.

"I never disappoint," Fiona laughed as she unzipped the bag and pulled out an unopened bottle of absolute vodka, handing it to the fox. He quickly un-screwed the cap and chugged a sizeable amount of the burning liquid, sighing with satisfaction as he welcomed the burning sensation trickle down his throat.

"Whoa, slow down. Save some for me," she smirked, retrieving the bottle from Tails and taking a shot for herself. She lay down on her side, only a few feet separating the two as they both sighed.

"So, why'd you call me this time?" Fiona asked. "Normally you beg me for these little drink sessions when something bad happens," Fiona observed.

"Nothing this time. Just had a shitty day and, honestly, I've kinda come to like them," he smiled at the vixen.

"Don't go getting soft on me now. You and I hate each other, remember?"

"Look, Fiona… I'm not going to pretend that you're actually a good person under your wicked exterior but you not evil… I know there is more to you than meets the eye.

"Oh yeah, and what would that be then?"

"Well, I know that despite hating a bunch of people at the school and ruining everybody's lives, you still want some companionship," Tails mentioned as he was handed the bottle from the rust furred vixen.

"Bullshit. The only companionship I need is from Scourge and that's because he knows his way around a bed, or back seat of a car as it were," Fiona smirked.

"Well… then why are you sitting here with me when you could be with him. Why, right when I was at my weakest, did you decided to help drink my sorrows away with me. You could have tried to exploit my sadness like you tried to do last semester when you showed up at my house or just watched me get drunk for entertainment but you didn't."

"Nah, I already had another one who I watched get drunk. Don't think it's because I like you as a friend, runt. I'm just here because when your drunk you spill all the secrets about your little group," she retorted, turning her head away from him.

"I don't think that's true, since while we are drunk you haven't tried to get me to spill anything."

"You're just too drunk to remember."

"I'm not drunk right now."

"Just shut it. Are we gonna get drunk or not?" she dodged his remarks, swallowing another big portion of the strong alcohol.

"Well… what about back when this first happened? Why did you help me back then?" Tails asked, remembering back to the mid-year break when Fiona first approached Tails to begin their little gatherings…

 _I was trudging from the building where I had been detained for the first half of the 'holidays,' my head staring at my feet in sadness and exhaustion. Ken had worked me extra hard this week and all I wanted to do was just flop down on the small bed that my father, Amadeus, had given me at the academy campus. However, fate had other plans._

 _As I walked through the streets, I noticed the rare tint of orange fur in the distance. I swerved to go see what it was and was surprised to see my one true nightmare, sitting underneath a dead tree alone. The leafless, dark black branches crisscrossed around one another, creating a wiry fence like pattern over head._

 _"_ _Fiona?" I asked, wiping my eyes to process what I saw. She turned her head towards me and quickly darted away when she realized it was me. I stood in confusion for a few seconds before shaking off my initial shock and decided to just head back to my room._

 _I was so exhausted, and saddened by how hard my dad, and Ken, were pushing me. I know Ken loved me but I could tell he was disappointed by my decision. I wasn't in the greatest place, and being so far away from my friends and new boyfriend for almost two weeks after just getting together with him was taking its toll mentally._

 _My head was spinning with thoughts, clouding my vision as I walked and as such, I didn't notice the thick tree root blocking my path. I screamed in surprise as my shoe caught the root and I began to fall forward, the hard concrete ground rushing up to meet my face at a break neck pace. However, I didn't feel the hard impact and the pain of a broken nose. Instead I felt two furry hands grab me and pull me up._

 _As I stood, I stared into the eyes of my torturer for the past couple of years… Fiona Fox._

 _"_ _Why did you help me?" I asked, stunned. Without answering me, she just pulled out a half empty bottle of vodka and handed it to me. Confused, I looked at her and she sighed, taking it from me and taking a swig herself._

 _"_ _I didn't poison it. Just drink it. It'll help ease the pain and stress, trust me, I know" she replied indignantly. I hesitated slightly, but decided nothing could have made my current feeling much worse so took a drink. Then another, and another._

 _"_ _Wh-what are doing here? You doing there, here?" I mumbled, hiccupping through my gasps._

 _"_ _I know what it's like to have parents breathing down your neck and making you hate life," Fiona sighed, giving me the first genuine smile I think I have ever seen her give._

 _"_ _This is another trick of yours. Make me spill me screts… secrets…" I accused her, stomping away despite my flustered brain. However, at the same time the next night, I found her waiting outside with the rest of the bottle, offering me the same smile. Intrigued, I humored her and didn't storm away. We just drank and talked, not about drama, or anything in particular. Just something to keep us both entertained._

 _We did it again the next night, and the next, and soon my feelings of sorrow faded away until she suddenly left. I didn't see her again until she stormed up to my table that second day of the new term and it was like nothing had ever happened. Until I ran to her door crying my eyes out after the big break up. I expected her to turn me away. To laugh at me and take a picture to use as blackmail later but, to my surprise, she let me in…_

"I only did it to turn you into an alcoholic and ruin your life. And I think it succeeded because whenever you're sad you run to me and ask to get drunk," Fiona smiled to herself, taking another swig.

"That may be, but you don't need to come out into the middle of the forest and talk with me and actually help me. I know you like to fuck around with us all for entertainment or whatever strange reason, but I know there is more to you," Tails smiled. Fiona didn't know what to say. She wanted to rebut, and opened her mouth to say something when she heard the crack of a twig break underneath the boot of somebody nearby.

"Who's there?" She growled, her eyes darting around on alert.

"What are you guys doing here?" a determined pink haired hedgehog peeked her head out from behind a tree. "Since when are you friends?"

"Beat it," Fiona growled. "And we aren't friends, I'm just prying for information about your skanky ass."

"Amy, what are you doing here?" Tails asked.

"Actually, I came here to talk to Fiona… about the fire that I know she started at school," Amy narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger accusingly at the vixen.

"Know your place," Fiona scowled. "I didn't light the fire at school and you know it."

"Admit it. You hate school and wanted to see it burn," Amy challenged.

"Look, I don't need to take this from a bitch like you," Fiona spat, standing up to walk over up to Amy. "Just because I hate school doesn't mean I set the fire. It wasn't me."

"Yeah, well I know you hated Blaze and Silver and probably set it knowing that Blaze would get burnt."

"That slut deserved to burn. Her and her little boy toy and I wish I could take credit for the fire but it wasn't me. Now beat it or else things are going to get messy."

"Okay," Amy responded in a suddenly cheery tone. "I got what I needed. Bye Fiona," she waved as she skipped off happily. "Oh, and Tails," she stopped to turn around. "Stop hanging out with her. For your own good." With that, the pink hedgehog disappeared from sight.

"What the fuck was that?" Fiona questioned as she fell back down into the spot she was just occupying and snatched the bottle out of Tails' hand, taking an extra generous portion of Vodka.

"I don't know but she was acting weirder than normal?" Tails pondered before dismissing the thought to the back of his mind as him and Fiona continued to drink and talk late into the night, finishing off their tenth bottle in the past week.

…

'Just do it,' Jet tried to talk himself up as he paced back and forth in front of the familiar door. 'Even if she doesn't forgive you, you owe her an apology for being a massive fucking dick,' he continued to scold himself. After a few minutes, he finally managed to steel himself, taking a deep breath in as he wracked his knuckles against the wooden door.

His heart pounded in his chest, thumping in his ears as he nervously awaited the rabbit at the door. His palms were sweaty, knees wobbling and sweat beaded on his forehead as the door began to slowly creak open and he was greeted with the sight of a saddened rabbit.

"Hey…" Jet began awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What do you want," she said lifelessly, her eyes once full of life now a joyless void.

"I… umm… haven't seen you in any classes this week," Jet said stupidly.

"Is that all you came here to say? I kinda wanna be alone right now," she sighed as she went to close the door but Jet quickly pushed his wing up against it.

"No," he blurted out. "I mean, that's not what I wanted to say. Look, Cream… I know what I did was so unforgivable and I just wanted to come here and apo-" Jet began but was cut off by a black and white bat who pushed in front of the rabbit and shoved her hand in his face.

"Don't even try. You're a jerk for doing this to Cream and, honestly, even Wave deserves better than you," Rouge scoffed.

"Wait, who are you to talk," Jet grunted.

"Cream's friend and she doesn't want to talk to you right now. You hurt her Jet and you should just run along," Rouge finished, standing up for her friend as she tried to slam the door in his face.

"Wait a minute," Jet growled, shoving his foot in the door to stop it from closing. "You were the one who convinced me to go up to her in the first place."

"R-Rouge… is that true?" Cream gasped, looking up to her bat friend.

"No! I tried to get you to talk to her and nothing more," she replied defensively.

"Yeah but if it wasn't for you I never would have gone up to her and nothing would have happened between us."

"I didn't tell you to fucking sleep with her!"

"Yeah but in the most pivotal moment you were the deciding factor to get me to talk to her and that was the crucial conversation where all of our pent up feelings came out," Jet shot back.

"Enough… both of you. I don't want to here this. Just leave," Cream yelled suddenly, silencing the fight between the two.

"Yeah, get lost," Rouge smirked.

"You two," Cream turned to give Rouge a deadpan stare.

"Cream, you can't be serious."

"Please… please just leave," Cream begged.

"Yeah, get lost," Jet mimicked Rouge's tone from earlier.

"Not the right time," Rouge snarled under her breath as she strutted past the bird and down the hall angrily, not wanting anybody to see her as anything else but the strong independent woman that she was despite a feeling of hurt washing over her. Jet sighed, turning to walk the other way, mentally scolding himself for how poorly he handled that.

Cream closed the door, putting on a brave face before collapsing to the ground once she was out of public view, letting the tears fall again.

'Why is it always me,' she cried alone in her room.

…

Gold sat at her desk in the dim light of her office, illuminated only by her desk lamp. She rubbed her temple with her fingers, trying to soothe the pain as she continued looking over the file that she had continuously built up on the case.

She grabbed her tea, sipping delicately as she moaned aloud.

"This is impossible. It could be so many different students. All I've got is this stupid lighter," she growled as she thumbed the lighter in her hands. The object in person had its usual cyan blue paint singed off by the fire and it was blackened, any fingerprint that could have been decipherable burnt off in the inferno.

"I think I am just going to have to tell Razor that I can't figure out the case and go back to Central City," she frowned.

 _Knock, Knock_

Gold's ears perked up as she turned towards the door, calling out to the person at the door that they could come in. Her eyes lit up in surprise as she saw Amy, the pink hedgehog, walk into the room and sit down at her desk.

"Hello Amy, how may I help you?" Gold smiled, trying to put on her nicest voice.

"How's the arson case going?" Amy asked.

"You know I can't divulge that information," Gold sighed. "But… it's not going great."

"What if I told you that I knew who set the Blaze," Amy said, her words like bullets.

"Who? Amy if you have any information at all you must tell me," Gold urged.

"But she is my friend… what will happen to her if I tell you?"

"Amy… you seem like a nice girl and you want to protect your friends but this is a serious case and measures must be taken. If you don't reveal whatever information you have I'll need to detain you for questioning. Do the right thing," Gold smiled, trying to be as accommodating as possible for the hedgehog.

"Okay… it was… Fiona Fox!"

…

Breezie whistled to herself as she walked down the hallway, clutching her books close to her chest. She stepped around the corner with a step, a big smile plastered across her face as she ran into the same silver hedgehog that she had a wonderful time with at the party.

"Hey you," she laughed playfully, giving him a peck on the lips. Silver quickly took a step back, earning a confused glance from the other hedgehog. "What was that?"

"Breezie… why did you just kiss me?" he asked.

"Well after that night we shared together I just figured that, y'know," she winked.

"Look… Breezie… I really need to tell you something," Silver sighed.

"Silver… just don't. I know where this is going to go. I just thought that since we both clearly like each other and now that fate isn't standing between us and we have actually found each other again after all this time…"

"No Breezie… it's not like that at all. I do really like you, I always liked you and probably always will. You will always have a piece of my heart but-" Silver began but was interrupted by the flustered hedgehog.

"But apparently you don't love me enough. Typical. I find a guy who I actually like and he turns out to just be another douche."

"No, Breezie listen please. I do really like you but… I have a girlfriend. Blaze," he said as Breezie's face lit up in surprise and anger.

"And you still had sex with me?!" She yelled, causing a couple faces in the crowd to turn around to look at the two. Silver quickly put his index finger against his lips to signal her to be quiet but that only made her yell louder. "When were you going to tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important," he shrugged. "Look, I'm new to this relationship thing and after you left me it really tore me up inside and I avoided girls for a while, apart from Blaze who became my new best friend after you left and our relationship just slowly evolved to something more and then when I saw you it was like you never left and then at the party it just… happened," Silver admitted.

"What, so you just decided to cheat on Blaze?"

"No I just… I don't know…"

"Silver, I'm not going to let you just keep cheating on Blaze. I'm not like that. So you have to make up your mind. Either me or her. Once you choose, you know where to find me," she said plainly before brushing past him, avoiding eye contact. The smile had been permanently wiped off of her face and she no longer whistled as she continued towards class.

…

"Silver, come quick. They found out who set the fire at your old school," Eclipse yelled, bursting in through the door.

"What, who?" Silver asked, sitting up so quickly that he smashed his forehead against the bottom of the bed above him, cringing in pain.

"It was Fiona. The cops just showed up and are arresting her. The whole school is watching, come on, Blaze is finally getting the justice she deserves." The two boys rushed out onto the lawn and joined the crowd of onlookers crowding around the disgruntled fox who was screaming her head off as two police officers carried her along with handcuffs.

"Wait, why are you arresting Fiona," Tails yelled, pushing through the crowd to stop the arrest.

"Tails, what are you doing? Don't go to her," Sonic said, concern flooding his voice as he grabbed Tails' wrist.

"Get off me," Tails yelled as he wrenched his arm out of the sapphire hedgehog's grasp and sprinted to stop the cops. "Officers, I know Fiona and there is no way that she could have done this."

"Tails, what are you doing? Get out of here or else you could get arrested too," Fiona warned.

"No, this is not okay. Where the fuck is the proof?" A gruff voice bellowed as a tall, green hedgehog appeared on the scene. He wound his arm back, ready to punch one of the officers when he felt somebody grab his wrist from behind him. He turned his head to lock eyes with Gold, the school secretary.

"Don't Scourge. Proof recently came into my possession that made it possible for me to deduce that Fiona did indeed light the fire.

"What is it?" Scourge and Tails yelled in unison.

"I'm sorry but that is between me and the police," Gold shook her head.

"Don't worry Ms. Tenrec. I'll show them," Amy smiled as she walked up to the two.

"Amy… you don't have to…" Gold began but was cut off by Amy.

"No, it's okay Gold, I don't mind. I'm just glad that Blaze finally has her redemption. Here, when Fiona confessed that she lit the fire to Tails, I recorded the conversation," Amy smiled, pulling out her phone and playing a recording.

"I… light the fire at school… because I hate school… and… it… deserved to burn…" the phone crackled, mixed in with small bits of static and a random tonal change of the vixen between some words.

"Are you kidding me? That is clearly edited," Scourge growled as Tails and Fiona exchanged glances, remembering when Amy walked up to them the other night acting strange.

"That bitch framed me!" Fiona screamed, trying to tug herself free of the policemen who held her with force.

"I'm sorry Fiona but that is for a judge to decide but for now, you must go with these people," Gold sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Take her away boys," Amy smiled as they both grunted in reply before hauling Fiona into the back seat of their car. Fiona turned around, worry sprawled out on her face as she looked out at the school and all the students through the glass window out the back of the car.

In the crowd, Sonia watched, a small smile creeping on her face as she breathed a sigh of relief. Near her, Espio locked eyes with Fiona, waving as he mouthed 'goodbye' to her with an equally big smile on his face.

"Hey… sorry for blaming you," the large grey albatross apologized, patting Shadow on the back after the two watched Fiona be pushed forcefully into the cop car.

"Don't mention it," Shadow grunted, although annoyed the relief of being able to walk around without being berated by his fellow student body overwhelming that feeling.

"Oh no… what did she do," the auburn haired squirrel who watched out from her bedroom window sighed. "This is all my fault…"

Fiona pounded on the doors of the car, violently cursing out Amy's name as the school that had quickly become her home slowly grew smaller and smaller in the distance. The flashing lights and sirens of the police car drowned out her screams and shielded her face from view as the school watched her leave.

"Back to class, all of you. Nothing to see here," Gold instructed as all the students slowly drifted back into the buildings and continued to carry on with their lives as if nothing had ever happened. Everyone except Scourge, Tails and Sally who watched sorrowfully and Sonia, Espio and Shadow who smiled happily.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, there you have it. This officially marks the end of part 1! Did everything turn out how you expected it to after the party? Let me know if you liked these new developments or some possible hopes for the future. Amy proved to be quite conniving, rivaling even Fiona and ended up beating the vixen at her own game. After all she has put everybody through, has she truly recieved her just desserts? Or will we see a return of the fiery vixen soon? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please let me know in a review how you felt, it really means a lot when a new one pops up and I love reading them all :)_

 _Question of the chapter: Did Fiona deserve what she got, or did Amy go too far?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Shadow finally approaches Mephiles about the party_

 _Jet falls back into old habbits_

 _Mina set's the record straight about what her and Manic have between them_

 _Gold approaches Espio after the events of the party_

 _...And Razor comes to tell Gold that her job at Emerald Lake has concluded because she solved the case_

 _All this and so much more, next time in Chapter 15: Break-ups and Make-ups_


	15. Chapter 15: Break-Ups and Make-Ups

_A/N: It's official, when I tried to do one of these every four days it was way too much work for the amount of free time I actually have. So, I've decided that these are going to be weekly, with maybe an extra chapter a week here and there if I find some extra free time and get ahead on writing. So, since i released the past 2 chapters on Monday/Tuesday, I figured that I'll put out a new chapter one one of the two days (depending how ready it is). And since this one was finished a couple days ago, I've decided to put it out on a Monday, yay! So anyway, enjoy the new chapter :)_

* * *

PART 2: TRUTH AND LIES

Chapter 15

Break-ups and Make-ups

It had been a few days since the big fiasco in the court yard in which Fiona Fox was dragged kicking and screaming into a cop car and taken away, back to the city and the prison life which awaited her until the unforeseeable future. Classes resumed as normal, Shadow walked around the school happily, no longer scared of the unrelenting torment that he used to face. The whole school seemed to move on, even Scourge and Tails had slowly begun to accept the reality of the situation, as they continued about their days. All except one…

Sally sat in her room, looking over at the ever vacant bed of Fiona. She watched Sonia dance about the room happily, gleeful that the fox no longer shared a room with them, oblivious to the inner torment that was raging inside of the squirrel.

She felt horrible, like she was the one to blame. Horrible nightmares plagued her dreams. They all ended the same way. Fiona died in prison and came back to haunt Sally in her dreams for allowing her to take the fall for something that she knew she did.

'You should tell them the truth,' Sally's thoughts berated her endlessly. 'Fiona is a horrible person, but she doesn't deserve this. It should be you rotting in a cell,' they continued, growing increasingly angry inside of her own mind.

Knock, Knock

The sound of knuckles rattling against the door pulled herself out of her thoughts. Sally stood up and slid over to the door, dragging her feet across the carpet as she opened the door to see a beaming pink hedgehog smiling at her from the other side of the door. However, upon seeing the squirrel's sour demeanor, a frown crossed Amy's face.

"What's wrong?" Amy said as she wrapped her arms around the squirrel and brought her in for a long, strong embrace. Sally tried her hardest to look strong in the face of her love but she couldn't hold on any longer as she buried her face into Amy's shoulder and let the tears flow.

"Whoa, Sally… Come on, let's go sit on the bed. What happened?" Amy soothed, running her soft hands through the squirrel's hair for comfort as the two sat on the bed. Sally wiped away some of the tears with her hand as Amy reached into her purse and offered her a tissue.

"Th-thanks," Sally sniffed.

"No more tears Sally. We can't have the sadness messing up your beauty," Amy smiled, kissing the squirrel on the forehead.

"I just… I feel so guilty. I should be the one getting taken away, not Fiona," Sally dried her eyes, dabbing the corners with the tissue in a delicate manner.

"Hey, hey, hey… don't think like that. You told me it was an accident and you didn't do it on purpose."

"Yeah, but Fiona didn't do it at all."

"But she deserves all that's coming to her. Just think back to last semester and all the pain she brought you because of your secret feelings towards me," Amy tried to cheer up Sally but failed miserably.

"If it wasn't for Fiona, I wouldn't have ever had the courage to tell you my true feelings and what we share would never have happened. If anything, I should thank her for pushing me to come out and let the world know who I really am," Sally defended the fox that loved to torment her in the past.

"But think of all of the people that she torments on a regular basis that you have saved from her tyranny."

"Still… she doesn't deserve it."

"Sally… it was either you or her and there is no way that I was going to let anything happen to you," Amy breathed, parting the small strands of hair that had fallen over her face and combed them behind her ear. She peered into Sally's eyes, shimmering from the tears that recently vacated her iris'.

"But Amy… I-" Sally began but was cut off.

"No, Sally. You are beautiful and kind and one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my entire life. You made a mistake but you shouldn't have to pay for it with your education and freedom. Fiona will end up there for something anyway, we may as well save as many people now from her wrath. Besides… I love you." As Amy finished, she leant forward and placed her lips gently against Sally.

The squirrel sighed, soaking up Amy's scent, enjoying the feeling of her lips against hers. After a few moments, Amy pulled back and stared deep into Sally's eyes as a small smile crept over Sally's face.

"Thanks," she smiled, wrapping her arms around the pink hedgehog who gladly returned the hug.

"Now come on, dry those tears so we can get to class," Amy smiled, standing up and holding out her hand to help Sally join her. "Sonic has been asking about you non-stop," Amy chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, earning a small giggle out of the squirrel.

…

Gold smiled to herself as she systematically began removing the pin up pictures of her students, along with newspaper clippings and other clues that she had been studying as she was working on the arsonist case.

'I still can't believe it was Fiona. Doesn't seem like something the vixen would do,' Gold thought to herself as she gazed at the school picture of the fox, donned in her signature black leather jacket coupled with black jeans. Gold shrugged as she let the image slip through her fingers, dancing through the air as it fell into the trash can positioned underneath her.

'At least it's all finally over,' she sighed to herself until suddenly a knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts as she snapped back to reality.

"C-Come in," she coughed, quickly adjusting her glasses and taking a seat at her desk to seem as professional as possible to whomever her visitor was. The door creaked open and a shark, dressed in a pristine black suit waltzed in and took stood, leaning against the tenrec's desk.

"Hello Gold," Razor said.

"Oh hello sir," Gold replied, beginning to stand out of politeness but Razor held out his hand, signaling that such actions were not necessary. "How can I help you?"

"Nothing really Gold. I just wanted to come here and congratulate you on a job well done. I know it mustn't have been easy uprooting and moving all the way out here, whilst starting a new job and become the head of the girl's dormitory all while trying to solve an arsonist case," Razor paused to take a breath after listing off her overwhelming schedule of things she had accomplished. "You really are an asset to this campus and we are glad to have you."

"Why thank you sir, that is very kind," Gold smiled as she adjusted her glasses. "It means a lot coming from you."

"Yes, well… that's the thing. You were only hired here until the arsonist case was cleared up and now that that's over, you have completed your job with flying colours," Razor coughed.

"What are you saying?" Gold inquired.

"I'm saying your job is completed and I assume you are going to return to the city and help oversee the construction of the new school," Razor concluded.

"Oh…" Gold paused, looking at her shoes as a wave of disappointment. She didn't think that she would be returning after she completed the case but it made sense. Gold couldn't help but feel a bit sad. Despite all the stress, she quite enjoyed her new job. She enjoyed the countryside and magnificent scenery. She adored helping all the girls in the dormitory and was finding it interesting to know all of the students on a more personal level than she was ever able to at the school back in the heart of the city.

"Well, sir… I just wanted to say that-" she began but was cut off by the gruff voice of the shark principle.

"Wait Gold… before you speak I just wanted to say something," he cleared his throat. "You have done an exemplary job and it is sad to see you go as I… I mean… the students would sorely miss you at this academy and… well… I was wondering if you wanted to stay here with us… full time… as a permanent secretary and head of girl's dormitory?"

"Sir…" she began, pretending to ponder his offer before smirking.

"Please, call me Razor," he corrected her.

"Okay, Razor. You did say I was an asset after all."

"Don't get too cocky Mrs. Tenrec. Everybody is replaceable, remember."

"It's Miss Tenrec, but please, call me Gold," she giggled. "But thank you sir, I'd love to accept the job," she smiled.

"Good, you start Monday morning," he asserted.

"But… it's the middle of the week and I'm still working now…"

"I said Monday morning!" he shot back in a strict tone, taking her a little off guard as he walked to the door and opened it with his back to her. He slowly turned his head and smiled warmly at her. "You deserve a short break after all the work you have done," he concluded before closing the door behind her.

"Phew, I thought I was fired," she said to herself, wiping her brow that was drenched in sweat and laughed to herself. "Well… since I have this time off…" she muttered aloud as she turned to her computer and got up some files that she had been meaning to go through and do some more research on in her spare time.

Her computer screen flickered to life as she dragged her mouse over to some folders. She opened one and pulled up a document with information of a certain student with an image attached. She opened the image and began reading the document of the black hedgehog student staring back at her through the screen with his deep, crimson eyes.

…

Mephiles lied down, his back resting against the back of the building, shrouded in the shade that was created by the sea of dark, menacing clouds that hung low in the sky. Mephiles sighed as he looked down at his feet. Ever since that party, he replayed the events over and over again in his head, going over how he could have approached the situation better without ruining his one big chance.

'I'm such an idiot,' he cursed to himself as he pounded the dirt with his fist. He gripped a bunch of grass in his hands and pulled it out, tossing it up in the air in a frustrated throw. He watched the individual grass strands sail on the prevailing winds, tossing and turning on the evening breeze until the softly collided with the ground, in front of somebody's feet. Mephiles looked up, noticing a familiar face.

"Hey… is this seat taken?" the boy asked.

"Sure, go nuts," Mephiles sighed. The hedgehog sat down beside him and leant against the building, raising his feet to rest on the bench in front of the two. "How did you know I'd be here?"

"This was the first place we met," Shadow smirked.

"How could I forget," Mephiles replied. "You were trying to hide from the school and I was just in the right place at the right time."

"Yeah… well now that fiasco is all behind me. I've had a lot of apologies this week," Shadow smiled.

"That's good. I guess you won't be hanging out around here with me anymore now that you have all your friends back," Mephiles sighed.

"Nah… I think I like this place too much to leave it just yet."

"But what about the party?"

"Oh, about that. Did you know that I actually happen to be good friends with the person that you told me was your secret crush at the party," Shadow began, smirking ever so slightly.

"But…" Mephiles said, raising his eyebrows in confusion. "You were the-" he began but was cut off.

"Yeah, quite good friends with them. I actually talked to him about all the things you said about him and do you want to know what he told me in response?" Mephiles simply stared, utterly confused. "He told me to give you this for him."

Shadow closed his eyes and leant into Mephiles, tilting his head so that their lips could meet. Mephiles, still slightly confused, shrugged and closed his own eyes, giving in to the magnificent kiss. The two hedgehog's sat there, leaning against the building completely engrossed in each other until Shadow finally pulled away.

"But why didn't you kiss back at the party?" Mephiles asked, his heart still a flutter from the previous minute of ecstasy.

"I was just surprised is all. I thought you were talking about this girl you loved and didn't know you were… y'know… into guys. I thought I was the only gay guy at this school."

"Haven't you had a boyfriend before?" Mephiles asked, unaware of the annoying and confusing love triangle that Shadow was a part of the previous semester at the old, city school that was now only rubble and ash, just like the metaphorical triangle.

"Yeah… I had two actually. One is bi and the other is pan."

"Ohh…" Mephiles breathed, finally understanding. "So… does this mean that… you'd maybe want to," Mephiles tried to ask but his normal calm and mysterious composure dissolved in the presence of Shadow.

"Yeas, I'd love to go out with you," Shadow chuckled darkly as he pulled in the hedgehog and kissed him again.

…

Manic sat in the main cafeteria, stuffing a peanut butter sandwich down his throat as fast as he could, hunger consuming his body from missing breakfast due to sleeping in that morning. Opposite him, a familiar pink hedgehog smiled widely.

"Mph, why are… you so… happy?" manic asked through mouthfuls, bits of bread spitting from his mouth and covering the dirty tabletop between the two.

"Oh, me? I'm just happy that Fiona is finally gone," she smiled, thinking back to the horrible things that Fiona had said and done to her on their last meeting the day after the party.

"Really? I thought you were talking about how much she was a good friend last time we met," Manic raised his eyebrows, looking gat her as he paused his annihilation of the sandwich.

"Yeah… I thought she was…" Sonia sighed, her voice adopting a somber tone as she looked down at her lap, her mind running back to the many nights the two girls spent sitting up talking whilst Sally yelled at them to be quiet. "We did have some good times…"

"So what happened?" Manic asked.

"Oh, nothing," Sonia lied. Manic looked at her, a frown plastered across his messy, peanut butter stained face.

"Sonia, c'mon, I know when you're lying to me. You know you can tell me anything, right? I am your brother and you can trust me."

"I know; it's just I've been having trouble trusting people lately. I thought she was my friend but it turned out that she was just using me the whole time and then hung me out to dry when she was done with me…" Sonia sniffed slightly, quickly wiping her eyes before Manic saw her.

"Oh… I… I'm sorry, Sonia," he said, grabbing her hand in his on top of the table counter and smiling at her. "Well don't worry, I'll never ditch you." She returned his smile and the two enjoyed each other's company before the phone on the table begun to vibrate vigorously.

"Sorry, let me see what this is," Manic said, grabbing the phone and scanning the message, seeing that it was from his mongoose girlfriend, Mina. "Mina needs to see me, I've got to go. See you around," Manic said, quickly grabbing his backpack, stuffing the remaining crust of his sandwich down his throat and rushing off out the door.

"Yeah… you'll never ditch me…" she sighed, repeating his last words as she slumped down in her chair.

Meanwhile, Manic rushed across the grassy fields, passing the parking lot of the campus and bounding up the small steps that led into the dormitory. That was where he spotted the purple haired maiden, lounging on one of the indigo sofas.

"Hey cutie," he smiled as he kissed her on her cheek, startling the mongoose.

"Oh, hey Manic… can we talk?" She asked, ignoring his little public display of affection.

"Yeah, anything for my girl," he smirked his innocent, boyish smirk that reminded the mongoose of the sapphire hunk that she couldn't get out of her head. The way he ran from her… it just made her desire for him burn brighter.

"It's kinda about this… 'my girl' thing," she began.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… you know we aren't in a relationship… right?"

"What? Of course we are, don't be silly."

"Since when?"

"Since we started fucking and hanging out a bunch," Manic stated like it was a well-known fact.

"Yeah, but you know that doesn't make us girlfriend and boyfriend, right?"

"Well what does?" Manic inquired, utterly confused by the cryptic nature of the mongoose.

"Um… you asking me to be your girlfriend, obviously," Mina giggled at his naivety.

"Okay… well then… would you like to be my-" Manic began but Mina put a finger against his lips, interrupting him.

"Manic, stop right there. What we have is great and I don't want to give it up. I do really like you, but I don't want to get into a relationship right now. I don't want to label what we share and get into all this stupid relationship drama, you know?" she smiled at him.

"Um… yeah…" he sighed, trying to put on a brave face despite his insides churning around inside of him.

"Goodie," she cheered, giving him a peck on the lips. "I'll text you later and we can go out for some food."

"Yeah… okay…" Manic muttered under his breath, begrudgingly accepting her way of seeing their relationship as he watched her skip away from him, meeting up with her cyan hedgehog best friend and watching the two of them walk off to class together.

…

Espio walked across the main courtyard of the school complex, rubbing his arm nervously as he walked. He looked down at the message that his teacher had given him after he showed up to class, signaling that he was sent to the principal's office.

'What did I do? Is this about the nudes?' the chameleon's train of thought immediately began to circle around to the most terrifying circumstances, ignoring the more probable causes for his summons.

As he walked, he noticed that the student's he passed no longer stopped to torment him. They didn't even bother looking his way. It was like he was invisible, a ghost walking this realm in search of a purpose to escape his earthly tether that doesn't exist. He pondered whether this was actually a good or bad thing, but tried to ignore it, shoving it out of his mind and focused on the fated meeting with Razor that he was heading towards.

Moments passed as Espio's nerves and anxieties began to climax as he got closer and closer to the principal's office and his golden secretary that was almost always stationed either behind that desk or locked away in her office.

"H-Hey?" Espio stuttered in a nervous voice, his pitch changing as he pushed open the door and approached the desk.

"Espio, is that you?" A nice voice called from the office next to the room. Espio heard a few papers clutter around and the squeal of wheels sliding over polished floors before a familiar tenrec stuck her head around the corner.

"I'm here to see Razor about… something I did?" Espio muttered, still preparing himself for the worst.

"Oh, sorry, did my little messenger get it wrong? I wanted to see you, not Razor," she chuckled, amused at the little mix-up. Espio's face flushed as he suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over him, glad that he wasn't in trouble.

"So why am I here?"

"Well… I wanted to talk to you about that little performance you put on at the party," Gold sang with her innocent, sing-song voice. Espio suddenly froze, forgetting about the embarrassing moment where he had to sing in front of everybody without a band to back him up.

"Oh… yeah… sorry that you had to hear that," he whispered shyly, rubbing the back of his neck as he laughed awkwardly to try to shift the conversation to something else.

"No, don't think about yourself like that. I actually really liked it."

"Wait, what? Really?" Espio gasped, taken aback by the tenrec who nodded in response.

"Did you write that song?" Gold asked. Espio nodded sheepishly. "Well, I hope you don't mind but I actually recorded after I realized how great a singing voice you had."

"Wh-What?" Espio babbled.

"And I sent it off to one of my best friends who happens to be a music producer."

"Wh-What?" Espio repeated.

"You know Thrash, right? He produces all the big names like Jaguar J and the likes?" Gold continued, ignoring his repetitive stuttering.

"Wh-What?"

"If you say what one more time I'm going to take that as a 'Why yes Gold, I have heard of him and I owe you so much for doing this for me and will have at least five songs ready to show him when we meet him on campus next week'." Gold put on a fake, deep masculine voice as she mimicked Espio's mysterious way of speaking.

"What…?"

"Good, then it's settled. Oh, but yeah, Razor did want to see you. Something about being late too many times. Good luck," she giggled as she gestured towards the principal's office.

"What…" Espio breathed to himself, still unable to register in his brain the news he had just received as he blindly walked into the shark's office like a zombie, heels dragging along the carpet until the door closed behind him.

"Strange boy. I like him," Gold mused as she went back to the paper work that she was working on.

…

Wave took slow, deep breaths outside of the door, steeling her nerves. She hadn't seen the green hawk ever since their spontaneous, intimate moment at the party almost two weeks prior.

'What do I say? Would he even want to talk to me?' she asked herself.

'Of course he does. He loves you,' her thoughts replied.

'But I fucked up his relationship.'

'That's only because of his feelings for you.'

The battle between her thoughts raged as she debated whether or not she should approach Jet and figure out the awkwardness that had grown between them since the party. She finally decided to man up and knock on the door when it suddenly creaked open and she was instantly met face to face with said hawk, their faces barely apart.

Jet screamed quietly and quickly jumped back, gasping for air as his heart began beating again after being stopped from the fright she gave him.

"H-Hi," Wave whispered sheepishly.

"What do you want?" Jet spat back bitterly, not making eye contact with her.

"Really? That's how you're going to be?" Wave responded, her initial anxiousness fleeing her body as she was filled with slight anger and his indignant attitude.

"Yeah, that _is_ how I'm going to be," he growled gutturally.

"What is your problem?" Wave stated, raising her voice slightly as she narrowed her eyes at him. She originally wanted to tackle this delicately but that idea was thrown out the window as soon as he opened his mouth. It was like he had this polarizing effect on the swallow that made her unable to think clearly or rationally, opting to instead raise her voice.

"You're my problem!"

"Me? How?"

"Yeah, you!" he reiterated angrily. "If it wasn't for you, Cream wouldn't have broken up with me or dumped me."

"You can't blame me for that!"

"Of course I can. You kissed me."

"And you slept with me! You did that of your own free will and you can't blame all your problems on me, even though it seems that's all your good at!"

Jet stared at her, his eyes glazed with a black, cloud that mirrored the eyes of a soulless demon.

"Oh… Jet I'm sorry…"

"Get. Out."

"Jet… I didn't mean it like that… I just wanted to…"

"GET OUT!" He raised his voice, motioning her to back out of his room.

"Jet, just let me talk to you," Wave begged, her voice changing from her aggressive nature to one of pleading.

"No. You're an ugly skank who not only ruined my relationship with Cream, but my life. Twice." And with that, Jet slammed the door closed on her, the wood only barely missing her face and a nasty bruise that would have appeared on her cheek.

Jet rushed over to his bed and buried his face in his pillow, a million thoughts swirling around in his head. He had done a reasonable job of holding off on all of his depressive thoughts but after that encounter with Wave, his original source of sadness after she left, he felt the tsunami crash over him again.

Jet paddled around in his head, trying desperately to stay afloat but the raft that was Cream was nowhere to be seen, leaving him alone to drown in the ocean of sadness that Jet found himself stuck in again.

"I need it," he sighed, clambering to his feet like a zombie. "I need to ease the pain. I need to feel something, anything else." Jet pulled open the bottom draw of the cabinet and felt around inside, extending his arm and fingers to the very back reaches of the small space. He clasped his hands around an old, rolled up pair of underpants and wrenched it out into the light.

He frowned as he unraveled it slowly, revealing an old, slightly rusted yet still quite shiny silver blade. The still sharp edge glinted in the setting sun as Jet tossed the underwear aside and sat down, leaning against the bed.

"Cream…" he whispered as he lowered the blade down across his arm, intent on digging it deep into his skin and thrusting it downwards, in a vertical motion over his wrist when suddenly he heard the door creak open.

"JET!" A voice called out. The small, yellow squirrel that Jet had got to know as his roommate dropped his back pack and darted over to the depressed hawk, smacking the blade out of his hand inches before it dug into his supple skin.

"Leave me alone, Ray," Jet whined, reaching for the blade.

"No," Ray mentioned, tears in his eyes and he stomped his foot down on the blade, obscuring it from the world. He refused to move his foot, much to the displeasure of the disgruntled hawk.

"Why don't you just leave me alone," Jet lashed out.

"Jet, this isn't you. Don't do this to yourself. I know things seem bleak but just hold on," Ray whispered solemnly, trying to calm the enraged bird.

"I need it."

"No you don't. I know you don't," Ray sighed, seeing an image of what he always feared himself turning into. The depressed features and the way he desperately crawled around, trying to get anything to relieve him of the pain. Suddenly, a fist flew through the air and met the flying squirrel in the face, knocking him backwards as he hit the floor with a thud.

"I… I'm so sorry Ray," Jet cried. "I'm such a fucking mess. What have I done? I need to leave." Ray heard Jet cry out and sprint out of the room before his senses went black and he delved into the realm of nightmares.

…

Clove lay on her back, phone in the air as she feverishly sent text after text, hardly participating in the conversation that was happening in her dorm room. She had invited Tikal and Eclipse over, since Mighty pulled out of their double date last minute, and felt awkward third wheeling.

"And then in third grade…" Tikal began, recounting another embarrassing story of Clove and her youth to the darkling who tried his hardest not to crack up laughing, sending cheeky smirks to the pronghorn when he knew she was looking at him.

"Okay!" Clove interrupted the two, sitting up. "That's enough stories for one day. Mighty isn't coming so date's cancelled."

"Aw, what?" Tikal pouted.

"Honestly, he's probably off doing something with Ray. Poor guy is probably sad that all of us are in relationships besides him. Hell, I even heard old Mephs got himself a partner yesterday," Eclipse responded as both of the girl's heads turned to him in surprise.

"Mephiles… really?" Clove asked in disbelief.

"OMC, who is it, who is it?" Tikal shrieked.

"I don't know," Eclipse admitted.

"Well we have to go find out, like now," Tikal replied, gripping her boyfriend's arm and hoisting up off of the floor and rushing towards the door. "Later Clove!"

"B-" Clove began but was interrupted by the loud slam of the door as her two friends disappeared from view. "ye…" she finished.

"They seem nice," Clove heard a shy, quite voice fell down from above her.

"Cosmo?" Clove asked, inserting her pinky into her ear and twisting it to remove some of the built up wax to make sure that she wasn't hearing things.

"Yeah?" The green seedrian popped her head over the edge, smiling at her.

"Oh, I didn't even realize you were in the room," Clove laughed awkwardly as a silence fell on them for a few moments. Cosmo quickly slid off of the top bunk, landing gracefully with a little pose. Clove clapped happily, enjoying the little display.

"Well, I sleep here too, remember?" Cosmo smirked, her confidence whilst talking to the pronghorn drastically improved from their initial conversation they had back when she first arrived at the school at the start of the semester almost two months ago.

"Yeah, sometimes I forget that since it seems our little dorm hardly ever see's each other," Clove apologized, rubbing the back of her neck.

"But I did want to ask you for something," Cosmo began, her tonal shift changing ever so slightly that Clove couldn't pick up on it.

"Shoot."

"I kinda am in serious need of some money because… I… lost it, yeah and I'm kinda desperate," Cosmo sighed, a small frown crossing her face.

"Lost it… how?"

"I made a stupid bet and lost and I really need the cash," Cosmo admitted, looking down at her feet.

"What do you need the money for?" Clove asked, raising her eyebrows skeptically. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about the seedrian's body language didn't sit right with her.

"I… um… really need it for some textbooks. I missed out on one and if I don't buy it for class I'm going to fail. I'll pay you back soon, I'm good for it," Cosmo pleaded.

"Can't you ask your parents?"

"They cut me off."

"So you're asking me?"

"Yes… for textbooks…"

"Alright," Clove sighed, reaching into her pocket to fish out her wallet. "Is fifty enough?" Cosmo nodded her head vigorously.

"OMC, thank you so much you have no idea how much this helps. I'll pay you back when I get some more money, I swear."

"Don't worry, what else are friends for," Clove chuckled as Cosmo wrapped her arms around the pronghorn and pulled her in for a surprisingly tight hug before the seedrian disappeared out of the room, leaving Clove well and truly alone this time.

'Why is everybody in such a rush these days?' she thought to herself as she flopped back down on the bed.

…

"Coming, coming," Cream sighed as she pulled herself off of her bed, sighing exasperatedly in the process as she slumped over to the doorway, completely annoyed at the person on the other side who was banging frantically to get inside.

"What do you wa…" Cream began as she opened the door but trailed off when she saw the girl that ruined her life standing on the other side of the room.

"Hey Cream… look… I just wanted to say that-" Wave began in an apologetic tone when she was interrupted by the rabbit.

"No! Wave, we've already had this talk after you fucked my boyfriend. I talked to Sally and she said they have a spare bed… well actually two now… so you're moving in with them. I don't want to see you again. Now get out!" Cream barked in a surprisingly domineering tone.

"Cream… please… I don't know what came over me but I'm not like that," the pinkish, purple swallow pleaded with the rabbit who turned her head, scoffing at Wave.

"Then why did you do it?" Cream asked, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"I… I don't know," Wave admitted, her head sinking down as her gaze fell to the ground. It felt like a lead weight was attached to her back, pushing her down to the floor.

"Okay Wave… just look into my eyes and tell me that you don't love Jet." Wave rose her head and opened her mouth, staring into Cream's eyes but no words came out.

"That's what I thought. Don't come back," Cream concluded bitterly, a strange hint of malice mixed with depression evident in her voice.

"Cream wait!" A voice called out from down the hall. The two girls turned to see a flustered bat rush up to the hall.

"I don't want to talk to you either. You instigated all this shit!" Cream growled back.

"I didn't mean that he should have sex with Wave, honest. Creamy, come on," Rouge said, staying strong. "You're not kicking me out of _my_ room, are you?"

"N…No, but I want to be alone," Cream muttered silently under her breath as she closed the door on the two girls.

"Wow. Thanks for completely throwing me under the bus," Wave rolled her eyes.

"Anytime," Rouge smirked, winking at the swallow. Rouge turned her head, the smallest hint of a frown crossing her face as she looked at the door before turning back, adopting her promiscuous and confident tone that she was known for again.

"So, looks like we've both been kicked out for a while. Coffee?" Rouge offered.

"Um… sure, why not," Wave shrugged, smiling at the bat as the two waltzed off to the cafeteria.

…

 _"_ _Hey guys, Whatcha doing?" I asked in a bubbly tone, running up to Clove and Mighty. They both turned to me, their expressions dour and menacing. "Is everything alright?"_

 _"_ _How could you do this to me? I thought we were friends," Mighty said in a deep, monotone voice, turning from me._

 _"_ _Clove, what's wrong with Mighty?" I asked, reaching out to place my hand on her shoulder._

 _"_ _Ew, don't touch to me," she shrieked at the contact, brushing me away like a cockroach._

 _"_ _What did I do?" I asked, tears welling in my eyes._

 _"_ _You were in love with my girlfriend this whole time?" Mighty snarled._

 _"_ _I…I thought you wouldn't tell anybody," Ray sniffed._

 _"_ _And you thought I'd actually like you? Look at you. You're a sniveling coward who doesn't deserve any friends," Clove cackled. "And so I told everybody about how you're in love with me and we all decided to kick you out of the friend group. Buh-bye," the pronghorn smiled as suddenly a rope fell from the ceiling._

 _I watched as she pulled down on the sudden rope and the ground below me opened up, swallowing me into a world of darkness, trapping all the light from sight. I fell with a thud against the floor and opened my eyes, looking around for any sign of anything. After stumbling around in the dark for a few moments, I noticed a small ray of light in the distance._

 _My feet carried me faster than the wind as the light source grew bigger and bigger until I appeared in my dorm room, with a girl sleeping soundly next to me. I noticed the green fur with black lines._

 _"_ _Clove?" I asked, noticing that I was naked underneath the covers of the bed. I rolled her over and marveled at her beautiful face. Suddenly, it began to contort and change in a horrid display, melting off all her fur and facial features until the face of my best friend appeared._

 _"_ _You want to steal my girlfriend from me?" Mighty bellowed at me._

 _"_ _No I don't. I swear. I would never do that to you!" I begged for his forgiveness._

 _"_ _I don't believe you. Why did I ever consider you my best friend? You aren't worth my time. I hate you! Don't ever talk to me… again!" he yelled, his words like bullets, pelting into me as they ripped my flesh out of my body. I groaned in agony as I fell to the floor, seeping through the bed sheets and plunging into a pool of crimson liquid._

"What?" Ray screamed with a start as he sat up, sweat soaking his brow. He wiped his forehead clean with his clammy hand as he looked around, noticing that he was still in his dorm room. Suddenly, the memory of his conversation with Jet and the punch came back to him.

Ray turned his head, noticing that the sun had almost fully sunk below the hills on the horizon, allowing the encroaching shadows to feed on the land. Ray rose to his knees when he felt a sharp pain on his thigh. He looked down and noticed that he had leaned on a sharp metal blade.

"Jet's blade…" Ray whispered allowed, staring into the metal face and watched his reflection stare back at him. Ray sat their contemplating his next move. A few moments later, he heard the jingling of keys and the sound of a locking mechanism turning. He panicked, quickly opening his drawer and shoving the blade deep inside its contents before the door burst open and Scourge waltzed in.

"Sup punk?" he growled, chucking his back haphazardly on his bed before reaching into his pocket to retrieve his cigarette lighter.

"N-n-nothing," Ray stuttered as he quickly slipped out of the room, not able to deal with another brutal conversation with the mean hedgehog. Ray didn't know where he would go or who he would talk to but he just needed to get out of that room and clear his head before the horrible thoughts came back to taunt him to use the blade again.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, there you go. Jet's struggling, Ray is struggling, Cream is struggling, Sally is struggling... everybody is struggling! Well, except Mephiles and Shadow who are now official! Hooray? Are you guys glad or mad about the newest couple? And did Scourge of all people just accidently save Ray from doing something he will regret? Please don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought about this chapter and leave any theories about what's to come!_

 _Question of the day: There are a lot of plot arcs that have been raised by the characters but are no closer to being answered than they were chapters ago. So... What are your theories about Scourge and Silver, Espio's nudes, Cosmo's increasingly weird behaviour, Spike and Sonic's past and finally, what happened to Sonia at the party that Fiona refused to reaveal? Leave a review to let me know :)_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Espio approaches Knuckles who approaches Amy_

Sonic approaches Spike who approaches Julie-Su

Tikal reveals a dark secret about her family to Eclipse

 _Mighty and Clove share a romantic day_

 _...And Gold makes a devastating connection involving Shadow_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 16: Talk to Your Friends, Talk to my Friends, Talk to me_


	16. Chapter 16: Consoling

_A/N: I don't have much to say here for once... so... please enjoy the chapter :) Wait, no i do, the chapter has 2 different names because my original name is too long for FF so I just shortened it to Consoling instead of the original title, "Talk to your Friends, Talk to my Friends, Talk to me._

* * *

Chapter 16

Consoling

The sun began to sink below the horizon as Clove slumped down onto her bed, letting out a long, exasperated sigh. Her legs ached from the long day and she massaged her temple as she thought about all the work she had to do before the end of the week.

"Long day?" A sheepishly voice perked up.

"Hey Cosmo, yeah it's been a while. I just need a break, y'know."

"Why don't you go hang out with Mighty?" Cosmo offered some advice, trying to cheer up the pronghorn but only made her sadder.

"I wish I could but he said he is studying all night for a big test tomorrow morning," she sulked. The two girls continued to partake in small talk, just winding away the minutes to alleviate boredom and prolong the procrastination before both of them had to face the mounds of homework that awaited them. However, it seemed that Clove's night was about to pick up.

The door creaked open as an exhausted pink hedgehog practically fell through the doorway, tripping over a small box that her tired, crusty eyes completely glazed over.

"Fuck," she swore under her breath as she collided with the carpeted floor. Cosmo quickly jumped off the bed and rushed over, helping Amy to her feet as Clove inspected the little box. There was a small tag attached which just read ' _To Clove.'_

"It's from… Mighty?" Clove asked herself, noticing the familiar, sloppy handwriting.

"Well can you tell your boyfriend not to not leave things in the middle of the freaking doorway. I think I hurt my knee-cap," Amy whined as her wobbly legs from the collision carried her over to the bed where Cosmo gently let her sit down.

"I think you mean your Patella," Cosmo corrected her in a didactic tone. Amy rose her gaze and glared at Cosmo, unamused. "I'll umm… go get some ice," Cosmo replied shakily as she rushed out of the room.

"So, what's in the box," Amy asked as she winced, pulling her leg up onto the soft mattress. Clove looked down and opened it, revealing a heart shaped box of chocolates with a little note scrawled on the top.

 _Dear Clove,  
I've set up a little hunt since I know you've had a rough day. Follow the clues and it'll all be fine,_

 _Love Mighty._

 _Let's begin with an easy one, a general clue to start,  
After this warm up they'll start coming from the heart.  
A Mirror for the famous, but informative to all,  
I'll show you the world but it may be a bit small.  
What am I?_

"What? It's riddle. I think he wants me to figure out the answer and go there," Clove pondered, examining the note again.

"What a werido, that sounds stupid," Amy chuckled lightly. Clove turned around and picked up the pillow off of her bed, hurling it at the injured hedgehog.

"Ouch! I'm in pain here," Amy complained.

"Don't call him weird, I think it's really sweet. Besides, when we would travel around on the train to his beach house we would amuse ourselves by doing these riddles and lateral thinking puzzles. It's kinda our thing," Clove sighed, thinking back to the good memories of the last year and summer break.

"Okay, okay, it's cute. Whatever. So, you going to do it?"

"Yep! Here, hold this, but don't eat any!" Clove called as she stripped off the note and rushed out the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Amy called after her.

"To the main dorming area. It's the only place on campus I can access at this time that has a television," Clove responded with a wave as she disappeared from view. Amy sighed as she looked at the heart shaped box.

'I hate to admit it, especially to Clove, but this is really romantic. I wish somebody would do this for me," Amy thought as she carefully placed the box on the ground, making sure not to contaminate of squish its contents. 'Ohhh, a television,' Amy chuckled as she understood the answer to the riddle, slapping her forehead with the palm of her hand.

Clove sprinted into the lounging area, passing by a snoozing green hedgehog and a Silver hedgehog who was flipping the channels absent mindedly as she stepped up to the T.V. She ran her hands around the back of the flat screen when she felt something. She pinched the object and tore it off of the back of the television, revealing another piece of paper stuck to the back of the T.V

 _That one was too easy, but the next won't be so,  
I'll start making clues that the answer only you would know.  
During our first date I was in a lot of pain,  
Because I tripped heading here when we hid from the rain.  
Where am I?_

'Our first date?' Clove thought, diving into the recesses of her memory as she thought back to the previous year. 'Mighty and I had lunch since we both had a free period and we decided to go chill by the lake. It started bucketing rain and we rushed back to school but he tripped on a stump and sprained his ankle so we went and hid…'

"The old boat shed!" Clove screamed out loud in success.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep here," Scourge bellowed, throwing a piercing gaze over at Clove. She quietly apologized and ran out of the dormitory, following the winding dirt path that led to the small pier that overlooked the lake.

Clove continued the scavenger hunt, solving the clues that lead her to all the places where significant events occurred during their relationship such as their first date, their first kiss after he asked her out, their favourite tree and the first time they… got intimate.

Finally, after Clove crawled out from underneath the wooden bleachers that overlooked one of the campus' sporting fields, she dusted herself off and read what she thought was the final note.

 _You're doing quite well, I'm very impressed,  
But not surprised because at these you were always the best.  
This is the last clue so don't give up just yet,  
Travel to the place where we both first met._

Clove smirked, sprinting off to the small, wooden table with the old, rotting stumps on either side of it that was situated in one of the far corners of the school. After rounding the corner, Clove gasped in disbelief at what she saw.

The old table, that had been falling apart, was covered in a scarlet cloth. Plates, shiny silverware, glasses of wine and a candlestick in the middle were sprawled out on the table and Mighty stood in front of it with a gigantic grin on his face.

"Glad you could make it. For a second I thought I made it too hard," he chuckled. Clove smiled back as she ran up to him, threw her arms around him and brought him into a tight embrace, planting her lips onto his as they shared a long, intimate kiss.

"Your riddles were too easy," she mocked.

"Well I didn't want to make them too hard and be standing out here like a loser all night," Mighty retorted playfully, ushering Clove over to her seat before retiring to the other side of the table.

"But you are a loser," Clove giggled.

"Yet you still chose me anyway."

"And I'd chose you again if I had a do-over, every single time."

"Please, you're going to make me tear up," Mighty faked like he was crying from joy before the two burst into laughter. After it died down a bit, the two stared deep into each other's eyes, just enjoying the time they had together. Finally, after a few moments, Mighty broke the silence, snapping Clove out of the daze she found herself in from staring into his dreamy eyes.

"Happy one-year anniversary, Clove," Mighty announced as he removed the semi-spherical dome from the dish in the middle revealing two delicious looking steaks.

"How did you get this?" Clove gasped, her eyes widening at the display as her mouth began to water from anticipation.

"An armadillo never reveals his secrets," Mighty winked. "But it's good to make friends with the lunch ladies, it comes in handy in the long run."

"I love you, Mighty," Clove sighed happily as she leant over and planted a kiss on his lips.

"I know," he laughed, earning a playful kick to the shin from the pronghorn. "Ouch, kidding! I love you too, Clove."

…

Knuckles threw his back pack off of his back, watching it skid across the bleachers that overlooked the football field as he sat with a sigh, hiding his head in his hands. He heard a slight scuffle underneath him and twisted his head to see Clove the Pronghorn emerge from underneath him, dust herself off and rush off into the distance. Knuckles scratched his head, wondering what the hell she was doing underneath there before his thoughts started to plague him again.

'You fucked everything up with Rouge. What's your problem?' his thoughts screamed at him. 'Now Julie's mad at you, Rouge hates you, Manic wants nothing to do with you and you ditched Espio right when he needed you most! You are pathetic,' his thoughts continued to berate him, making him feel completely depressed.

"How did I know I'd find you here," he heard a sly voice speak up from beside him.

"Maybe because you're a good detective," Knuckles replied quietly as he noticed a purple chameleon standing tall next to him.

"If only that were true," Espio sighed as he sat down next to Knuckles. "I'm at a loss for who spread around my nudes."

"Well, it wasn't me if that helps," Knuckles feigned a smile before a familiar frown quickly replaced it. "Why are you even here anyway, don't you hate me like everybody else?"

"What? Why would I hate you?" Espio queried, genuinely confused.

"Because I ditched you on that stage all by yourself."

"Okay, yeah, that was a dick move, but everything turned out alright in the end. I'm here because you helped me when I was down so I thought I'd return the favour. What else are friends for?"

"Really?" Knuckles asked, earning a slight nod from the chameleon. Knuckles raised his fist to Espio, who bumped it with his own before the red echidna smiled and lay back, gazing out over at the setting sun.

"I just… I don't know what to do?" He admitted after a few moments of solemn silence.

"About Manic?" Espio asked.

"About everything," Knuckles replied in a frustrated tone. "About Manic, about Rouge, about Julie."

"Oh yeah, I heard about your big break up. Apparently Rouge swiped a bus and drove all the way back to the lake for some reason." Knuckles didn't reply, he just stared down at his ankles. He gazed below his feet through the slits in the wood of the bleachers, watching the small solitary blades of grass whistle in the wind, drowning in a sea of dirt.

"Hey man, sorry I brought that up," Espio apologized, placing his hand on the echidna's shoulder.

"No… it's cool, I did basically ignore her for weeks to hang out with Julie and so she has every right to be mad. I really screwed this one up. Gah, I'm such an idiot!" Knuckles screamed to the heavens above.

"Well… before we can fix anything-"

"Wait, we...?"

"I'm going to help you," Espio smiled, nodding his head. Knuckles lips pursed in a slight smile as the edges of his mouth curved slightly at the friendliness the chameleon was displaying despite how Knuckles ditched him in his time of need.

"Thanks."

"So, before we can fix anything, you need to ask yourself one very important question. Do you like Julie-Su?"

Knuckles stared at the chameleon, the gears in his head turning as he thought about the question he was just posed, not really giving it much thought before.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I just… I don't know," Knuckles admitted.

"Well, just list of the types of feelings you have when you think about Julie."

"Um, she is a really good friend. When we hang out and play basketball I always have a smile on my face. She is super funny, a hoot to be around and she is actually quite attractive. Whenever she talks to me my legs feel like jelly and I get this weird feeling inside my chest. When she is sad, I feel sad too," Knuckles smiled as he thought about the pink haired echidna.

"Okay… good. Now, when you think of Rouge what do you feel?"

"Rouge has always had my back. She is super sexy but when she talks to me it's like my soul is on fire. She is so independent, funny, snarky and makes me want to be a better person for her."

"Okay… so what I think is-"

"But every time I hang out with Julie I just get happier and happier. When I wasn't with Rouge, it sucked but I could still be happy hanging out with other friends but after getting so close with Julie… I just aren't as happy unless I'm with her."

Espio just smiled at Knuckles, showing his white teeth in the goofiest of smiles. Knuckles tilted his head, confused.

"What?"

"I think you just answered your own problem."

"What? How?" Knuckles looked at Espio before his mouth opened slightly. "Ohhh… thanks Espio… you're a really good friend."

"I know," Espio laughed. "Now, maybe you should go tell Julie how you feel about her…"

…

Sonic burst through his dorm room door, his brow drenched in sweat as he slowed his jogging and came to a stop in the middle of the room. He took his sweat bands and drew his hand over his forehead, soaking up the sweat before removing the bands and discarding him to the floor on his side of the room.

The sapphire hedgehog leant against his bed as he pulled his left leg up behind him, stretching out his sore hamstrings after the long, arduous run around the lake and through the campus multiple times.

"Knock, knock," he heard a female voice coo from outside the hallway. Sonic looked around the room, noting that neither Mighty or Mephiles were present and shrugged.

"Come in," he said with a smile that was instantly wiped off of his face when he noticed the purple haired mongoose waltz in, dressed in a tight fitting short green skirt that mirrored the colour of Sonic's eyes.

"Hey Sonic, you look tired," she purred. "Maybe you should lie down on the bed. Let me help you."

"Mina, look, this is getting frustrating," Sonic barked as he took a step back, bumping into the bedside table behind him. "You're going out with my brother."

"Half," Mina corrected her.

"Why does everyone feel the need to correct me," Sonic growled angrily as he held his arms up in front of him to stop the oncoming mongoose.

"Besides, we aren't actually dating, I don't know where you got that idea," Mina giggled. "So, it looks like the two of us are alone." Sonic bided his time, waiting for the mongoose to get closer before he leapt to the side and bolted out of the room faster than a lightning strike, adrenaline carrying him faster than his legs ever could.

Mina frowned, her shoulders slumping over in depression as she watched him leave her… again.

'Why doesn't he like me? Is something wrong with me?' she thought to herself, her brain swimming in mean thoughts when the voice of a memory shone through the darkness like the light of a lighthouse on a stormy night, guiding her decision.

 _"_ _Don't give up, he'll fall for you soon."_

'Breezie's right,' Mina decided, determination filling her voice. 'He'll come around,' she smiled as she skipped out of the room, passing a very confused dark striped hedgehog who walked in through the door.

Meanwhile, Sonic rushed down the stairs passing through the lounging area. His head darted left and right, passing over the confused gazes thrown his way before deciding that Mina would find him if he stayed here and so he changed direction and sprinted out through the doors. An orange quilled porcupine lifted his tired head, noticing Sonic and with curious thoughts, followed the hedgehog.

Sonic rushed around, hiding behind the dormitory next to an old, wooden table that he heard Mephiles talk about occasionally. The sun was blocked out by the towering building next to him and he sighed with relief, falling down on the bench to rest his tired, aching muscles when he heard the crunch of dirt underneath a shoe coming towards his direction.

"No," he groaned, sitting up, expecting to see the committed mongoose but to his surprise, saw somebody completely different. "Spike?"

"H-Hey Sonic… I noticed that you seemed distressed so I just wanted to come here and make sure you were alright," Spike confirmed, leaning against the dorm. Sonic gave the porcupine a look over, noting that he changed the way he had his quills and his wardrobe seemed different.

"Oh… thanks…" Sonic said silently.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" Spike asked, tilting his head down to see if he had a stain on his pristine, white shirt. "Is there something on me?"

"No, no," Sonic waved the thoughts away with his hand. "I just noticed that you look a lot different now. A lot less like…" Sonic trailed off, the thoughts connecting in his brain, sending a spark to his mouth to stop his talking.

"…like you," Spike nodded. "Yeah… I realized after you yelled at me the other week that I was being a creep by trying to look and dress like you. Besides, it wasn't really working for Breezie anyway," he sighed.

"Oh… yeah, sorry about that buddy. I didn't mean to snap at you like that but I just got really annoyed at everything going on. It's kinda been a tough year for me so far and I thought it would get easier at this campus but it really hasn't," Sonic apologized.

"Don't apologize. I was the one who was acting weird. Also… did you just call me buddy?" he smirked.

"Don't let it go to your head," Sonic chuckled.

"So, I know we aren't friends or anything, but I just wanted to ask in case you wanted to talk about…" Spike began, trying to choose the right words so as not to aggravate the sweaty, tired hedgehog.

"… why I ran away? Well… it's just that this chick keeps trying to do stuff to me but I don't like her back."

"That sucks. Have you tried telling her that you are not interested?"

"Yeah but she won't listen!" Sonic cried out exasperatedly. "It's so frustrating. I just wish Mina would quit it."

"Wait… did you say Mina?"

"Yeah, do you know her?"

"Um… y-yeah, kinda. She is my best friends best friend… if that makes sense."

"Can you please talk to her for me. I'll do anything," Sonic lunged at Spike, grabbing the fabric of his shirt in his hands, desperation in his voice. "She is screwing up my already shaky relationship with my half-brother!"

"I-I don't know if I can…" Spike began but looked deep into the pleading emerald eyes of the hedgehog that Spike had spent a big portion of his life looking up to. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Sonic basically jumped for joy. "What can I do to repay you?"

"How about not yelling at me if I try to talk to you," Spike laughed, to which Sonic joined in.

"You got yourself a deal, buddy," Sonic extended his hand and shook Spike's.

"By the way, Sonic, do you actually remember me at all?" Sonic placed his thumb to his chin and thought back through his past but honestly couldn't place the face or name.

"No, sorry," he shook his head, seeing a frown on the porcupine's face. "Have we met?"

 _I was never popular during primary school. I was constantly bullied by my peers. I wasn't ever sad, however, since I always had a group of good friends who were always by my side and there to pick me up when I was down. Especially Breezie, my one true friend._

 _That didn't mean that the bullying didn't torment me and keep me up at night. I was always made fun of by the way I talked, the way I looked or what I liked and how I acted. That's when I met you…_

 _It was the annual athletics interschool competition and it was my race. Running was one of the only things I seemed to ever be good at. I looked at my competitors and noticed that one of them was a tall, skinny sapphire hedgehog who wore a massive cocky grin. He saw me looking at him and flashed me a thumbs up. I couldn't help but smile at his happy attitude._

 _"_ _Go Sonic!" A voice called out from the crowds._

 _"_ _You're the best!" Another yelled. Eventually it seemed the whole crowd was cheering on Sonic. I looked over to my school and they seemed to not even be paying attention. All I wanted to get was the same recognition as he did. I was determined to beat him, to prove I was worth something not only to my school but to myself._

 _The gun began and him and I shot out of the gate, matching each other in speed until about half way through the race when my foot hit the ground at an awkward ankle and I collided with the track head first, spraining my ankle and breaking my nose in the process._

 _"_ _Hey, look at wittle spikey. What a loser," one of the popular kids at my school called out._

 _"_ _Did spikey-wikey get a spwained ankle," another one joined in on the tormenting, using baby language like they always did to make me feel small. I felt horrible. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. I just wanted to run away, to hide from everybody. That's when suddenly the sun on my face was blocked out and I looked up, brushing a tear out of my eye._

 _The thing that was blocking the sun, casting its shadow on me. It was him… Sonic the hegheog._

 _"_ _Hey buddy, are you alright?" he asked._

 _"_ _I-I-I really hurt myself," I babbled, still listening to the tormenting words of my school._

 _"_ _Don't listen to them. They just don't see how cool you really are. Trust me, I know cool," he smirked before holding out his hand, urging me to take it. I placed my hand in his and felt him trust me up, supporting me as he draped my arm over his back. "You ready to finish this race?"_

 _"_ _You bet," I smirked, copying his tone of voice and attitude. Together, we hobbled across the finish line and finished the race, the whole crowd cheering his name, except my school._

 _Afterwards, I was escorted back to my area by him and he left me, saying his goodbyes when one of the bullies came up to me and pushed me to the ground, blaming me for losing the race._

 _"_ _Hey, what's your problem!" Sonic stood up for me when I needed him most._

 _"_ _He lost us the race!"_

 _"_ _He sprained his ankle! At least he was winning for half of the race. I bet he ran more than you ever have in your life, fatty," Sonic grinned. The crowd of students snickered quietly behind the bully. I watched in awe as he stood up for me and, slowly, he managed to turn the whole school against my biggest bully._

 _I never saw him after that day, but I never forgot him. I started to dress the same way, streak my quills back in the same manor he did and perfect my smirk and confident voice to mimic his. And you know what? It worked._

"Spike… I'm sorry that you had to deal with that… but you really should be yourself."

"Why? People never liked me when you were myself," he sighed, looking at the ground.

"Dude, you're awesome as you. Just think about Breezie. Maybe the reason she never reciprocated the feelings is because she fell in love with the old you but when you changed, she didn't like the knew you as much."

"You think?"

"Definitely," Sonic nodded. "Why don't you go show her just what type of guy you really are and sweep her off her feet. You're the knight she deserves," Sonic flashed him the same thumbs up that he did that first moment Spike met him and the porcupine couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks Sonic… This… this really means a lot."

"Oh… and one last thing," Sonic said as he grabbed Spike and pulled him close, wrapping his arms around the porcupine. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was acting like a dick," he whispered. Spike stood, frozen at the sudden contact before reciprocating the hug, a wide grin crossing his face as he closed his eyes in complete bliss, finally being accepted as a friend by the one person he always wanted to befriend. _Snap_

After a few seconds, Sonic pulled apart and smiled. "Friends?"

"Friends. So, you wanna get some food?"

"Nah, I think I'll just chill here for a while. Mina is still looking for me," Sonic laughed.

'Hmmm, interesting,' Scourge thought as he watched the porcupine and hedgehog break apart, looking down at his phone and the picture he just snapped. He zoomed in on the porcupine, magnifying the pleasured face that he was puling.

'Fiona was right. The things you can stumble upon with these idiots can really supply some golden opportunities,' he smiled as he put the phone back in his pocket and strolled off.

…

Knuckles strolled casually back to the dormitory, the words of the chameleon weighing heavily on his mind.

'Was he right? Should I really try to be with Julie-Su or do I need to go and apologize to Rouge and try to win her back?' Knuckles raised his hands to the sky, mentally shouting as his confusing thoughts overtook him.

"K-Knuckles?" a voice pushed through the misty barrier that surrounded his mind, parting the clouds slightly to bring him out of his trance.

"Huh, wha-?" Knuckles span around and came face to face with a familiar pink hedgehog. "Oh, hey Amy, it's been a while. How have you been?" Amy just smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It's been so good ever since I took your advice. I think everybody has finally given me a break," she smiled up at him. Knuckles couldn't help but return the gesture, her happy mood contagious.

"I'm glad I could help. At least I can do something right," he sighed.

"Is this about the whole Rouge and Julie thing? I heard about what happened," Amy asked, eliciting a simple nod from the red echidna. "Come on," she began, grabbing his hand in hers as she led him towards the towering building. "You helped me out when I needed it so let me return the favour. If you need girl advice, you've come to the right girl."

The sun set low underneath the rolling hills in the distance, the encroaching shadows sneaking up on the unsuspecting land as Knuckles and Amy talked through the afternoon, Knuckles laying out his problems and Amy offering solutions.

"So you really think I should go for Julie-Su?" Knuckles tried to confirm her final conclusion after quite the lengthy talk.

"Look, as much as Rouge is my friend, I really think that you and Julie should get together, especially after what you've told me."

"Thanks… I, actually, really needed this," Knuckles thanked his friend. "I'm glad we had this talk. It was nice to hang out. It seems that everybody from the old group has just been so busy with their own stuff that we haven't all been able to hang out."

"That's a great idea. Let's all find a time to meet up at lunch," Amy snapped her fingers.

"But a lot of our friends aren't exactly… well, friends at this point. Tikal can't stand Espio. Tails and Sonic aren't talking. Cream never wants to see Jet's face. Blaze is in the hospital and I don't think Rouge and I should hang out this close to our break up," Knuckle frowned.

"Yeah, it feels like Shadow is the only person who isn't hated by anybody in our old group at the moment, which is kinda funny considering its him," Amy couldn't help but giggle at the irony. "What if we invite them but don't tell the other people are invited?"

Knuckles just glared at Amy, smacking his forehead. "You're right, you're right, that's a stupid idea. That will only end in more arguments. I just hope everybody sorts their shit out soon so we can all hang out like the good old days.

"Don't worry Amy. If this all keeps up we will force everybody to be friends," Knuckles joked. "Whether they like it or not."

"If you're forcing them then they can't possibly say no," Amy laughed with the echidna.

"So, I think I should probably get going. Thanks for this," he waved to Amy.

"Wait…" she blurted out, blushing slightly at her outburst. Knuckles shot her a confused glance before he shot back down and tilted his head, signaling for her to speak.

"Um, I just wanted to ask… because, y'know… you and Sonic and Tails are such good friends and all…" she trailed off.

"Oh… Amy come on, you have a girlfriend," Knuckles shot her a judgmental look.

"Yeah but I just wanted to know how Sonic is holding up… y'know."

"Amy, seriously, this isn't fair to Sally. Her and I haven't really ever like been good friends and I only ever see her with others but if you really still like Sonic than it is unfair on her."

"Yeah I know… but has he talked about me?" Knuckles just sighed, shaking his head as he got up and strolled over to the door, pulling it to exit when suddenly a certain auburn haired squirrel suddenly fell forward and landed on her face.

"Sally, I'm so sorry," Knuckles apologized, holding his hand out to offer to pick her back up. "But… what were you doing at the door?"

Sally began to sweat, not wanting the two of them to know that she was doing. Amy had invited the squirrel to hang out and must have forgot but when Sally came to knock on the door she heard voices and just wanted to listen in. That's when she heard Amy ask about Sonic.

"Um, Amy invited me over and I was just pushing on the door as you opened it and I wasn't expecting it and just fell. I'm such a klutz," Sally giggled, trying to cover up her real motives.

"Oh, well I'm sorry again. I'll, uh, see you around then," Knuckles smiled, saying his goodbyes before he left, making sure to close the door behind him.

"Sorry Sally, I wasn't expecting him to stay so long but I was just giving Knuckles some girl advice," Amy shrugged, getting up to walk over to the squirrel and placing a short peck on her lips before bringing her in for a hug.

"Okay, cool, I hope it helped him," Sally lied, narrowing her eyes as she stared holes into the wall behind the two, knowing that Amy was lying to her.

…

Julie-Su combed her long, pink hair back behind her hair as she gathered her backpack, putting her clipboard and lab report inside and zipping up the top, and hopped off the high seat.

"See you next week," she waved to her lab partner. The yellow polar bear returned the gesture as he watched her stroll out of her lab. Julie-Su whipped out her phone and plugged her ear-buds in, pressing shuffle and hummed along to the newest pop-song that blared into her ears.

After she exited the tall building and begun to make her way over to the dormitory, ready to indulge herself in a nice grilled cheese sandwich, she noticed somebody orange walking around from behind it, waving to an invisible person.

"Spike!" Julie called, removing the ear-buds from her phone as she recognized the familiar porcupine.

"Julie?" he questioned as the echidna steadily got larger and larger as she ran up to him. Once his mind connected the information that his eyes were displaying to him, he smiled and invited her with open arms, enjoying a brisk hug from her.

"It's been so long! I haven't seen you since last semester," she panted, trying to catch her breath after the brisk run.

"I know! I can't believe we haven't ran into each other since then."

"This campus is pretty big and I don't normally hang out in the lounge area unless it's a pretty horrid day outside so I'm not surprised," she laughed.

"Yeah, knowing you, you are probably off in the gym all the time," he chuckled.

"Oh shut up," she slapped him playfully. "So, how's my old chem partner doing? I miss you in the labs. Bark is alright but it just isn't the same performing experiments without you," she pouted.

"You think you've got it bad. I got paired up with this really annoying raccoon who won't ever shut up and her accent, yeesh," Spike shuddered, thinking about his partner. Julie couldn't help but burst out into laughter.

"Oh, I've really missed you, Spike. Hey, I was about to go back to my dorm but instead do you want to go to the on campus café and get some milkshakes?" Julie offered, beaming him a joyful smile. Spike couldn't help but agree, walking side by side as the two friends got re-acquainted after the couple of months they had spent away from each other.

An hour or so passed as the two of them sat at one of the empty tables, a green bird wearing quite a bored look on his face wiped down the empty tables next to him.

"Can we get a refill please Bean?" Julie asked. The bird just grunted, taking the cups from them with a soulless expression as he walked back behind the counter.

"Psst, what happened to Bean. He seems so… hateful," Spike whispered.

"I don't know. I heard both his parents died in a car crash over the holidays. That's why he took up this job at the café, just so that he can pay off his school fees since he doesn't have any more living relatives," she replied under her breath, giving the most charming smile she could muster as he returned with the milkshakes, saying nothing.

"Wow… I feel sorry for the guy," Spike breathed. The two drank their milkshakes in silence for a little while until the solemn air began to lift.

"So…" Julie began with a smirk. "Sealed the deal with Breezie yet?" Spike, taken aback, spat out some of the milkshake from his mouth, the small chocolate droplets peppering the freshly washed floor.

"Wh- no, it's not like that," Spike pouted.

"Spike, you went on and on about her so much in our labs so don't even pretend that you don't like her to me."

"Yeah… okay… but she isn't into me. She likes this other guy… Silver."

"What does he have that you don't have?"

"Well for starters-" he began before being cut off by Julie-Su.

"Nothing," she interrupted him. "You're every bit as good as he is, if not better so why don't you finally man up and tell her how you feel!"

"You really think so?" Spike asked, still unsure of himself but when he looked into her confident eyes as she nodded in response, Spike felt a spark of determination in his eyes. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll ask her out"

"Hooray," Julie cheered, pulling Spike in for a deep, tight hug.

"So, you have any boys in your life?" Spike asked, trying to change the subject.

"Um, well sorta. There is this one guy, Knuckles-"

"Oh yeah, he is my roommate. Him and Manic, but I think something happened between them. I'm not really sure because neither of them will really talk to me, or each other at the moment," Spike interrupted her.

"What, you know Knuckles? Then this story will make more sense to you. I kinda, sorta, maybe… made his girlfriend break up with him and his best friend hate him…" she trailed off, looking at the plastic take away milkshake cup.

"Wow… and I thought I had a confusing and dramatic life…" Spike breathed, processing all the information that suddenly made everything fall into place, acting as the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

"What should I do? I feel so trapped."

"Well, do you like Knuckles. Like… like, like him?"

"Yeah, I think I do… but he still is into Rouge and I feel so bad for breaking them up. I'm not like that, I swear," Julie sighed exasperatedly.

"Don't worry Julie, I know you're not," Spike placed his hand on her shoulder. "She doesn't know that. Well on that front, I think you should show him you care and will be there for him, but wait to see what happens between him and Rouge."

"Yeah, I think your right. I don't want to steal Rouge's man and have to deal with her for the whole semester. That would be a living hell," Julie admitted.

"And for Manic," Spike thought, tossing around a few ideas in his head before deciding on the correct advice to give his friend. "Maybe you should go talk to him, tell him about how him and Knuckles shouldn't fight over something so trivial. Maybe you could help them."

"And that'll work?"

"It's worth a shot," Spike suggested as the two paid for their milkshakes, got up and left the café together, continuing to talk about each other's personal drama's. "What's the worst that could happen…?"

…

The sun shone down on the grassy land, refracting off of the small due drops that still clung to the blades of grass from the midnight showers. Eclipse smiled at his girlfriend, Tikal, as he shoveled some more grapes into his mouth. He shuffled slightly closer to the blushing echidna, clad in a long, yellow skirt as the two sat cross-legged on the red and white checkered picnic blanket situated on the grassy knoll.

"No way," Eclipse gasped from surprise, stifling a laugh.

"Legit! Then the guy actually came out of the supermarket and chased us down so we had to run down to the beach to avoid him and Knuckles and I got split up. We found out the next day that the twenty-year-old actually got fined a bunch of money by the cops because the clerk got his license plate number," Tikal burst out laughing, unable to control herself from her memory.

"I can't believe you went up after asking the guy to buy you guys beer and took it from him in front of the store!"

"Hey, we were only sixteen and didn't know the proper way to do it," Tikal defended herself jovially.

"Yeah but still! Everybody knows that you don't get the guy you got to buy you drinks to give them to you while the guy behind the counter watches you. I can't believe he chased you guys down," Eclipse joined her as they continued to chuckle. "You must have had such a fun childhood," he sighed, wiping a joyful tear from his eye.

"Well… not exactly," Tikal replied as the happiness left her voice and an air of sadness descended upon the two during the middle of their lunch date.

"Oh… I'm sorry… do you… maybe… wanna talk about it?" Eclipse offered.

"No, no, it's okay. I don't want to bring you down with my stupid stories."

"Tikal, nothing you say is stupid," Eclipse assured her, cupping her cheek with his hand. "You should know I'm always here for you if you want to talk about anything."

"Thanks, Eclipse," she smiled as she leant forward and gently pressed her lips against his. "Well… where to even begin…" Tikal thought back to her past when she was a smaller child, no older than about twelve.

 _"_ _GET BACK HERE YOUNG LADY!" my mother screamed at me again._

 _"_ _Don't you touch me," I yelled as she grabbed my arm, forcing me to face her in the eyes._

 _"_ _Don't EVER talk back to me," she warned._

 _"_ _Why should I ever listen to you? It was all your fault. I know it was your fault. You knew and did NOTHING!" I screamed back, tears streaming down my face._

 _"_ _Don't blame me! It wasn't my fault for what happened."_

 _"_ _Why didn't you tell me?"_

 _"_ _I didn't want you to know."_

 _"_ _He was my brother! I deserved to know!" I shouted, wrenching my arm forcefully out of her grasp as I barreled up the stairs and slammed myself in my room._

"It continued like that for a while, the same fight again and again, every single night. Always the same reason. Always because of what happened to my brother until one day it got to a point where my mother and I couldn't stand each other and… well…" Tikal choked up slightly, not from sadness but from intense, burning hatred.

"What happened?" Eclipse asked, staring into her cobalt eyes, her hands in his as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb in a circular motion, calming the enraged echidna.

"She… gave me up. I went off and got adopted shortly after by another family and we moved from Westopolis to Central City and I enrolled in Mobius High. They had these friends who had their own daughter who used to keep me company when she was on holidays, and that was how I first met Clove."

"At least you have a loving family now," Eclipse tried to see a silver lining but Tikal just frowned in response.

"We are kinda in a fight now too."

"Well… it's a shame to know about fighting with your mother. I-I can empathize…" Eclipse admitted as he stared into her eyes.

"Did you and your mother fight a lot too?" Tikal asked.

"I-I don't want to talk about it…" Eclipse sighed, looking away as his eyes clouded over.

"That's okay," Tikal smiled, bringing his face back with her fingers before she tilted her head and crashed her lips against his in a long, passionate kiss, their tongues dancing on one another as they fell backwards onto the wet grass.

"Thanks for listening. I love you," Tikal beamed after she pulled apart from him, nestling her head against his chest as the two lay lovingly on the grass.

…

The moonlight illuminated the ground below, amplifying the small lights that twinkled throughout the sky above the silent school. Although it was a Saturday night, it was way past midnight and the whole school slept silently… well most of the school.

'Something is up,' Gold said, ruffling a hand back through her long, blonde hair as she grabbed her mug of cold coffee, sipping it as she feverishly typed, scouring the web for any more clues on the shadowy hedgehog.

Gold skimmed through Shadow's files again and read through the message that was sent to the school the night that Shadow mysteriously disappeared. She looked at the name that was signed at the bottom. Something about it always felt off, like it wasn't mirroring the truth from the person who wrote it. She just had a gut feeling.

She decided to type the clearly fake name into her web browser and scrolled through the first couple of pages until she found a little page from conspiracy theories anonymous. She shrugged, clicking the link which took her to what seemed like the mad ramblings. After speed reading the article, she noticed that the author mentioned the same name that signed the bottom of the letter she received and said it was a cover up for a man named Abraham Tower.

Gold scratched her head, wondering why somebody would use such a strange fake name and quickly typed him into her browser and suddenly found a wiki article relating to a government organization known as the Guardian Units of Nations or simply G.U.N. In the article, she saw a picture of some of the cars they typically drive, and more importantly, the spitting image of the same helicopter that she recalled Rouge describe when Shadow first left.

"No way…" she breathed aloud. "Shadow is… a spy?"

* * *

 _A/N: Yes, the story that Tikal was telling Eclipse at the beginning of that scene really happened to me and a friend xD Just a fun fact. Anyway, looks like Gold has finally found out about Shadow and his little secret but what will come of this information? And what happened to Tikal's younger brother that caused the long fight between her and her parents? So, Sally overheard Amy trying to talk to Knuckles about Sonic's availability... what will come of that? Please let me know your thoughts of this chapter and also your possible theories._

 _Adressing issues about Amy: Amy is complicated, especially at the point that she is at in this story. The main question I constantly get is what her sexuality is and, the truth is, not even Amy is sure. She is straight, but she is experimenting with Sally because of the events that transpired in the first place. They started out cute but Amy still acts as if she isn't in the relationship, still running after Sonic who has her heart captive, like always. Yes they hug and kiss still but they haven't gone any further, despite being over two months in the relationship. So yeah, disfunctional relationship, but with Sally constantly per-ocupied with the constant guilt she felt first for Blaze and now for Fiona, she feels the need to stick with Amy for that support. We'll just have to wait and see whether they can push through their issues and come out on top or fall apart._

 _Question of the chapter: There are some fluffy scenes between couples inserted in parts in chapters, such as Mighty and Clove or Mephiles and Shadow in recent chapters, along with others along the way, but what I want to know is who is your favourite CURRENT couple? Mephiles and Shadow, Mighty and Clove, Blaze and Silver, Amy and Sally, Tikal and Eclipse or Scourge and Fiona?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Gold holds a meeting between Espio and the music producer, Thrash_

Cream confronts Tails about what she saw at the party

Somebody overhears a suprising conversation between Shadow and Gold

Sonia learns a horrible truth about herself

...And Blaze finally makes her long awaited return to Emerald Lake after 12 chapters

All this and so much more in Chapter 17: A Fiery Return


	17. Chapter 17: A Fiery Return

_A/N: Hey everybody, a bit of a short chapter this week. Only 6000 words instead of my usual 8000-ish words. But don't fret, as this has more than enough drama to satiate any desire you may have, so please, enjoy :)_

* * *

Chapter 17

A Fiery Return

The lone, maroon car turned around the corner, the driver applying the breaks slowly as it rolled up to the main gate of the school. The passenger of the car clutched the thick jacket closer to her chest, hiding what was underneath as she marveled at the sheer size of this new environment.

The car pulled up into one of the many empty car parks next to the large, central building and the driver gripped the hand break, pulling it skywards before placing the car in park. He then turned to his passenger, smiling through his own nervousness.

"Are you sure you are ready for this honey?" the man asked.

"Yes daddy, I'll be fine. I'm just glad to finally be out of that place. It's been too long," the girl sighed.

"It's only been a couple months; it's only just hit spring. I can understand if you want to go back home and rest for a little while longer."

"Dad, it's okay. I want to do this. Thanks for caring," she leant over and kissed his cheek before wrapping her arms around his back. "I'll see you for the mid semester break in a couple weeks."

The car door flung open and out stepped a familiar, violet feline. She turned around and grabbed her bags, lifting them out of the car with a grunt as she closed the door. Although her strength still hadn't fully returned to her and her fur was quite thin, she felt ready to re-join society.

"B-B-Blaze?!" A voice called out from afar. Blaze whipped her head around, straining her eyes to see a faint golden fox sprinting up towards her. Blaze couldn't help the smile that crossed her face as Tails grew larger and larger before colliding into her, almost knocking her off her balance.

"Ow, ow, ow, still sore," she chuckled, wincing slightly as she tried to fix her balance before wrapping her arms around the fox.

"I thought I had lost you," Tails sniffed, tears falling down his cheeks and he nestled his head into her neck.

"Tails, Tails it's okay… I'm all better now… well, mostly," she grinned as she patted him on the head. Tails looked up, noticing her facial expression and stepped back slightly, wiping the tear from his eye as he giggled slightly with joy.

"Sorry… I lost my cool there for a second."

"Can't lose what you never had."

"Shut up," he smiled. "Need help with your bags? I can show you to your room if you'd like?" Tails offered, grabbing on of her bags.

"Thank you Tails, that's very kind of you… but-" Blaze began but shook the thought from her head, not wanting to spoil the moment.

"Yeah?" Tails looked up to her, his eyes glinting from the remainder of the tears.

"Oh, nothing… I just… don't you still hate me?"

"Wha- oh… right… Blaze, I'm really sorry about freaking out at you like that. I was being really stupid and have been kind of a little shit. After Sonic and I broke up I've managed to see a little bit of perspective and realized that-"

"Wait, you and Sonic broke up?!" Blaze exclaimed in surprise. Tails nodded. "I'm so sorry…"

"No, it's okay. Yeah I was devastated but I think I have finally come to terms with it. Looking back, that relationship was a bit unhealthy for me. If he asked me out again would I say yes…? Well… yeah, I still love him, but I realize just how much I was being a little brat when around him. It took Fiona of all people to help me realize that, if you can believe that," Tails chuckled after his reflection.

"Wow… you've grown up quite a bit in the months I was out… well in mind that is… you're still a little shorty," Blaze giggled.

"Hey I… I missed you," he smiled as the two rekindled friends walked off to the dorm.

…

Sally leant behind the dormitory, her thoughts wondering back to what she overheard Amy talk to Knuckles about.

'She still is in love with him. We never spend any time together. The furthest we have ever really gone is kissing… why am I even with her?' Sally's thoughts swirled around in her mind like a whirlpool of confusion. However, it wasn't the only thing weighing her down, as the guilt of not only what she did to Blaze but also in-advertently did to Fiona was eating her alive like bugs inside her skin, causing her to subconsciously itch all over.

Sally sighed, raising her black boot slightly higher on the wall as she stared up at the deep blue sky, just wishing for somebody, anybody to help her. She had been clinging to Amy, hoping that her relationship could help her deal with all these thoughts but it was becoming more and more obvious how useless it was.

The auburn haired squirrel whipped out her phone and tried to call her best friend, Sonic, again but it went straight to voicemail. She scrolled down through her texts to him, frowning more and more as she realized just how many times she had tried to hang out with him and how many times he apologized for being busy. Sally sighed, thrusting her phone back into her purse in frustration. Suddenly, she heard voices come near her. She whipped her head around, hoping that it would be the sapphire hedgehog, but a different colour appeared.

"S-Sally… what are you doing here?" Shadow questioned, his hand placed inside that of another hedgehog.

"Oh, hey Shadow, who's this?" she asked, trying to sound polite despite her sadness.

"Hello, my name is Mephiles. Nice to meet you. Any friend of Shadow's is a friend of mine," he answered awkwardly, trying his best, like the squirrel, to sound polite.

"Charmed," Sally replied in her usual up-beat attitude, struggling to keep her happiness up. "Sorry, is this your spot? I'll move if you want," she offered.

"No, it's okay, we can just go back to my room. Mighty and Sonic are both out somewhere," Mephiles offered, kissing Shadow on the cheek before the two turned and walked away. Shadow raised a palm and waved to Sally as he left. Sally waited until the hedgehog's were out of sight before crying out in frustration.

"Everybody is in a happy relationship. Everybody has all their shit together. Nobody has fucked over two lives in one year. Nobody… except me," Sally groaned. "I just need somebody for release. Or… something," she said as she desperately clawed open her purse and pulled out her secret pack of cigarettes. She promised Blaze she would quit, but she never did have the strength to throw away her final packet.

'Just one, then I'm done for good,' she reasoned with herself, hands shaking as she lit the lighter.

"Sally, don't do it!" A voice called out, running over to her and slapping the cigarette out of her hand. "You promised me you would quite!"

Sally looked up, tears in her eyes to see who had stopped her. The auburn haired squirrel's heart skipped a beat as she saw Sonic, the one person she had been searching for. She couldn't help it any more, bursting into tears as she collapsed into his arms, burying her face into her chest, crying her eyes out.

"Sally?" Sonic asked, stunned. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sally… what's wrong?"

"W-why was your phone off?" She whimpered. "I've been trying to contact you for ages but your always busy."

"I'm sorry, my phone died in class today because I forgot to charge it last night. What- what's happening?"

"I just… I can't do this anymore," she sobbed. "Amy's been basically avoiding me and the guilt of getting Fiona sent to jail is killing me," she sniffed.

"Why didn't you just tell me you needed help. I would have cancelled anything for you, Sally. You're my best girlfriend," he smiled. "I'll always be here for you." Sonic lead the squirrel over to the bench and sat her down, wiping the tears out of her eyes with his thumb as he cupped her cheeks.

"I didn't want to bother you," Sally admitted.

"Sally, you're never a bother," he smiled before he suddenly stopped. "Wait… why do you feel guilty about Fiona."

"I… I… I was the one who started the fire. It was an accident, I was smoking and then the leaves caught fire and I tried to put it out and… and… and oh my Chaos, Sonic, you probably hate me right now," she burst back into tears. Sonic said nothing, the gears in his mind turning as he looked down at the crying squirrel.

"Sally… I'm not mad that you started the fire. If it was an accident, then I believe you. And it's just Fiona… don't feel guilty, she got what she deserved, but I am disappointed. I'm disappointed that you couldn't trust me," he sighed.

"I wanted to but… I couldn't trust anybody. I'm so sorry," she whimpered.

"Sally… you can always trust me; you know that right?" he smiled at her. "I'll always be here for you, just like I was back in the country. You got that?"

"Thanks… thanks so much… you dork," she smirked, giggling slightly but still unable to stop the flow of her tears.

"Yep, but I'm your dork," Sonic smirked, drying her tears as he stared deep into her eyes. Sally looked back, his eyes shimmering like the emerald gem they mirrored. Sally suddenly began to lean in, closing her eyes until she felt her lips pressed against something.

"Sally, please, this isn't you," she heard a voice say calmly. She opened her eyes and looked down, noticing her lips were touching the palm of Sonic's hand that was placed between the two.

"I…I'm sorry… forgive me," she shuffled back slightly.

"No… Sally… it's not like that. We're best friends, remember, and your just not thinking straight. Don't do this to Amy. You're not a cheater," Sonic explained.

"I… I don't even know if we are in a relationship anymore."

"How so?"

"We hardly ever see each other or do anything and I don't even know why I'm still with her. And I heard her talking to Knuckles and she said how-" Sally stopped suddenly, remembering who she was talking to. "Well… I just don't think she actually loves me."

"Why don't you break up with her?" Sonic offered plainly.

"Because I need her. I need somebody right now more than ever. I just… I feel like I'm cracking more and more each day, about to crumble if something isn't done to help me."

"Sally… it's okay… I'm here for you now. I promise I won't let things get between us anymore. If you need to talk something out or just need somebody to hang, just call and I'll be there, just like old times, okay?" Sonic stated, sincerity floating on every word.

"Okay Sonic… Thanks… And, yeah… I guess I will go break up with Amy then…"

…

Silver and Eclipse sat in the silver hedgehog's bed, both engrossed in the newest episode of their favourite television show.

"Nooooo!" Eclipse bellowed in sorrow as he watched his favourite character stabbed through the stomach.

"Dude, calm down. Nobody even liked her," Silver shrugged.

"She rounded out the cast. I can't believe she's dead. This show is so much worse now," Eclipse pouted, taking the death out of proportion.

"You should have seen it coming. Everybody fucking dies in this show," Silver counted.

"I know… don't you love it," Eclipse smirked. Silver nodded enthusiastically as he un-paused the episode and they both turned their attention back to their program. They continued to watch until a knock at the door interrupted them. Silver sighed in annoyance as he lifted the laptop off of his lap and stomped over to the door. However, when he opened it, he froze as his mouth dropped to the floor.

"Silver, who is it?" Eclipse asked, turning to look at the stunned hedgehog.

"SILVER!" the violet feline shouted with joy, rushing into his arms and crashing her lips against his.

"B-B-Blaze?" Silver stuttered as the happy cat pulled apart and wrapped her arms around his back, bringing him in for a tight embrace.

"Ah… so this is Blaze," Eclipse noted to himself.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there. My name is Blaze, nice to meet you. You must be Silver's roommate, yeah?" Blaze asked, extending her arm in courtesy. Eclipse stood up and shook her hand, smiling.

"Hello, the name's Eclipse. I have heard sooooo much about you," he held the vowel in the word so for a long time.

"Oh, is that so?" Blaze giggled, turning to Silver whose cheeks began to turn crimson.

'What about Breezie?" Eclipse mouthed to Silver as Blaze's back was turned but unluckily for the hedgehog and darkling, Blaze turned back around just in time to see the end of his question.

"Who is Breezie?" she asked.

"Oh, just somebody Eclipse knows. Anyway, you should come with me. I have to give you a tour of the campus," Silver pushed the words out of his mouth as fast as he could, grabbing Blaze's arm and rushing out of the room.

"Oh, okay, see you later Eclipse," she waved back to the darkling who waited until she was out of sight before sighing to himself.

"Almost fucked that up," he laughed to himself, shutting the door before lying back on his bed, stealing Silver's laptop so that he could watch the end of the episode.

The feline and hedgehog roamed around the campus, catching up on things while chatting and laughing together. Silver's nerves left him almost immediately as the warm feelings that Blaze always ensued in him began to bubble around in his stomach, throwing his anxieties into the wind.

"I missed you so much," he smiled at her once they exited out of the main building that held most of the classrooms.

"Me too," Blaze smiled, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Suddenly, Blaze felt the vibrations of her phone in her pocket and fished it out, reading a text from Amy.

"Oh, sorry Silver but I promised Amy that I would go have lunch with her and our roommates, Clove and Cosmo. Are they nice?" Blaze asked.

"I'm not sure. Don't really know either of them, but that's okay. You go have fun," he responded before an idea popped into his head. "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

"Sure, it's a date," Blaze giggled as she put her hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer as she closed her eyes and brought him in for a long, intimate kiss, allowing him to slip his tongue inside of her mouth. After what felt like hours passed, Blaze pulled apart and jogged off, waving goodbye.

Silver stood in one spot, looking like a doofus as he waved goodbye to his girlfriend, lost in his fantasy world until the thoughts that had been berating his brain the whole time he was with Blaze finally managed to break through the dome that he had concealed his brain within for the time.

"I really need to find Breezie…" he whispered to himself before running off. A few moments passed before a certain orange porcupine peeked his head out from around the corner of the building.

"So… Silver has a girlfriend… interesting," Spike said to himself.

…

"Hey Gold, erm… I mean… Ms Tenrec…" Espio stated awkwardly as he entered her small office adjacent to the desk that he normally saw her sitting behind. "You asked to see me."

"Gold is fine Espio. But yes, I wanted to talk to you about that demo of some songs you were working on that you sent me…" Gold began, jumping straight to the point.

"Oh yeah, what did you want to ask?" Espio replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"I just wanted to ask if they are all original songs," she fluttered her eyelids slightly, adopting a wide smile across her face.

"Yep. Each of the 6 songs that I gave you are originals. Each one were songs that I had written for my old band but were either rejected or un-finished before we broke up…" Espio trailed off, lamenting on the old pastime and friends that he missed dearly.

"That's a shame," Gold began before altering her tone. "But it's a good thing they rejected them because I sent them over to my friend, Thrash, sorry he couldn't make it to see us on campus but he is a very busy man, and he adored them all. He got his team to work feverishly ever since to make them into fully fledged songs and only needed to make sure they were all originals before he was able to produce them."

"Are you serious?" Espio lit up with happiness.

"Indeed," Gold confirmed. "And if you want him to produce them then all you have to do is go to his studio in central city this weekend, sign some documents and then send your first album out to the public."

"Th-thanks Gold… you have done so much for me… I owe you so much," Espio breathed.

"Think nothing of it. I saw potential and just wanted to do my part to help. Don't forget me when you become all big and famous thought," she giggled.

"You're amazing!" Espio couldn't hold it in anymore, standing up and throwing her arms around her, while she was still in her chair, bringing her into a big hug. Espio coughed in embarrassment, stepping back as he tried to hid his blush. "Sorry."

"It's okay. This is a big stepping point in your career. There is one last thing. Thrash wants to get this out as soon as possible and needs a single for the radios to play and said that you can choose any song."

"Any song…" Espio contemplated, thinking over all of the songs that he had submitted but one song kept returning to his mind. "I have made my decision." Gold looked at him expectantly before he announced proudly, "I choose… The Rhyme!"

…

Breezie waited patiently, sitting cross legged underneath the old, dying tree with her ear phones in her head, humming along to the music blaring out of them. A smile crossed her face as she wrote down some notes that she was copying out of a history text book that lay next to her on the ground.

"Breezie!" She heard a voice call out to her. She tilted her head upwards and was immediately filled with joy when she saw a familiar Silver figure heading towards her.

"Silver," she cheered, removing the ear buds and closing her textbook to stand up and wrapped her arms around the hedgehog. "So, have you thought about what we talked about?"

"Well… yeah… that's kind of why I'm here," he began but before he could finish his thought Breezie smiled and leant in to kiss him happily. Silver, caught off guard by the hedgehog, stepped backwards.

"No, no, no… I don't think you understand," he stumbled over his words.

"Why would you come see me if you didn't choose me…?" She questioned, sadness welling inside of her.

"Breezie… I'm sorry but Blaze is back in school and after I saw her I just understood what I wanted… and it wasn't you," Silver tried to explain as carefully as he could but each word he uttered broke Breezie's heart more and more.

"Just… just save it Silver. I'm sorry I screwed everything up by returning back into your life. I should have just stayed a bad memory," she replied bitterly, hastily grabbing her things in a flustered way.

"Breezie… please… I still really like you. I'm not going to pretend like we don't share something special and you will always be my best friend who I fell in love with… but I've moved on… I have Blaze now. I still want to be your friend," Silver pleaded, tears in his eyes. Breezie tried to meet his gaze but was unable to.

"Silver… I want that too but… I just don't think it's possible," she admitted. "You hurt me, you played with not only my feelings but also Blaze's. I won't tell her what happened between us… but you better tell her before somebody else does or it won't end well…"

"Breezie."

"No Silver!" she spun around to face him. "You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend. I thought you still loved me and you played with my emotions and let me think you loved me. What we shared the night of the party… I thought that was something special… just please… I need time to think… time to heal," she finished before walking off, refusing to glance back in his direction for fear of breaking down.

"Breezie!" a voice called out. She was about to spin around to yell at Silver to quit when she noticed a tinge of orange. She looked to her side to see her long time best friend, Spike, rush up to her.

"I need to talk to you," he breathed heavily, puffing from exhaustion.

"Not now."

"Please… I need to tell you something… it's about Silver."

"I said no!"

"He has a girlfriend and has been lying to you this whole time and-" he began when Breezie span around and shoved her finger into his chest angrily.

"I know Spike! I know all about it. You don't have to rub it in just for fun. I get it, he used me and I was an idiot for believing him and I should have listened to you but this is not the time for I told you so's. Leave me alone!" She hissed at him, not being able to take it anymore before storming off, leaving a confused and depressed porcupine in her wake.

"Wh-what? I just… I just wanted to help… What the fuck just happened…?"

…

Cream, the usually timid rabbit steeled her nerves, sucking in a large amount of oxygen to try to extinguish her anxiety. She knew that it wasn't her place but she just needed answers. She just wanted to know why he did it. Why her, of all people?

Cream lifted her arm and wracked her knuckles against the door. She waited with baited breath until the guy she desperately wanted to talk to opened the door. Tails Prower.

"Oh… hey Cream, what's up?" he asked, surprised to see her at his door.

"C-Can I come in?" Cream asked. Tails looked to his side, his gaze shifting towards the darkling that was lying on his bed. Eclipse just shrugged, still engrossed in the program that was playing on his computer so Tails invited Cream in and sat with her on Silver's bed.

"So, how can I help you?" Tails asked.

"I just have something on my chest and I really need to ask you a question but I want you to promise me that you'll answer it honestly," Cream began, staring into his Azure eyes.

"Sure Cream, anything," Tails replied casually, not picking up the severity in his voice.

"Okay… so at the party… WHY DID YOU HAVE SEX WITH MINA?! MINA!" Cream basically screamed, unable to keep her cool any longer as the sight of the fox and mongoose in the middle of sex was burnt into her subconscious, seeing the image, alongside Jet and Wave, every time she closed her eyes. It was like they were taunting her. The two guys she had ever loved, on the same night. Eclipse paused the program, intrigued by the outburst. He didn't remove the headphones but secretly began listening into the conversation.

"Whoa…" Tails breathed, not knowing how to respond.

"How could you do that to me?" she began, tears welling in her eyes.

"Cream… what do you mean… I didn't do anything to _you_ ," Tails responded, trying to understand where you were coming from. "We aren't going out anymore."

"I know… but Jet had just cheated on me that night and I really needed my friend to console me and when I come to find you all I see is you inside another girl."

'Wow, maybe he isn't just the innocent little gay guy that got dumped by Sonic. He fucked Mina and also used to be with this rabbit. I really should give him a little more credit,' Eclipse thought.

"Look Cream… I'm really sorry that you walked in on that but I honestly made a mistake. I'd been drinking a lot with Fiona before-"

"Oh, so you're with Fiona too? Who haven't you slept with, Tails?" Cream interrupted.

"No, not like that. She was just helping me get over Sonic and her way to help was just to get me very, very drunk. I was still depressed from the breakup and Mina is an old friend from my past and she was sad too and it just… kinda… happened. I'm really sorry Cream…"

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do. Now come on, wipe those tears," he soothed with a calming voice, cupping her face and wiping away one of her stray tears. "Somebody as beautiful as you shouldn't cry."

Cream's heart melted in his presence, like it always had and before she realized what she was doing, she closed her eyes and tilted in, allowing her lips meet Tails'. To her, it was like the spark was re-ignited from their old romance and all of those lovely feelings she felt came rushing back through her veins lighting up her brain. However, just like the lightning she felt, it was over as soon as it began as Tails quickly reeled backwards.

"Cream… I-" he began but couldn't finish as Cream interrupted her.

"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to but I just… never mind," she cried, tears rolling from her eyes, hiding the hurt she felt from Tails' actions as she quickly rushed out of the room.

"Cream…" Tails sighed as he watched her leave.

"Dude… you're a fucking idiot," Eclipse suddenly spoke up. "You really don't know how to talk to girls properly, do you?" Tails shot him an annoyed glance but knew that Eclipse was right.

Meanwhile, Cream ran as fast as her little legs could take her, all the way back to her dorm room where she slammed the door closed and dived onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow.

"Creamy?" A concerned voice spoke up. "Are you okay?"

"Don't talk to me."

"But Creamy, something is upsetting you and I just want to help," Rouge sighed, her motherly instincts setting in as she stood up and waltzed over to Cream's bedside.

"Yeah, something is upsetting me. You!" Cream snapped suddenly, all of her feelings erupting out of her that she had been burying down inside of her for the past couple of weeks.

"Cream… where is this coming from?" Rouge asked.

"If it wasn't for you then none of this would have ever happened. You basically told Wave to fuck Jet."

"I did nothing!" Rouge snapped back, fed up by being demonized by the rabbit. "I tried to help him and that is all."

"Yeah, by sending him to that boyfriend stealing bitch," Cream cursed, using strong language that was unusual for the usually timid, nice girl.

"Cream… what has gotten into you recently. You haven't been acting like yourself," Rouge asked, concern flooding her voice.

"Like you care," she replied bitterly. "Cream's just a doormat. She doesn't have real feelings. Let's all just fuck her over and go fuck each other."

"Cream I-"

"Get out!" She yelled.

"You know what, fine, I will. Why don't you try to get your shit together and stop blaming other people for your problems before you have no friends left," Rouge huffed, fed up before storming out of the room leaving the crying rabbit alone with her thoughts and sadness.

…

"And so why is it called the excited state?" Zonic asked his class as he stood in front of the white board with his marker. No response. "Well, when a valence electron absorbs enough energy it jumps into the excited state from its ground state…" Zonic continued to lecture his students that attended his year twelve chemistry class.

Meanwhile, near the back of the class, Sonic was leaning back on his chair, his back touching the back wall of the class, when a scrunched up piece of paper fell into his lap. He looked up, confused before opening it and reading the contents.

 _Lay off Mina_

Sonic glanced around and saw Manic, who had the desk in front of his, turn around and glare angrily at him.

"I don't want to fuck Mina," Sonic whispered.

"Then why do I keep catching you with your arms around her or your tongue in her mouth?" Manic hissed back.

"I told you a thousand times that she initiated that and I wanted no part of it. I don't know what the fuck is that psycho's problem."

"Don't call my girlfriend a psycho!"

"She isn't your fucking girlfriend anyway!"

SLAM

Sonic jolted up from his seat, almost falling off of it from the sudden loud noise. He didn't realize that during his heated argument with his half-brother his voice had steadily increased louder and louder or that Zonic had stopped his boring lecture. The metallic teacher had had enough of the two's bickering and upon hearing Sonic swearing he slammed his textbook loudly on his desk.

"Sonic T. Hedgehog, that type of language is not acceptable in my class," he warmed, adopting a stern tone as he addressed the sapphire hedgehog.

"I'm sorry Mr. Zonic," Sonic apologized but Zonic was having none of it.

"I'm sick of you and Manic constantly at each other's throats in my class. I tolerate it because I know I can't stop it but if it has escalated to this point I have no choice but to send you to the principal's office."

"But Zonic, Manic was also-" Sonic tried to complain but Zonic interrupted him, sick of the excuses and complaining.

"I said you! Now go before I give you a detention as well," he threatened. Sonic grumbled, shooting Manic a warning glance as the green hedgehog sneered at him as he collected his belongings and walked out of the room.

Sonic muttered to himself under his breath as he walked down the hallway and down the stairwell, stomping loudly on each individual carpeted staircase until he got to the main lobby of the big building.

"Gold?" He called out, noticing that she wasn't at her usual position at her desk. He looked over and noticed her door slightly ajar with a faint light emanating out of the crack, along with hushed voices flowing through it. Curious, Sonic made his way over and leaned against the door to listen in.

"It's not that big a deal," Shadow complained darkly.

"Not that big a deal? You left school without any notice to go work for a secret organization as a spy!" Gold snapped back at him.

"Yeah, but on our side. I'm helping the country from terrorists and stuff, you should be thanking me," he stated coldly, staring deeply at Gold. The dark hedgehog didn't understand why Gold was upset and distraught by this. "Also you can't tell anybody about this!"

"I won't. But you told me that they randomly contacted you whilst in the city and had no idea who they were until then?" Gold prodded him further with questions.

"Yes. These guys came down, I beat them all up and he saw my skills and offered to train me so I went and trained with him. Can I go now?" Shadow huffed.

"No…"

Sonic gasped, unable to comprehend what he was hearing.

'Shadow, a secret spy? No way. That is… so… awesome!" Sonic tried to contain his utter befuddlement, wanting so much to bombard Shadow with questions but knew Shadow would just shake off the notion. Suddenly, too engrossed in what he was hearing, he slipped and slapped his hand against the bench to steady himself.

"What was that?" Gold asked, glancing towards the door. Sonic panicked, not wanting to be caught for eavesdropping and quickly darted out of the building and into the surrounding garden.

"Don't try to change the subject Gold. I don't care if you're the secretary or whatever. You can't keep me here because of something this stupid. Why the hell am I in trouble?" Shadow remarked, getting fed up by the tenrec's actions.

"I didn't mean no to that… I meant no to you saying that it was the first time you met them," Gold corrected herself.

"What do you mean?" Shadow threw a quizzical look at Gold.

"Shadow… I don't know how to tell you this… but that guy, the… commander you call him?" Shadow nodded, urging her to continue. "You must know who he was before he contacted you."

"Never," Shadow shook his head. "Why would I?"

"Because… he was the one who filed the paperwork to get you enrolled in this school in the first place!"

…

Sonia wailed, her head in her hands as she sat on one of the public toilets in the girl's stalls. She didn't know what to do with herself, who to turn to or what her next step should be. It felt like her whole world was collapsing in around her.

The stalls of the small cubical seemed to close in around her, causing her breathing to become sporadic and rapid as she began to have a panic attack. She tried to breathe deeply but ended up choking on her own breath due to the uncontrollable gasps from her crying.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, dropping to the floor and staining her sneakers. She tried to wipe her eyes dry and control herself but nothing could comfort her. She just felt like she had made a horrible mistake and her life was over.

All because of one stupid decision.

All because of one stupid vixen.

All because of a lie, a trust.

'I'm such an idiot!' she cursed herself in her mind as she took one more look at the small, white object in her hand… the positive pregnancy test…

* * *

 _A/N: Well, there you have it. Poor Cream, she just can't catch a break. But hey, atleast the two finally had another kiss... well kinda. Did Tails handle that poorly like Eclipse mentioned or was he justified in his actions and Cream just needs to get her emotions in check?_

 _Sonia was spiked by the friend she thought she could trust and the devious green hedgehog for fun and blacked out the whole party. Well it turns out that she apparently had some unprotected sex with somebody and, a month later, realized that she is actually pregnant. Who could be the father?_

 _Sally seems to be having a rough time of it all, but with Sonic there to help she has realized that her relationship with Amy has become toxic, for both members, and has decided to finally end it with the hedgehog, but will she actually go through with it?_

 _Blaze returns, having a heartwarming reuinion with both her best friends, Tails and Silver, the latter still being very much in love with her and her current boyfriend. But with Breezie sad that he broke her heart and used her, along with Spike knowing slightly more than he is leading on, how long can Silver hide what happened before Blaze finds out? Or will she?_

Sonic overheard the conversation of Gold and Shadow but what will he do with the information? And it turns out that G.U.N were the people that originally enrolled Shadow into Mobius High. But didn't the surprise Nanny that adpoted him out of his foster home do that, or was she hired by the G.U.N commander after he enrolled Shadow? What does he really want with the ebony hedgehog?

Bonus fact: After word kept telling me that it doesn't like it when i say 'had had' instead of just 'had' i'd like to share a fun fact with you. What is the most amount of had's you can have in a sentence in a row and have it still make gramatical sense? Have a guess before seeing the answer. Okay, did you get it right? THe answer is 11  
"James, while John had had 'had', had had 'had had'; 'had had' had had a better effect on the teacher." Don't understand how it works? Google it. How cool is that?! Maybe it just seems cooler to me as a writer that the english language can be so random sometimes :P Another gramatically correct sentence is just the word 'Buffalo' 8 times as it is a noun, a verb and a place. "Buffalo the animal', 'Buffalo the verb meaning to bully', and also 'Buffalo the place'. This is the same with the sentence that is just the word Police 8 times. Also my name is Will, and there is a sentence that is just 7 Will's in a row. English is fucked up sometimes... Anyway, random tangent aside, on with the question of the day.

Question of the Day: Now that we know what happened to Sonia at the aprty, we don't know how or why or who, so, who do you think is the father to Sonia's child?

Please don't forget to review to leave your thoughts and theories, I love reading what you all think and your opinions on the events that occur, along with future theories. And thanks for reading :)

Next Time on SH:EL

Fiona meets a new 'friend' in prison after Scourge pays her a visit

After thinking it through, Mighty finally confronts Ray about his crush.

Knuckles finally decides between pursuing Julie or trying to rekindle his relationship with Rouge

Spike goes to Eclipse to try to find out more information about what really happened the night of the party

...and Sally finally breaks up with Amy... until something unexpected happens to stop her

All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 18: Inner Turmoil


	18. Chapter 18: Inner Turmoil

_A/N: Hello everybody, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I might not be able to make the next chapter by next monday since I have three big exams due in for my university course along with mid-sems all this week and I'm super busy on a weekend getaway with some friends so I will have no time to write. The only time I have is Friday so unless I can get it all done, it will be a bit late. Chapter 19 is a longer one too, but either way, I hope you enjoy chapter 18 :)_

* * *

Chapter 18

Inner Turmoil

 _I didn't know what came over me. I knew the way I was acting was stupid. I knew I was over-reacting and taking all of this way out of proportion but I was just so done with all his lies. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's a cheater. I might like to flirt and fool around, but I would never cheat. Ever._

 _Our relationship was never the greatest. It was rocky, painful and on again, off again. I'm pretty sure we have broken up and gotten back together at least three times this year, and it hasn't even been a full year yet! Sufficed to say, I thought after he gave me his most prized possession, a beautiful golden bangle fixed with a gigantic green emerald the sparkled like a fantasy, everything would be fine. I thought that one gesture and gift meant that he was done fucking me over._

 _I guess that I was wrong._

 _I drove like a madman, steering the stolen bus like a crazed demon intent on ending its life. My mind was swimming with anger and the alcohol that ran through my veins didn't help my situation in the slightest. I pulled up back at school, furious as I sprinted out of the bus, discarding my high heels and hastened through the forested path. I didn't care that my make-up was running and I looked like a mess, caked in dirt, dew and covered in scratches from the branches. I just wanted to end it all._

 _I emerged, my chest puffing, into a small clearing overlooking the lake. I closed my fingers over the priceless, beautiful bangle that Knuckles had promised me was only given out to his true love._

 _"_ _I'm done with you and your lies… forever!" I screamed, reeling my arm backwards and hurling the bangle out of him hand, watching it soar through the air before splashing loudly into the middle of the lake. Emerald Lake…_

…

Central penitentiary, otherwise known as Zone Jail by the locals, a small prison on the outskirts of Central city located on top of one of the large rolling hills in the south-eastern area. A place known by many but inhabited by few, being one of the least guarded and slack jails in all of Mobius. However, the penitentiary is one feared by many youths who frequent joovy as it is the only prison in the country that allows only those inmates who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. But it struck more fear into those feminine inmates as this prison, although separated the genders during cell time, had co-inhabited gender recreational time.

"Surprised to see you on this side of the bars," a burly purple chameleon donning a blue visor and big, green boots which hid the bottom of his black pants remarked as he led Scourge down one of the many twisting hallways of the penitentiary.

"As much as I am," Scourge smirked, following in step behind the guard. "I just learnt how to get away with my crimes as I grew up."

"Is that a confession? Zector and I have a nice cell set up for you. We had it prepped as an eighteenth birthday present for you after your hundredth visit to joovy," Zespio chuckled darkly.

"Cute. Didn't know you guys cared so much for me," Scourge ignored the threats spewing from the guard's mouth as he pushed passed him and walked up to a glass window. He looked through the dirty window, looking into the sorrowful eyes of a familiar vixen on the other side. She wore an ugly black and white striped long sleeve shirt.

Scourge picked up the corded phone and placed it against his head, watching as Fiona mirrored his actions.

"Scourge… you came," Fiona sighed, placing her hand against the clear window. Scourge smiled back at her, mimicking her as their palms were sprawled out onto each other, separated only by inches of glass.

"Of course I did," Scourge said solemnly. "How is it in there?"

"Oh Scourge, it's fucking horrible. All the fucking guys here are basically raping me with their eyes. I see them biding their time for the guards to turn around before having their way with me."

"How is it even legal to have them in here with you?" Scourge asked.

"I don't know but it's fucking horrible. I don't know how much longer I can last in here. If it wasn't for your visits, I don't think I could have lasted as long as I have," Fiona admitted, her normally snarky and confident attitude lacking from her voice.

"Yeah, about that," Scourge began, his voice sounding dark and distant, concerning Fiona.

"Is everything alright, baby?"

"I'm not your baby anymore, Fiona," he stated plainly as the vixen on the other side of him gasped in shock.

"What do you mean? Of course you are!"

"You were good for two things, Fi. Entertainment and somewhere to put my dick. Now you can't do either of those things and since it looks like you are going to be in here for a long time, what's the point in sticking around waiting for you."

"Wh-what? What are you even saying. Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke," Fiona begged, horror and pain in her eyes.

"Sorry Fi but I can't be waiting around here for you. Later," he removed his hand from the glass and hung up the phone, turning to stand.

"Scourge? SCOURGE! Don't leave me," she yelled as he ignored her pleas, walking back towards the waiting guard.

"That was cruel, even for you," Zespio commented.

"I didn't ask for your opinion. Now get me out of here," Scourge commanded. Zespio complied with a grunt, leading him out of the compound and away from the furious vixen, still screaming his name.

Fiona pounded her fists against the glass angrily, yelling out his name as tears began cascading down her face, staining her clothes. One of the guards posted nearby ran up to grab her arm but she elbowed him in the face, breaking free of his grasp as she desperately pounded on the barrier, wishing with all her might that the green hedgehog would turn around and rush back to her to apologize.

"SCOURGE!" She screamed in a blind mix of fury and desperation. It took three guards to properly restrain her and haul her back to her cell.

Little did Fiona know that while she was being dragged back to her cell, she passed a stranger who took interest in her, hearing her screams from the visitation area. He watched her pass his cell, a glint of wonder in his dark lavender eyes.

…

Ray, the flying squirrel, sat on his bed, staring up at the bunk bed above him as he listened absent mindedly to the songs emanating from the portable radio stationed on the top of the bedside table. Ray sighed, his thoughts continually falling back to his armadillo best friend and the beautiful green and black pronghorn that plagued his mind relentlessly.

 _Knock, knock_

"It's open," Ray sighed loudly, sitting up from his bed to look over to the door.

"Hey… can we talk?" a familiar voice echoed from the doorway.

"Oh… hey Mighty… yeah, come in," Ray breathed, unable to meet eye-contact with the armadillo. Mighty placed his hands in his blue jeans as he casually strolled over to the flying squirrel and stopped, standing in front of the bed.

"Can I sit?" Ray nodded, not lifting his head to acknowledge the armadillo. Mighty took a seat, fiddling with his thumbs as he tried to find the words that he wanted to say. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to the two best friends, Mighty turned and began to speak.

"Look Ray… I know that I've kinda been… avoiding you for a while now," Mighty began, forcing the words out through the lump in his throat that steadily grew.

"I noticed," Ray sighed.

"But… I've thought about it and… well… I don't care." Ray looked upwards, shifting his glance towards his jet-black eyes. "Look Ray… you are my best friend and you are the most important thing to me and if you love my girlfriend… well that doesn't matter to me. I trust you too much and I know you won't try to steal her or do anything to hurt me," Mighty smiled.

"You mean this won't change anything between us?" Ray asked with hope in his eye.

"I won't let anything change between us. Best friends forever, remember," Mighty stated plainly before wrapping his arms around the squirrel and bringing him in for a hug. Ray smiled, resting his chin on the armadillo's shoulder as he squeezed his best friend. The two friends remained in the hugging position until the vibration of Mighty's phone caused him to break apart.

"Sorry, it's Clove…" Mighty said after glancing at the text message. "I've got to go… it's kinda date night. You wanna like, I don't know… grab lunch or something tomorrow?"

"I'd love to," Ray smiled as Mighty nodded before rising and leaving his room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Ray waited, holding his breath until he couldn't hear Mighty's footsteps on the floor anymore before letting a huge sigh escape his throat.

Ray turned to the window, watching the sky until his ears finally focused onto the song that was playing from his little radio that hadn't been switched off in the duration of the armadillo's visit. He recalled the same song being sung at Elias' party by the purple chameleon.

 _Just me with the diamond dust  
There's no one left I can trust  
I finally can be free  
I'm not treated abusively  
Paint magnificent pictures  
Like those times I can't remember  
I hide 'cause words do leave scars  
They fade when I fly through the stars_

Ray listened intently, feeling like the song was captivating his inner feelings. He felt alone, still being relentlessly bullied by the school just because of that stupid green hedgehog and also feeling worthless, like he was just a burden to Mighty. Ray cursed the feelings he harbored for the pronghorn under his breath as the chorus of Espio's song died down, along with the instrumental's as Espio's whispering voice broke through the speakers.

 _So I enjoy the joy of night because it hides my flaws, and all imperfections  
Feel the thaw of my words burnt into my flesh and nerve collections, that mesh  
with the fresh pain of knives left behind, it's infectious  
all around us like a ton of cannabis, just  
one more puff of that good stuff and then I've had enough  
I don't need sympathy or empathy either  
I just need a mate  
To create my old state and negate all since the great predated me  
I'm trying to make a stand, but I've become a bludgeoned man  
and now I'm reaching out my hand, so that I can escape this wasteland  
I can't make it or fake it cause they say it and I can't take it  
so I demand them to understand  
the pain they inflict so it's pain I depict  
But my brain's an addict, so I guess that that's it_

Ray sighed, a tear falling from his eye as he stared down towards the drawer underneath the desk. While the chorus picked back up and the instrumental's kicked in, Ray slowly opened the drawer and pulled out the small, metallic blade that he had previously confiscated from the green hawk.

 _They all pass me by, and not one  
stopping to say hi, it's no fun  
They throw things at me, heighten fears  
and I can't let them see, all my tears_

 _Soar over the horizon  
Escape to my salvation  
Use my imagination  
To flee from humiliation  
Coil breaks when I'm up high  
No turmoil with cumuli  
No hazy tears cloud my eyes  
When I'm alone in the sky_

 _Just me with the diamond dust  
There's no one left I can trust  
I finally can be free  
I'm not treated abusively  
Paint magnificent pictures  
Like those times I can't remember  
I hide 'cause words do leave scars  
They fade when I fly through the stars_

'I'm such a shitty friend,' Ray thought, staring at the blade that reflected the sun's glare, glinting in the daytime. It's silent calls beckoning the squirrel to lower it against his skin by using his anxiety's and self-doubts against him.

'All Mighty does is care for me and all I do is lust after his girlfriend,' his thoughts attacked him.

'I'm just a burden.'

'I'm just a waste of space.'

'I'm worthless, useless and I'm ruining Mighty's life. It would be better if I just wasn't around anymore.'

 _My worries and my thoughts silently burn to smoke  
Dissipate in the clouds, all this pain I revoke  
Feel the night set me free, see stardust all around  
Escape earth's gravity, and leave my old life on the ground  
Now, I, fly carefree through the stars_

 _Slice._

Ray pressed the blade down on his exposed wrist, slicing horizontally as the song ended. Crimson blood trickled out of the wounding, flowing down his hand and dripping off of his finger to pool below his feet…

…

Knuckles, still sweaty from his time at the gym, tranced across the sporting field and threw his backpack down carelessly on the bleachers. He sat down, leaning back on his hands as he gazed off into the setting sun.

'Everybody seems to be telling me to go ask Julie out but… I just can't get Rouge out of my head,' Knuckles contemplated, his eyes tinging from the sheer luminescence from the shining sun.

"Knuckles?" A curious voice cooed from below him. Knuckles looked down, shielding his eyes from the harsh glare of the orange sun that sent salmon hues sprawling over the horizon which mirrored the skin of the echidna below him.

Tikal looked up, frowning slightly as she began to climb up the stairs, taking a seat next to him.

"I thought it was you I saw coming up here. What's up?" Tikal asked.

"How did I know I could count on you to know where to find me," Knuckles laughed slightly.

"Because all our conversations seem to be around bleachers," Tikal giggled. "And also I know you too well, so c'mon, tell me what's bothering you," Tikal urged.

"Well… I just don't know what to do," Knuckles admitted.

"Let me guess," Tikal interrupted, a smirk on her face. "Girl troubles?"

"How did you know?"

"Because I know you… also I am Rouge's friend… sort of… not really but still, I heard about how she broke up with you because you fucked that Julie-Su chick-"

"Whoa, what? I didn't do anything with Julie! We just hung out a bunch, who told you that?" Knuckles fumed.

"That's just the rumor that is going around. I don't know who started it but I heard that Rouge lost it when she heard."

"But I didn't do anything with Julie…"

"Do you want to?"

"I… I don't know. I mean… I do but-but I still love Rouge and I would never do anything to hurt her. I should have just talked to her and told her what was up," Knuckles frowned, looking down at his shoes.

"So… you want to patch things up with Rouge? What about Julie?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Knuckles shouted, more at himself than Tikal.

"Look… Knuckles… I know you. We dated for almost a year and now we are good friends so I'd like to think I know you pretty well and I think you shouldn't have to make the choice."

Knuckles just looked at her, confused and gave her a look that urged her to elaborate.

"What I mean," Tikal continued, "…is that you clearly like both of these girls and can't choose. So let them choose for you. Don't approach Julie and don't apologize to Rouge. Whichever one you are meant to be with… they will prove it to you."

"That's so stu… actually… it's the greatest piece of advice I've been given all month. Thanks," Knuckles smiled at the echidna that he used to love.

"Anytime," Tikal blushed as she brought him in for a friendly hug.

…

"Exercise time!" Zector called out, rattling his baton across the bars as all of the adolescent prisoners exited their cells, stretching their aching muscles. Fiona watched as they filed out through the funneled hallway and out through the doors into the spacious cemented area filled with weights.

Fiona shied away, backing further into the corner of her room as a couple of the more burley and disgusting prisoners winked, chuckling deeply as they passed her.

"Fiona, get outside now!" Zector hissed angrily as he retraced his steps up to her cell.

"No," she retorted indignantly, trying to keep her cool despite the fear and anxiety rising in her chest.

"I'm not asking," Zector snorted as he grabbed her arm and pulled her along behind her, completely overpowering the struggling fox until he thrusted her into the open area. As she was thrown onto the floor, she looked around to notice that all of the eyes of the guys in the room were trained on her, mentally undressing her with their eyes.

Fiona got up, brushing herself off as she tried to look confident as she strode over to one of the smaller weights and picked it up, turning her back to the prisoners.

"Looking fine," a burley polar bear whistled as he walked up and slapped her ass.

"Pretty foxy," an echidna next to him purred. "I wouldn't mind a turn on that."

"H-Hey boys. Would you mind backing off," Fiona adopted her normally promiscuous yet slightly threatening accent to fend off the men but to no avail.

"I don't think she likes us," one of the guys pouted mockingly.

"Maybe we should show her why she should like us!" the other added, grabbing her rust fur tightly, causing her to squeal slightly.

"Hey!" A cold, dark voice called out, void of any emotion.

"Hey, weirdo, back off," the two creatures barked in unison. Fiona turned her head to look at who spoke until she laid her eyes on him. A strange, tall lanky creature with short, green hair that extended down just until his shoulders where it cut off. His dark, lavender eyes were a stark contrast to his pinkish skin and the curved, menacing smirk that was plastered on his face. He was draped in a dark purple with a cape that clung to his shoulders, billowing behind him like a super hero out of a nightmare. Diamond bangles clung to his wrists and ankles separating his dark gloves and bright green and yellow shoes from the rest of his lavender attire.

"I won't ask you again," he growled, turning to make sure that Fiona was unharmed. The polar bear let out a guttural growl, angered by the person in front of him before swinging his fist at him. He quickly dodged out of the way before returning the favour with a sharp upper-cut to the polar bears jaw. He let out a howl of pain as he stumbled backwards, colliding with the echidna and they both fell backwards.

The creature quickly rushed over to Fiona.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" he asked, his eyes dark and emotionless. To Fiona, he was the epitome of darkness and seemed void of any joy, yet, he was like a knight in a nightmarish armour.

"No, thanks to you. Wh-who are you?" She stuttered, struck by his mystery.

"My name is Void," he stated darkly.

"Void…" she repeated to herself before she noticed the polar bear clambering to his feet and rushing at him. Void turned but was too slow, getting a face full of the polar bear's powerful fist. Fiona shirked as she watched the creature fall to the ground. However, the polar bear wasn't done, bringing his foot up and bringing it down violently on his face. Fiona watched in horror as Void coughed up blood, spitting a tooth out of his mouth as the echidna came and joined the onslaught, bringing powerful kicks into Void's ribs.

All Void could do was shield his face with his hands, taking the savage beating until a whistle pierced the air and two guards, a metallic crocodile with his metallic chameleon partner. Void looked back at Fiona, staring at her through his cloudy eyes before he blacked out.

"Void? Void…" he heard a soft, sweet voice pierce through his dreams. Slowly, Void's eyes fluttered open and he was greeted by a smiling face of a familiar rust furred vixen.

"H-hey Fiona… what happened back there?" Void asked, trying to sit up before an immense pain shot up his body, emanating from his ribs and causing him to moan in pain.

"Whoa, take it easy. You took quite a beating for me," Fiona said, helping him lie back down. "Why did you do that for me? You don't even know me."

"Nobody… should be alone… in here. I've been in here too long… seen so many good people turn bad," Void lamented slightly. "They were all weak," his tone suddenly took a sharp turn. "But not you…"

"Thanks… I guess," Fiona replied, confused by his words until something suddenly clicked in her brain. "Wait a minute… how did you know my name? I never told you it."

"I heard your boyfriend break up with you this morning," Void admitted. "You were already dealing with heart break, you shouldn't have had to deal with being raped by those pricks," Void spat.

"Thanks but I can handle myself. Besides, those guards would have stopped them before they touched me."

"No. Trust me, they would have just let it happen. Those fucks don't give two shits about us in here."

"Thanks but I don't need a body guard," Fiona scoffed.

"Doesn't mean I was going to sit back and watch you get…" Void trailed off. "Look, go out there and try your luck again, but next time I won't get involved," he concluded darkly.

"Fine, maybe I will," Fiona got up and turned to walk through the door. "Oh, and I'm not fucking heartbroken. Scourge is a dick."

"Sure… I've heard that before too," Void pointed out before Fiona slammed the infirmary door behind him and was escorted back to her cell by Zector.

"Feisty…" Void commented to himself before the intense pain that he had been fending off finally took ahold of him and he passed out again.

…

Wave skulked through the hallways, her head on a constant gaze at her feet as she dragged them across the floors. Ever since the party she felt horrible for what she did. She had been kicked out of her room, berated by the little rabbit whose relationship she ruined but most importantly, her once best friend and love, Jet, won't even acknowledge her.

The bugs under her eyes had bags as she struggled to ever get a good sleep each night. She sighed, reaching into her pocket to pull out a packet of heavy dose sleeping pills, intent on using them again despite the warning label.

 _Warning: Heavy dosage sleeping pills. May cause hallucinations before sleep occurs._

Wave stifled the tears that welled up in her eyes, desperately trying to dispel the thoughts that never left her mind, plaguing her like cloaked phantoms in the night. Wave quickly made a left turn, rushing into the bathroom where she let her purse fall off her shoulder and collapse to the floor.

Wave quickly turned the tap on, letting the cool water flow out of the faucet as she popped out the last pill from its confinement, tossing the package aside before she placed it on the back of her tongue. She cupped her hands, letting them pool up with water before swallowing the pill and the water at the same time. Afterwards, she stared at herself in the mirror to study herself.

She used her hands to trace her face, running along the bags under her blackened eyes. Wave felt like a monster, like she had an ugly inside. Slowly, as if an apparition had taken control of the mirror, her reflection seemed to come alive in her mind, eyes growing red like lava.

"Look at you! You are ruining everybody's lives around you!" her reflection yelled at her.

"No, I didn't mean to," the purple swallow begged the image, hands clasped together.

"You just had to have Jet to yourself. You didn't care who you stepped on to get what you wanted," the reflection growled.

"I didn't-"

"Look inside you. You might be pretty, but inside you are an ugly, repulsive mess," the reflection of the swallow interrupted her.

"No I'm not!"

"How about we take what you are truly like on the inside and show it to the world," the reflection taunted before it began to change. Wave gasped in horror as the reflection contorted, her belly steadily inflating along with her arms and legs to the size of warthogs. Her feathers began to fall off as two prickly horns began to protrude out from the sides of her head. She watched, unable to look away as her previously thin and petit figure grew into a fat, putrid slob, her normal complexion now a ghastly grey.

"Now the world will see you for what you are on the inside," the reflection gloated.

"No, I'm not ugly. I don't look like that!"

"Yes you do, and now Jet can see the real you and will never look at you ever again."

"No! I can be pretty again… I can make myself beautiful again, and then everyone won't hate me anymore," Wave assured herself, repeating the words over and over. She took her index finger and begun shoving it down her throat until a feeling of relief washed over her as bile exited her esophagus and she vomited into the sink.

…

The heavenly aroma of freshly ground coffee beans wafted through the spacious area of the newly opened camp café, Emerald coffee. Rouge walked up to the register, intent on buying coffee but got quite the surprise when a certain long haired hedgehog turned around.

"Hello, what would you like today?" Breezie asked in a cheery voice, far too perky for the time of morning it was.

"Hey, Breezie, was it?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah, I recognize you from English class, right? You sit with that rabbit girl don't you," Breezie asked, making polite conversation.

"Well, sorta…" Rouge trailed off. "Anyway, how come your working at this new place?"

"My mum kinda cut me off because my history grades have been slipping so I applied and got the job at this new place. Razor was super cool about it and everything."

"But… isn't history like right now?"

"Yeah but I'm going to fail whether I go to those boring ass classes or not so I decided I may as well get some money here instead of try and fail, just to continue to be cut off by mum," Breezie sighed. "So what can I getcha?"

"You know what, I like you," Rouge winked seductively. "You're alright. Gimme one of the new emerald coffee's. To go!" Rouge added as Breezie side-stepped her way over to the coffee machine and began making the order.

"Coming right up, and… you're not so bad yourself," Breezie gave a sly smile. "But I'm not into girls."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Rouge rolled her eyes sarcastically before a small smile crossed her face. "I bet if you gave me five minutes you would be."

"I don't doubt you," Breezie laughed.

"But I would never do that to little spikey-wikey," Rouge sneered before Breezie suddenly slammed her hand down on the bench, hard. Rouge rose a skeptical eyebrow, glancing at her.

"Sorry," she blushed, trying to play off the awkwardness. "Bullies used to always call him that and he really hates that name."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you loved him back."

"No, him and I are just best friends and nothing else. Also how do you know spike?"

"Sure, and I'm a millionaire," Rouge placed her hand on her hip, genuinely confused if Breezie was unaware of the orange porcupine's fondness of her. "I know him through my friend Sonic. We've had lunch a couple times and he goes on and on about you, surely you've picked up on it?"

"There is nothing to pick up on," Breezie sighed exasperatedly. "Why does everyone think he loves me?" Breezie finished preparing the coffee, grabbing a handful of strange, emerald green crystals and sprinkling them on the top of the coffee before procuring the plastic lid on top to avoid spillage and trap in the heat.

Rouge dropped the folded up note into the hedgehog's hand before taking the cup, warming her hands thanks to the hot liquid inside. Rouge took a tentative sip, moaning with pleasure as the taste hit her tongue.

"Peppermint, I like it," Rouge smiled, deciding against pushing the Spike thing on the hedgehog for the time being. "But what's this number for?" Rouge asked, showing the ten-digit number written in sharpie on the side of the cup.

"My number. Call me when my shift's over and we should go hang, you seem fun," Breezie winked.

"Maybe I don't even need five minutes to turn you," Rouge laughed as she took another sip. "Sure, I'm free at lunch today. We can talk more about your boy toy," Rouge winked, waltzing away before Breezie could complain.

…

The door slowly creaked open as Cosmo slipped into the room she shared with the three other girls before quickly closing it behind her. She glanced behind her quickly before rushing over to the bedside table and opened one of the drawers, looking through its contents.

"Hey," a voice greeted the seedrian, causing her to lift a foot in the air in fright. Cosmo quickly slammed the drawer underneath her own designated one that hosted some of the purple feline's belongings inside of it and turned to Amy.

"Oh, hey Amy, what's up?" Cosmo replied awkwardly, sweat beading from her forehead as she dreaded the hedgehog's response, thinking that Amy caught her snooping through Blaze's belongings.

"Nothing much, just doing some study. I have this stupid test later this week. What are you doing back here?" Cosmo sighed, still not believing that Amy didn't notice what she was doing.

"Oh, I just came back to get some money but I just realized that I'm all out, ha, ha," Cosmo laughed awkwardly again, causing Amy to tilt her head in confusion.

"Don't you have any money?"

"Actually, would you mind if I borrowed one hundred dollars? I promise I'll pay you back, I just really need it," Cosmo asked suddenly, almost too eagerly.

"Whoa, where did that come from?" Amy asked, surprised by the sudden, nervous outburst. "That's asking for quite a lot, what do you need it for?"

"um…" Cosmo paused in thought for a second. "T-Textbooks."

"Textbooks," Amy replied in a monotone voice, raising an eyebrow. "In the middle of semester?"

"Well you know how it was raining pretty bad the other day? Well I left my bag out in the rain open and all my books got destroyed from the rain," Cosmo sighed.

"You mean that bag?" Amy asked, pointing to the bag thrown carelessly to the floor. "The one you haven't used in like the past week?"

"Um, no… I… I have another bag," Cosmo replied, trying her best to sound casual.

"Okay, what really happened? You are acting really fishy," Amy said plainly.

"Okay, but promise you won't tell anybody," Cosmo whispered. There was a few moments of silence before she finally whispered, "I was robbed the other day, lost all my money and books from my locker."

"Oh my Chaos, by a student? Have you reported it?"

"No, I don't want to cause a scene."

"But somebody stole your shit, you have to report this," Amy persisted.

"Okay, okay, I'll report it but can you please just lend me some money for my… books," Cosmo finished.

"Sure thing," Amy smiled, reaching into her wallet and pulling out two fifty dollar notes. "But you owe me big time. When they find out who robbed me, I'll be expecting payment," Amy laughed. Cosmo joined in awkwardly with her afterwards before taking the money.

"Yeah, cool, thanks," she thanked the pink hedgehog before rushing out of the room.

'She is so weird,' Amy thought, shrugging before she went back to her books.

…

Eclipse stuffed his books into his bag, zipping it up before slinging it lazily over his shoulder. He grabbed his shoes from under his bed and slipped them on, tying his laces up quickly before sliding over to the door and opening it but instead of stepping out into the hallway, he bumped into somebody.

"S-Sorry," an orange porcupine stumbled, rubbing his forehead as he took a step back.

"Oh, hey Spike, been a while," Eclipse mentioned in passing, turning to twist his key in the lock before hearing a satisfying click.

"Yeah it has."

"Sorry but Silver isn't here and I was just heading off to class," Eclipse mentioned.

"Oh, I'm not looking for Silver… I actually wanted to talk to you about him," Spike admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah? What about him?"

"You know Blaze, right?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, she seems nice."

"And you know she is his girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"And you know they have been dating since the start of the year, correct?"

"Yeah," Eclipse repeated, tilting his head in confusion. "What are you getting at Spike? Can we just cut to the chase because I'm kinda late already?"

"Well did you know that while he was going out with Blaze he had sex with Breezie at the party?"

Eclipse froze, not knowing what to say. His thoughts ran wild, wondering how Spike knew what happened when Silver said that only him and Eclipse knew what really happened between him and Breezie that night.

"Who told you?" Eclipse asked finally, wanting to know who else knew his friend's secret. However, instead of an answer, a big grin crossed Spike's face.

"You did. Just now," he said triumphantly.

"Wait, what? Oh, shit!" The colour drained from Eclipse's face as he realized what had just transpired. "Silver is going to kill me…"

"Thanks for the information. That's all I needed to know," Spike thanks the darkling before turning to walk away.

"Wait!" Eclipse called out after him. "What are you going to do?"

"Help out a friend," Spike replied with a wave before disappearing around a corner.

…

Sally took a deep breath before walking over to the door and opening it, revealing a beaming Amy on the other side. After greeting the hedgehog, she invited her into the room and shut the door behind her, mentally thanking her roommates for complying with her wish and being absent from the room.

"I got your text, Sally. What did you want to talk to me about so urgently?" Amy asked, oblivious to Sally's true reason for asking her over.

"Actually… Amy… I wanted to talk to you about our… relationship," she seemed to force the last word out of her mouth, as if it was a lie.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"I just… I don't think you are really being supportive or… really want this… the way I did," Sally finally muttered the words after contemplating the best way to handle them.

"What do you mean? I protected you from that fire situation," Amy replied.

"Yeah, by getting Fiona arrested. Arrested! You can't just do that to somebody!" Sally suddenly exploded, still touchy and anxious about the whole vixen situation.

"Yeah, well she deserved it after all the shit she put all of us through throughout the past four years. You haven't even known her for a full year yet and already you know how horrible she can be," Amy fired back, her voice growing steadily louder.

"Okay, okay… well that wasn't the main thing anyway," Sally calmed down, shifting the topic to the real thing that had been plaguing her mind. "The other day when you were talking to Knuckles… I heard you say how you still liked Sonic and were curious about his break up with Tails…"

"Sally… I-" Amy began but was interrupted by Sally.

"Does this relationship mean anything to you or were you still in love with Sonic the whole time and were just with me because he was with Tails? Is this just some sick game to you? Do you even like me?" Sally berated the hedgehog with question after question without giving her a chance to respond.

"Sally I… I…" Amy trailed off, sighing heavily. "You are right."

"What?"

"I do still love Sonic… I guess I never really stopped loving him," Amy admitted.

"Then what am I?"

"Sally… I… I don't know how to phrase this but I have been giving this some thought recently after what you said to me and… I've been unfair to you," Amy began with a surprising amount of sadness, sincerity and kindness in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Sally asked, curious of where the hedgehog was going, deciding to hold off on telling Amy she wanted to break up until the hedgehog had said what she wanted to say.

"This… this isn't me. I… I decided that I don't like girls. I'm really sorry Sally but I truly did feel strong feelings for you, especially after what happened between us and Fiona last semester and when you did your big confession I couldn't deny that I felt something. It just wasn't physical. I thought maybe it was, and thought I'd experiment and maybe, who knows, something would happen between us but I realized just how unfair that was to you and I am truly sorry for that…" Amy explained herself with complete sincerity and spoke apologetically.

"But despite the fun times we had, I still could never get Sonic, or boys for that matter, out of my head and I guess that's why I never took our relationship to any other level. I just couldn't get myself to do it. I guess my feelings were never more than platonic. I'm really, really sorry and I deserve any hate that you throw my way. I'm ready…" Amy concluded, looking down at her shoes.

"Amy I…" Sally paused for a moment. "I kind of knew," she admitted, much to the surprise of Amy. "The thought occurred to me multiple times after the fire when we got to the lake and things started to change between us but I just really needed somebody. And after Fiona… I just felt horrible and I needed somebody to be there and you were that person until… until Sonic helped me see that this was more painful for me and was doing more hurt than good."

"Sonic is really good when you are down," Amy smiled. "You better not be falling for him," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry, he is my best friend and I see him more as the brother I never had but always wanted rather than romantically."

"I'm really sorry Sally. I do love you, but not in that way. Can we still be friends?" Amy asked, holding out her arms to signal that she was requesting a hug. Sally looked at her in thought for a moment, letting her feelings do the talking instead.

"I'm sorry but I just can't right now… I just need some time to myself to let everything sink in," Sally decided, refusing the hug.

"I understand," Amy said. "So… I guess we are broken up then. I'll go tell-" Amy paused midway towards the door, turning back to glance at the squirrel. "No… despite how I feel about him, he is your best friend and I think you need him now a lot more than I do. You can go talk to Sonic about it and let him console you."

Sally looked into her eyes, smiling while mouthing her thanks as Amy nodded back and closed the door slowly behind her. Sally quickly shoved her hand into her pocket and fished out her phone.

Sally: _Hey, are you busy? I really need to talk to you. Come over to mind._

Sonic: _Hey Sal, what's up?_

Sally: _Please_

Sonic: _I'll be there in 5  
I Hope everything is okay_

…

 _I tip-toed through the forest under cover of moonlight. The twinkling stars above my head providing my only light source as I finally emerged from the deep foliage into a small clearing that overlooked the pristine lake that shimmered from the reflection of the stars peppering the deep sky._

 _I removed my tank top and shorts, leaving myself standing bear with only a bra and underpants on before taking a deep breath and diving into the lake, disappearing underneath the silent ripples of the water's surface._

 _'_ _I know it's in here somewhere,' I thought to myself as I swam back up to the surface, breaking the water for a gulp of air before submerging back into the watery depths, searching for the prize._

 _'_ _Despite what happened, he deserves this back,' I reasoned with myself before I noticed it. A slight twinkle of golden underneath the kelp covered sand. I kicked my way over, untangling the breathtaking golden bangle from its prison before making my way back onto the banks of the lake, letting my lungs greedily take in all the oxygen they desired._

 _I smiled, looking at my reflection from the golden rim whilst my eyes focused on the stunning emerald fixed to the front. The gem that was supposed to be given to the red echidna's one true love._

 _I hastened back to the campus, making sure to re-dress myself before entering the dormitory and making a left turn, heading up to the room that I knew the red echidna occupied. After a few quiet knocks, I heard Knuckles stifle a yawn, calling to his sleeping roommates, Shadow, Spike and Manic, that he would get the door._

 _I couldn't help but giggle when I saw the look on his face when he saw me, hair still dripping wet from my swim, holding the golden priceless bangle out in front of me._

"J-Julie? What are you…?" Knuckles trailed off, still unable to believe his eyes, still thinking this was some sort of dream.

"I knew that Rouge threw it in the lake and I knew how priceless this thing is so I went to fetch it for you," Julie-Su explained. Knuckles couldn't help his actions. He was overcome by happiness and the words of his friend, Tikal, swirled around in his head. Knuckles extended his arms, placed his hands on Julie's hips and stepped forward, crashing his lips against hers.

Julie shuddered suddenly as she pushed against the force of the echidna's lips, kissing back in a display of passion.

"S-Sorry…" Knuckles breathed when he finally pulled apart, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Th-that's okay…" Julie blushed, just as flustered after the kiss that they just shared. "I guess… I guess I should go now."

"Umm, yeah… I guess…" Knuckles trailed off again.

"Oh My Chaos, just ask her out already so I can get back to bed," Shadow called out in a sarcastic and annoyed tone, pulling the pillow over his eyes to block out the light from the hallway.

"Hey!" Knuckles hissed.

"You both want to, just do it!" Shadow groaned.

"Umm… so Julie… do you maybe, I don't know… want to grab some lunch together tomorrow or something?" Knuckles stuttered, suddenly overcome with strange nerves that he wasn't used to in the presence of the echidna.

"Come here, you big goof," Julie laughed as she pulled Knuckles closer and pressed her lips against his again, letting her arms fall over his back. Knuckles moaned happily as his hands instinctively fell at her hips.

"Yes, I'll go out with you," Julie said finally as the two embraced in a deep hug.

"Y-you will?" Knuckles replied, a big smile crossing his face.

"Yes, you love her and she loves you. Now can you please close the door and go to bed," Shadow let out an exasperated sigh, causing both Knuckles and Julie to smile before she said her goodbye and closed the door, retreating back to her dorm, content that she finally got the echidna that she had been pining over for longer than she cared to admit.

…

"Why did you not tell me this sooner? Yes, I'm aware that things take time but he deserved to know today… I know you are doing your best but… what? I see… yes that is horrible news… I'll be sure to let him know first thing tomorrow morning… yes, it is a sad day…" Razor muttered into his corded desk phone situated on the side of his large desk.

The moon shone high in the night sky, it almost being midnight as he got a dreadful call that he still thought should have come a lot sooner than it did. He sighed, hanging up the phone before pressing a button on his intercom.

"Gold, are you there?" he spoke clearly into the speaker with his button down on the button, waiting for a response. A few moments passed before a crackly voice broke through.

"Yes sir, what do you need?" the tenrec asked.

"I've just been made aware of a horrible incident that occurred the other day to one of our families," Razor sighed, his voice distant and full of sorrow.

"Oh no, what happened?" Gold asked as she quickly burst through the door in an instant, earning a somber glance from the suited shark.

"There was a horrible accident. The cops say that alcohol was involved. Both parents of one of our students were struck down last night and were killed instantly."

"That's horrible," Gold gasped, her hands shooting to her mouth.

"Indeed. I need you to inform the student of the passing."

"Certainly sir," Gold replied. "Whose parents died?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Hawk…"

* * *

 _A/N:_ _And... introducing the newest member of our main cast, Void! Definitely one of my more... complex characters coming in, he is shrouded in mystery. Why is he in jail? What did he do? Why did he save Fiona and take such an interest in her when she is seemingly a stranger? Is he just a nice person or is there more beneath the surface? And how is he going to be a main cast member if he doesn't even go to the school? All these answer will come... soon-ish_

 _It looks like Jet just can't catch a break. On top of everything, it looks like his parents are not also dead. How will the emotionally unstable Hawk handle this?_

 _There we have it... Knuckles couldn't chose between the bat that still captivates his heart and the new echidna that resides in it as well but it looks like Julie made the move and thus a new relationship was born._

 _And with a new relationship comes a new break up. What was the thing that stopped Sally breaking up with Amy? It was Amy breaking up with Sally! Some of you may hate Amy and some may say I'm being too harsh on the girl, but despite how she treated Sally, she did fianlly realize how unfair she was being. Is it enough to justify all of the hurt she put the squirrel through? That's up for you to decide?_

 _Our two flirtiest characters have finally met, Breezie and Rouge, and a new_ _friendship blossoms. What mischief will those two get up to? Chaos only knows._

 _I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the introduction of the newest cast member, Void. Please let me know your thoughts about all of the new things that are going on, along with what you think of Void and how you think he will shake up the rest of our cast. I'd love to hear all of your thoughts, the reception recently has been so overwhelming and I thank all of you so much. Seeing all these reviews means the world to me and I just want to thank all that Review because they are what help me keep going._

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Ray's suicidal thoughts begin to get the better of him and Mighty discovers what has been happening in his friends head_

 _Breezie finally realizes the truth_

 _Tails and Sonic have a long awaited heart-to-heart_

 _Shadow and Sonia both try to get to the bottom of their current mysteries... the comander and the father_

 _...And Razor announces something that is sure to stir everything up_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 19: Forgive or Forget_


	19. Chapter 19: Forgive or Forget

_A/N: Hello everybody, it seems I'm cutting it rather close this week. It's currently 7 on a monday night when writing this, only just barely making the deadline. These longer chapters make it a lot harder to get these out on time, especially because things in my life are just becoming so time consuming with work all weekend and uni all week it is hard to find times for friends, let alone writing two different stories. (By the way, if you were a fan of Dreams Come True, its sequel, War of Faith, is now up and I will be trying to update that weekly too, curently every thursday but we will see. Although DCT was more popular than SH and WoF made the same amount of followers as this story did in its first day, I am still putting the higher priority on this story because I enjoy writing this slightly more so don't worry!) Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 19!_

* * *

Chapter 19

Forgive or Forget

"I thought he was just bullshitting," Knuckles remarked as he searched through his sports bag to grab out a new, crisp white shirt.

"I did at first but apparently Sonic wasn't lying," Jet informed the echidna.

"Why would everybody think that I'm lying?" Sonic suddenly perked up, emerging from the steamy showers with nothing but a towel draped around his midsection. His quills dripped with water still as he strode over to the bench where his own bag was propped and began searching through his things.

"It just seems so unbelievable. I've known him for ages and it just seems random," Silver chimed in.

"I know guys, but like I heard them talking first hand," Sonic added.

"What, so should we treat him differently now or something?"

"I don't know…" Sonic admitted.

"Well its fucking awesome!" Knuckles grinned when suddenly the door to the change rooms swung open and an ebony hedgehog strode into the room, heading straight for his bag. He felt a strange wave of awkwardness wash over him as he scoured the room, noticing that each set of eyes were pinned squarely on him.

"What?" He barked darkly, staring back at the group of four.

"Nothing." Sonic replied casually, throwing his hands in his pockets as he tried to act casually.

"Cut the crap. I know you were talking about me," Shadow scolded the blue hedgehog.

"Just talking about how slow you are," Sonic retorted with a smirk on his face. Shadow grunted before turning back to his things.

"But is it true?!" Knuckles suddenly burst out, unable to hold his curiosity any longer. Shadow rose an eyebrow, turning to the red echidna to catch Sonic punch him in the arm, annoyed.

"Is what true?"

"Uh, that you're slow," Sonic chuckled nervously, earning a glare from the crimson eyed hedgehog. There was a few moments of silence as Shadow stared intently at the four teenagers, trying to figure out what they were on about when Jet, Silver and Knuckles couldn't hold in their excitement and all burst out in unison together.

"That you're actually a super spy working for a secret organization!" Shadow's mouth dropped as he stared blankly at the four of them. He noticed the intense passion in the eyes of the other three, amazed and the regretful expression of Sonic as his gaze drifted to the floor. Slowly, a burning anger slowly resonated through the hedgehog's body.

"I knew I heard somebody outside when I was talking with Gold," he said, clenching his fists.

"Shadow… come on… I couldn't not tell everybody. You're a fucking spy, how cool is that?!" Sonic defended himself.

"Because I don't want people to know. The whole point is that it's a fucking secret," Shadow let out an annoyed sigh as he tried to calm himself. "I couldn't trust you back then, and I still can't trust you now," Shadow replied bitterly as he grabbed his bag off of the bench and stomped over to the door. However, Sonic quickly reacted, standing between the hedgehog and the door.

"Shadow, c'mon. I'm sorry, okay. Stop acting like a little baby."

"Get out of my way."

"Only if you say you're not mad."

"I said get out of my way," Shadow repeated, unamused.

"No."

 _Thud_

Sonic felt a fist slam into his face before he stumbled backwards, colliding into a wall before slumping down. Shadow grunted in response before storming out of the door. Sonic rose slowly, unable to comprehend what just happened when Silver rushed over to his aid.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah… what was that about?" Suddenly, Knuckles burst out into a fit of laughter.

"You just got beaten up by a spy. How cool is that?!" he called out in child-like wonder to which even Sonic couldn't not laugh at.

"I guess Shadow is on the 'don't mess with' list now," Jet shrugged as he helped the hedgehog to his feet before they all continued getting back into their normal attire.

Meanwhile, Shadow stormed out of the change rooms and out of the gymnasium, still annoyed that his secret was ousted by somebody he didn't even know knew. Before he could ponder his predicament, he felt two hands fling around his middle and pull him backwards, taking him off guard.

"Wh-wha?" he gasped aloud before he heard a familiar chuckle behind him. Shadow spun around and came face to face with his best friend, the black and white bat. "Rouge?"

Without responded, Rouge just threw her hands over his shoulders and pulled him in for a long, warm, inviting hug. Shadow, through his confusion, couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he returned the friendly gesture.

"What's all this for?"

"I forgive you," she smiled, actual tears of joy in her eyes.

"Whoa, Rouge, why are you crying?"

"Because of you, stupid," she chuckled again, drying her eyes. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

"Rouge, what are you talking about?" Shadow asked, pushing her backwards to arm's length as he looked her straight in the eyes.

"I heard about you being a spy and realized that must have been why you left at the end of last year and why you couldn't tell me… I'm sorry for blaming you," she said sincerely.

"Rouge, I swear I would have told you but… I just didn't want-" Shadow began to explain himself but was interrupted by the bat.

"I know. I'm just glad that I know and that it wasn't because you just didn't trust me or anything like that," she sighed a breath of relief.

"You really thought that? You know no matter what I could never not trust you," Shadow smiled warmly back at her.

"Yeah, I do," Rouge chuckled before she stepped back and put on the familiar, flirtaceous smirk that was usually present on her face. "So come on… to celebrate you protecting the country, let's go have some coffee, my treat," she cheered.

"Rouge… this really shouldn't change anything between us…" Shadow grumbled as he felt the bat grab his hand and start pulling him towards the café.

"It won't. I'll still be number one, but I'll give you this one day," she winked back at him. Shadow couldn't help but let out a low chuckled as he let the bat drag him over to Emerald Café.

…

Breezie removed the apron, emblazoned with the café's logo as she ended her shift and walked out of the break-room to be greeted by her long time best friend, Mina, with two piping hot cups of coffee in her hands.

"Here you go," Mina beamed as she handed the cardboard cup to the hedgehog.

"Coffee, really? I've been around the stuff all morning I don't think I can handle it anymore," Breezie sighed as the two strolled over to one of the tables adjacent to the window that overlooked one of the many sporting ovals and placed their bags beneath the table as they took their seats.

"It's not emerald coffee, don't worry," Mina giggled as Breezie took a thankful sip, relishing in the bitterness. The two friends began to chat about all the topics that sprung into their minds, enjoying their free period together when the purple haired mongoose spied a certain orange porcupine enter the shop and walk over to the register.

"Hey, there's your boyfriend," she winked, nudging Breezie. The hedgehog looked over, half expecting to see the silver hedgehog when she laid her eyes upon Spike, ordering a coffee.

"Can we please drop this. Why does everybody keep bringing this up?" Breezie let out an exasperated sigh as Spike turned to see the two friends and wave.

"Hey Spike, wanna come hang?" Mina called.

"Sorry, I'd love to but I'm already late to class," he replied, paying for his coffee before rushing out of the shop. The two girls watched as he sprinted across the oval, awkwardly trying to stop the coffee from leaking out the top as he made his way over to one of the buildings filled with classrooms.

"He's such a dork," Breezie laughed as she watched him.

"A dork that is in love with you," Mina chimed in with her melodic voice. Breezie slammed her hand down on the table, hard. An eerie silence shot through the café as all of the students, and a couple teachers who were sitting at the tables reading the newspaper, stopped and turned to look at her, alarmed. She quickly brushed it off like it was nothing and waited until all the people returned to what they were previously doing.

"Whoa, calm down."

"Sorry… I'm just so sick of people saying that Spike is in love with me when he just thinks of me as a best friend and nothing more," Breezie apologized.

"Sure, whatever you say," Mina waved off her friend's dismissal of the obvious feelings that Spike often displayed.

"Shut up, you know as well as I do that there is no way that he could love me."

"And why's that?" Mina asked.

"Well… you know…"

"Know what?" Mina shrugged, genuinely confused where the hedgehog was going with this.

"Y'know… Spike, he's…" Breezie leaned in closer out of respect for her friend. "…Gay."

Mina stared at her with a blank expression on her face, blinking a couple times before she burst out into a fit of laugher. Breezie frowned.

"Hey, Spike is our friend and he can like whoever he wants but it's rude of laugh at him."

"You really are oblivious aren't you," Mina commented, gathering some composure.

"How am I oblivious?"

"Spike isn't gay."

"Yes he is. Since the three of us met, he hasn't shown any interest in any girls so he must be gay." Mina just smirked at the hedgehog, not saying a word. "Come on, name one girl that Spike has shown _any_ interest in since we have all been friends."

Mina stared at Breezie, still not saying anything until her eyes bulged and her mouth fell open slightly.

"Wait… you don't mean…" Breezie trailed off as the realization finally hit her. She finally realized the truth. Spike hadn't shown any interest in any other girls, because he had always only showed interest in her.

"And the penny finally drops," Mina said, flicking over her empty coffee cup.

"Oh Spike…"

…

Lunch time. The sun was shining down on the thankful blades of grass that swayed in the wind. The bubbling students raced around on the sporting fields, sat underneath the shady trees or gathered in groups to eat their lunches together and laugh about whatever embarrassing thing occurred that day.

The main student cafeteria was buzzing with most of the students as they all filed in to get their lunches. Clove, Tikal and Eclipse all grabbed their trays, selecting and paying for their food before walking through one of the sets of double doors into the seniors room with the rest of the year twelves to eat their lunches.

"Hey guys," Spike waved as he sat down at the table adjacent to the two darker hedgehog's, Shadow and Mephiles.

"Hey Spike, how's it going?" Mephiles asked through a forkful of spaghetti. Shadow nodded silently, just glad that he was no longer being mobbed by some of the students. Moments later, Ray walked up and sat down at the table, saying his greetings.

"There they are," Tikal cheered as she rushed over to take one of the many seats at the large, circular table, joined close behind by Clove and Eclipse.

"Anybody seen Mighty today?" Clove asked, her eyes immediately falling on Ray who stared back at her. He quickly turned away, looking down at his soup as a blush slowly crept its way onto his face.

"N-Nope. I haven't seen him," he replied sheepishly, causing Clove to giggle slightly at his bashful response.

"Here he comes," Spike pointed out as the gang all turned around to watch the armadillo walk into the room with a girl following next to him.

"Who's the girl?" Eclipse asked.

"Yeah…" Clove added quietly, staring at the feline.

"Hey Blaze," Shadow greeted as the two showed up, taking their seats.

"Oh, Shadow… I didn't know you would be here," Blaze replied casually. "Don't you normally sit with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge and all the others?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he responded. "We haven't really eaten together lately after all the drama so Mephiles invited me to join his group for lunch."

"And you fit in almost as poorly as Meph does," Mighty joked, earning a kick under the desk from the dark hedgehog. "Ouch, soooooooorry."

"Why aren't you with Silver?" Shadow shot her another question.

"He's busy with a project or something," she shrugged before finally taking the seat.

"Ahem," Clove cleared her throat loudly, gaining everybody's attention. "Aren't you going to introduce her to the rest of us, Mighty?" Clove asked.

"Oh yeah, everybody, this is my friend Blaze who I met the other day in math class. She sits next to me now so I decided to invite her to come have lunch with us," he said absent mindedly, digging into his hot-dog.

"Nice to meet you," the pronghorn beamed. "How come we haven't seen you around here before?"

"Not the right question," Tikal whispered into Clove's ear, trying to be polite but Blaze picked up on the motion.

"Oh, it's fine Tikal," she waved in dismissal. "I only just arrived here the other day because of the… incident at the old school."

"Did you get caught in the fire?" Mephiles asked bluntly. Tikal turned her head to glare at the hedgehog but Blaze laughed lightly.

"No, it's okay… Yeah, I kinda got trapped and have been recovering but now I'm good as new… well… good enough," Blaze corrected herself.

"And now I'm no longer bored in math class anymore," Mighty laughed, winking at the feline. Clove threw him a stare but he just looked back at her with a large, goofy smile.

"If somebody texted me more than I wouldn't need to find entertainment from another girl," Mighty retorted back at Clove's stares.

"Oh is that so? You just move onto another girl to keep you company when I'm busy?" Clove asked, half-jokingly.

"Yep, that's right," Mighty replied plainly like it was a matter of fact. Clove pouted playfully before Mighty stood up and walked over to her, planting a purposely wet and sloppy kiss on her cheek before returning to his seat.

"Um… are they always like this?" Blaze asked, laughing to conceal how out of place she had been feeling.

"Yep," Spike replied.

"You have no idea," Eclipse added.

"All the time," Tikal cheered, wrapping an arm around Eclipse's middle.

"It's annoying," Shadow said bluntly, earning an elbow nudge from Mephiles.

"Well… okay then," Blaze blinked. Mighty looked over to Ray who seemed to be quiet… well quieter than usual. Ray lifted his eyes and stared at Mighty. The armadillo offered him a gentle smile, showing that everything was okay between the two.

"S-sorry… I gotta go do some homework," Ray suddenly muttered before standing up and walking out of the room, his guilt and worthlessness slowly eating him up from the inside.

"What was that about?" Clove asked.

"Was it me?"

"No Blaze, it wasn't you," Mighty assured her. "I'll go check up on him. I'll be back soon, don't worry about starting without me," Mighty called out as he got up and walked out of the cafeteria in chase of his best friend.

"Wasn't planning on waiting anyway," Mephiles mumbled through another mouthful of spaghetti.

…

Ray slammed the door closed, thrusting his hand under his bed to grab the metal blade that was concealed beneath. Ray grabbed his shift sleeve and began to roll it up to reveal a series of deep, clean cuts across his wrist and up his arm.

'Despite everything he is still nice to me. He still wants to hang out with me and be my friend. I don't deserve him. I'm just ruining his life. He won't admit it, but I know he has to sacrifice a lot just to put up with me,' Ray thought, his thoughts torturing and tormenting him more and more as he slowly brought the blade down. Suddenly, he paused before turning the metallic object vertically, intent on slicing down the middle of his wrist perpendicular to the other markings.

'I deserve this pain. It's what I get after ruining Mighty's life,' he cursed himself in his head before he suddenly heard the rattling of the doorknob.

"Ray? Ray, c'mon buddy, I know you're in there," a voice called out. Ray instantly knew the voice and acted quickly, tossing the blade haphazardly underneath the bedside table, not knowing where else to put it. He frantically tried to lower his sleeve as the door was wrenched open and Mighty stepped through. His eyes bulged as he froze in his tracks, noticing some of the scars on his arm just before Ray could conceal them.

"Wh-what are those?" Mighty babbled silently, not knowing what to say or how to respond.

"What are what?" Ray asked, hoping that Mighty didn't actually notice them. Mighty shook his head, breaking out of the trance he found himself in to walk over to Ray.

"Let me see, please," Mighty begged as he reached out for the squirrel's arm. Ray instinctively grabbed it away, narrowly avoiding the armadillo's grasp.

"Let me see it," Mighty stated again in a more authoritative tone. Ray sighed, admitting defeat and caving into the armadillo's demands like usual. Mighty mentally scolded himself, hating himself for using the power he knew he possessed over the squirrel but finding no other alternative to get the answers he needed.

Ray held out his hand, not being able to look the armadillo in the eyes as Mighty slowly rolled up his sleeve to see the horrifying cuts and gashes that went all the way up the squirrels arm. Mighty gasped, not knowing what to say or do.

"Are you happy now," Ray said bitterly, not able to make eye contact with Mighty.

"No. Why would I be happy?" Mighty choked out.

"You got what you want. Like usual," Ray muttered.

"You… you really think I want this?" Mighty asked. Ray finally worked up enough courage to raise his head but was surprised by what he saw. He expected an angry armadillo with rage in his baby blue eyes but was shocked when he noticed the tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Mighty… why are you crying?" Ray asked, bewildered as the spite left his system as quick as it entered.

"I… I just can't…" Mighty breathed. "Why Ray? Are you unhappy? Is something wrong? What can I do to fix it?" Ray's stomach instantly fell as guilt welled up inside of him.

"No, Mighty, it's not you. You didn't do anything. It's me."

"What do you mean it's you?"

"I…" Ray paused, contemplating whether he should reveal the thoughts that he had been recently feeling but after looking into the tear filled eyes of his best friend and the one person he cared about more than anybody else in the world, he decided to explain.

"I'm worthless. I'm just a waste of space and I feel like I'm just a burden on not only you but everybody. I know that you just put up with me because you have to and I think it would be better to everybody if I was just… dea-"

"Don't…" Mighty interrupted his sentence abruptly, physically shaking, unable to control himself. Tears sprawled down his face like a river, dripping from his chin and falling to the floor in little droplets. "Don't you dare finish that thought."

"But it's true."

"No! No it's not!" Mighty stared deep into Ray's eyes. "Ray… you are not worthless and no matter what you think, you are definitely not a burden on me. I don't know where you got this idea into your head but forget it. Ray… I'm not forced to be with you. If I didn't want to be around you, I wouldn't simple as that. You are my best friend and I would never want it any other way. I love you, Ray, and no matter what you say or do, I'll never stop loving you because you're my best friend in the entire world and you're never going to make me hate you, okay?" Mighty finished, his hands on the squirrel's shoulders as he took a moment for his words to sink in.

Ray acted quickly. He didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was the words or maybe it was just all of the self-hatred that was swirling around inside of him, mixing with his general nervousness and anxiety but he just needed to feel something, anything. Hearing those three words, despite in a different context, was all he needed and his next move was made out of instinct. Ray suddenly closed his eyes, pursed his lips and closed the gap between the two boy's faces, letting his lips connect against Mighty's.

"Mighty froze, his whole body went rigid as his eyes bulged out, staring right at the yellow face of his best friend… kissing him. Mighty didn't know what to do, his mind yelling at him to do something.

'Kiss back. He needs this!'

'Reel away, this is fucking disgusting!'

'He is seriously hurting; we can't just do nothing. Make a fucking decision you idiot!'

His thoughts collided together in a heated battle, all seemingly screaming at him to deafening levels to make a move, do something. Lean in and kiss back or pull apart but Mighty couldn't bring himself to do either, just standing frozen until Ray finally pulled away.

"I… I'm sorry…" he mumbled after he stepped back, looking down at his shoes unable to face Mighty.

"Ray… I-" Mighty began but was immediately interrupted by the squirrel before he could get a thought in edge-wise.

"Please, can you leave me alone."

"Ray…"

"Mighty," Ray looked up. "Please, just go. I need to be alone right now."

"But-"

"I won't hurt myself, I promise. I just can't talk to you right now, okay?"

"O…Okay," Mighty finally gave in to his friends demands. "I'll see you at lunch tomorrow," Mighty said finally before silently slipping out of the room, closing the door behind him. Ray waited, counting to ten in his head before turning around, reeling his arm backwards and punching the wall as hard as he could with his hand.

Despite his size and strength, his hand collided with the dry wall and pushed through, plaster and dust billowing out into the air like a dust cloud.

"What the fuck am I doing?!" Ray yelled to himself. "I'm a fucking mess! I just made everything so much worse. Now I'm ruining Mighty even more. Chaos, what the fuck is wrong with me!" Ray continued to berate himself, removing his hand out of the wall and slamming it back into the hole he created. His knuckles began to get bloody and bruised but the squirrel didn't stop.

It wasn't until Ray looked out the window, that he stopped his assault. His gaze travelled out, over the forest and up to the large cliff on the opposite side of the lake, a good could of kilometers further than the lake itself. Ray nodded to himself, knowing exactly what he was going to do to spare his best friend from the constant misery of having to care for himself.

…

Tails' feet crunched against the gravel as he followed the path that snaked its way through the forest. Whilst following the path, Tails noticed a small piece of paper that had been pinned to one of the trees that sat off to the side as the path veered right.

 _This way,_ it said with an arrow that pointed left, towards a small little gap between two bushes. Tails frowned, noticing some footprints in the muddy dirt underneath the thin layer of leaf litter. Tails shrugged, taking out his phone to switch on his torch to illuminate the path.

After a few more minutes of bashing through the bushes, Tails began to walk up a small incline. The bushes and trees around him began to grow sparse, thinning out until Tails emerged into a small little grassy knoll. His breath was immediately taken away at the beauty. The small hill overlooked the lake at a position that he had never witnessed before. The moon's illumination reflected off of the still lake as the stars above danced in the heavens.

"It's beautiful…" Tails whispered to himself.

"I knew you'd like it," A voice said, causing Tails to jump in fright, turning to see a familiar figure sitting down, leaning back on his hands as he glanced out at the lake. "I found this place while going for a run on one of the first nights we came here. I was meaning to take you here but after… well you know…"

"I got your note… did you really call me out here just to show me the view?" Tails replied somewhat bitterly, still feeling apprehensive about talking to the hedgehog.

"Tails… buddy… I'm really sorry that I hurt you," Sonic said, turning to look at the fox, a small frown on his face.

"Do you know all the things I gave up to be with you. I gave up a chance of a lifetime to attend one of the most exclusive academies in Mobius and I had to make up all these lies to keep our relationship a secret from my overbearing father," Tails said solemnly, his features dropping a bit as the anger slowly left his system.

"Tails, you know it wasn't easy for me either," Sonic admitted. "You remember how hard it was for me to come out to everybody about how I felt about you. But I did really love you and I stepped up in front of everybody at that dance."

Tails looked down at his feet, guilt flooding through him as he had never really thought about how hard it was for Sonic to go public about his feelings, opting to only think about himself and his own selfish desires.

"I…I'm sorry. I really did appreciate what you did back then," Tails said, walking over to where Sonic sat and sat down next to him.

"Did I ever tell you what happened the night of the dance?" Sonic turned to Tails. The fox shook his head, staring back at the hedgehog. "Before going to the dance, I ran off down the street and made my way over to the lake over on fifth and main, you know the one. I did basically what I'm doing now. I looked over the lake and weighed up my options. It was there that I decided that my feelings for you were just stronger than those I ever had for Shadow or Amy and it was then that I decided that I needed to go public for fear of losing you."

"I…I didn't know."

"Tails…" Sonic stared deep into the fox's eyes. "I'm so sorry about having to break up with you but things between us were just changing for the worse. We were fighting more, we didn't spend as much time together and when we did, it wasn't for the right reasons and I…" Sonic trailed off, thinking about how to finish his sentence. "I just really want my best friend back. I want to hang out like we used to, Sonic and Tails, the best friends that nobody messed with."

Tails didn't respond, the gears in his mind thinking as he looked into Sonic's eyes.

"I… the truth is… I did miss you Sonic. I've done some thinking since you dumped me and… well I was being kind of a brat. I really do miss my best friend though…"

"So… friends?" Sonic asked, holding out his hand.

"Friends," Tails slapped his palm with Sonic's like they used to.

"So will you move back into our room?" Sonic asked, his eyes lighting with anticipation. Tails nodded, smiling.

"Don't know why I ever moved out," he chuckled lightly, Sonic joining in shortly after. The two opted to just sit together, side by side like they used to, back before all of the drama started between them this year, and just let their eyes glaze over the lake. Suddenly, Tails noticed something on the other side of the lake that stood out from the rest of the pristine environment.

"Hey, what's that?" Tails asked, pointing to a small, cemented stone slab that jutted out from the edge of the other side of the lake at the foot of the cliff that rose above. Sonic squinted, trying to search for what Tails was referring to until his eyes glossed over the slab.

"Oh, that's a tombstone," Sonic replied casually, waving it off as something uninteresting.

"What? Whose?" Tails replied curiously, wanting to know more.

"I don't know, I found it there when I was doing some laps of the lake the other week. I've never seen anybody out here visiting it. All it has is a small etching in the stone that says 'here lies veil.' Whoever it is, they have a beautiful spot to be buried."

"Veil…" Tails trailed off.

…

Void limped painfully down the corridor lined with jail cells on either side, wincing in pain every couple of steps. They gave him the luxury of a single night in the infirmary before sending him back to his cell and his other daily tasks and routines. Void sighed, rubbing his arm as he strolled into the cafeteria, grabbing a tray and lining up behind a quite feisty looking feline.

One by one, the prisoners slid down the line, holding up their table as the lunch lady who appeared to have a permanent scowl on her face scooped up some gruel from a tub and sloshed the food onto the tray before shouting, "Next!"

After Void got what he wouldn't even refer to as food, he walked over to the end of one of the long, thin tables and sat down alone. Suddenly, he felt somebody sit next to him and smirked when he saw who it was.

"I knew you would come back," he sneered, winking at the rust furred vixen.

"Hey…" she began solemnly, surprising the creature who didn't think Fiona had a softer side. "Sorry about the outburst in your room yesterday."

"It's fine. This place has a way of bringing the worst side out of people," Void replied darkly, thinking back to his time here.

"But I was wondering… how come you told me that you have been in here forever when you only just arrived after me?"

"Wh-what?" Void asked, faltering slightly at Fiona's sudden knowledge.

"I thought it was weird that I hadn't seen you around since this isn't a massive place but I asked around and people told me that they had seen you… but on the other side of the glass," She crossed her arms and stared at him. "Care to explain why you lied to me, creep."

"Look, Fi, I just-"

"Nobody except Scourge calls me Fi," she interrupted him.

"You mean the douchebag that dumped you here and said he never really loved you?" Void retorted calmly.

"He'll be back, just you watch!" Fiona spat back as she stood up. "You know what? Forget this! I'm out." Just as she tried to leave, Void raised and arm and grabbed her shirt. "Hey, get off me!"

"Okay, I'm sorry, I'll tell you the real truth," he breathed calmly. Fiona slapped his hand away from her and rose a skeptical eyebrow but decided to sit down and humor him, her intrigue and curiosity getting the better of her.

"Well?"

"Well… It is true that I only just arrived here the day that I saved you from those dicks but… I have been here many times before… visiting my brother."

"Where is he then? Why didn't he come help you out yesterday?" Fiona asked indignantly, offering no sympathy about Void's brother's predicament.

"He's not here because… well… he died in prison…"

"What, how?"

"He was only in here because of me and some things I made him do… he wasn't even a bad guy. He helped out and tried to get out early from good behaviour and I guess some of the others didn't like how he was acting because… one day when I came to visit him he… he…" Void trailed off, looking down as he clenched his fists.

"They killed him… didn't they?" Fiona breathed. Void nodded.

"That's why I saved you. I knew how bad it was in here and when I saw what they were about to do to you and saw that the guards were just going to turn a blind eye I had to step in… it's what he would have wanted…"

"I… I'm sorry," Fiona said after a moment of silence, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks… y'know, for saving me."

"It's okay… but can we just change the conversation," Void asked, shaking away his thoughts as he looked to Fiona. "How come a pretty, innocent girl like you is in a place like this? It was because of that hedgehog, wasn't it?"

"It was because of a hedgehog, but not him… I got framed for burning down my school," Fiona said bluntly, clearly still bitter about the whole situation.

"Really, how did you get framed?"

"This stupid hedgehog baited me into saying all this shit and recorded and edited it. Don't get me wrong, I would have burned down that school, fucking shit place but I don't wanna get stuck in here for it."

"Evidently, it was that thinking that got you here in the end," Void frowned.

"Yeah, it sucks. So, if you said you were here visiting your brother and he died then how come you are behind bars now? What did you do?" Fiona asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Come on, I told you. Spill," Fiona pursued.

"Okay maggots! Eatin' times up! Back to your cells now!" Zespio and Zector called out loudly as they entered the room.

"Sorry, looks like lunch time's over. See you around… Fi," Void smirked as he stood up and walked back to his cell.

…

Shadow waited out in a clearing a couple of kilometers from the campus, lounging up against a tree with one of his feet propped lazily against it. The ebony hedgehog closed his eyes, breathing in the sweet spring air deeply through his nostrils, glad that winter had finally ended.

Suddenly, his ears perked up, picking up the slight sound of a twig snapping in the nearby bush. Without warning, Shadow dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the atmosphere. The birds that were squawking loudly in the trees all took flight, fleeing from the scene. The bullet collided into the trunk, ricocheting off onto the grassy forest floor as wood splintered off of the trunk.

"Your aim is off a bit," Shadow remarked darkly as he pushed off the ground with his arms and stood up, brushing off some dirt and some of the blades of grass that had stuck to his black jeans.

"If I was really aiming for you, you'd be dead," a cynical, commanding voice called out from the shade of the trees stretching upwards from the edge of the forest. "It's your reflexes that are slipping." Shadow grunted as the commander of G.U.N emerged from the forest, strolling up to the hedgehog with his hands in his pockets. He had a grey suit on with a red and blue stripe running up his legs. His short, white hair reflected the sun's rays off of his head along with the two white gloves that covered his hands.

"I'm a busy man agent. I gave you the rest of this year off to finish your studies so why did you call me here? This better be important," he narrowed his eyes at Shadow.

"I want answers," Shadow matched his glare unflinching. The commander steeled himself, not budging an inch.

"And what gives you any authority to demand anything from me?"

"I want to know why you recruited me and how you found me at Mobius High?"

"We've been over this," the commander replied in an annoyed tone. "My agents saw what you could do and I decided to train you to help protect this country."

"Cut the game," Shadow interrupted him bluntly. "I know that you have known me for a lot longer than you are letting on."

"What do you mean?" The commander asked, a slight downwards curvature of his lips inched across his face as the tiniest bit of emotion broke through.

"I know you were the one who originally enrolled me into Mobius High!"

The commander stood there, his arms crossed as he weighed up his options. Suddenly, Shadow burst out again, impatient.

"Tell me the truth, now!"

"Don't order me around!" The commander barked back, not budging. "However… If you want answers so badly then all you have to do is one small task for me first."

"What task?" Shadow raised a skeptical brow.

"The commander reached into his blazer and pulled out a file, tossing it to the ground, watching it skid across the grass until Shadow placed his foot over it, halting its momentum. He bent over and opened the contents, scanning the page.

"Have you ever heard of Solaris before?"

"Yes, I remember being taught about him in my training. A dangerous, enemy spy that has eluded capture for many years. What about him?" Shadow asked. "And what does he have to do with me."

"It turns out he has a child, and our sources tell us that the child attends Mobius High undercover with an alternate name. We want you to find them and bring them in."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then no answers," The commander stated bluntly, shrugging his shoulders. "We don't have any info on the child but as soon as we do, we will contact you. In the meantime, do some research and try to find them. It could be imperative to this nations safety. Good luck agent," The commander finished before slinking back into the darkness of the forest and slipped away, leaving the disgruntled, annoyed hedgehog to weigh up his options.

…

'Where is he, where is he, where is he?' Sonia thought to herself over and over again, aimless rushing around the school looking for the one person she desperately needed to talk to. Despite how she felt towards him, he was the only one who had answers and she was becoming desperate.

Her face was drenched with sweat, he calves killed, her throat felt like it was being constricted by a snake and her chest felt like it was on fire, burning inside of her but she refused to stop running around, fueled by a determination she didn't know she had. Finally, she saw him. Dressed in his traditional black leather jacket, lying on the hood of his car with a cigarette hanging lazily out of his mouth.

"Scourge!" Sonia shouted as she sprinted up to him, doubling over in exhaustion when she finally reached the car.

"You fucking rapist!" She screeched at him.

"What the fuck?" Scourge replied, confused as he tossed his cigarette away, looking straight at her.

"I know it was you who drugged me the night of the party," she growled at him again, taking in deep, slow breaths greedily gulping up as much oxygen as he lungs could handle.

"Yeah, so what?"

"So what?! I know you had your way with me afterwards you sick freak!"

"Whoa, calm down. I might be a lot of things, but I ain't no rapist."

"If you didn't have sex with me then who did?" Sonia wailed.

"Why d'ya think somebody fucked you? You might be a looker but don't assume you're hot stuff."

"Screw you! I know it was you, it had to be!" Sonia yelled at him again.

"I didn't but if you want proof then why don't you come join me in the back seat and you'll see that it'll feel a whole lot better than it did at that party," he smirked, poking his thumb behind him towards the back seat.

"You're just… just… fucking disgusting!" Sonia shrieked before she threw her head into her hands, letting the tears run freely.

"Why do you suddenly care now?" Scourge asked after watching her cry for a few moments.

"Because… because I'm pregnant," Sonia admitted in defeat. Without warning, Scourge suddenly burst out into laughter, holding his sides.

"You mean he didn't use a condom? What a riot!" Scourge chuckled darkly, holding his sides.

"You're a monster," Sonia spat at him before pausing. "Wait… what do you mean he? You do know who it is!"

"Okay, okay, ya got me," Scourge raised his arms jokingly with a smile on his face, his sharp teeth showing as his eyes glinted with malice. "I might have seen somebody take you off into one of those rooms alone that night."

"What? Really? Who?" Sonia asked, a glint of hope ignited in her heart before it was immediately extinguished by Scourge.

"I'll tell you only on one condition," he sneered, pointing towards the back seat of his car again.

"I hate you!" Sonia shouted before she turned and stormed off.

"She'll be back," he smiled to himself.

"Unfortunately… you're right," a judgmental voice perked up from behind him. Scourge turned to see a very annoyed, black and white bat standing beside the car with her arms crossed and her eyes glaring right at him.

"Oh Rouge, don't pretend like you didn't get a kick out of seeing that," he grinned at her.

"That was just cold, even for you," She shook her head.

"So why are you even here? Come for round two?"

"That was a mistake and you know it," Rouge growled at her.

"Wow, kitty's got claws," he laughed. "The first time maybe, but everyone knows that you don't make mistakes twice, let alone three times," he grinned again.

"I didn't have my head on straight, but I do now so just leave me alone!" she growled before storming off herself.

"Hey, you came to me!" Scourge called back but Rouge didn't even turn her head, keeping in stride.

…

"Whatever they said I did, it wasn't me. I swear," Jet said as he pushed open the door to Gold's office and strolled in.

"Jet… have a seat," Gold said, putting on her bravest face as she gestured to one of the two chairs that sat on the other side of her desk. He had her hands together, resting on her desk with her fingers entwined. A sorrowful expression on her face.

"It wasn't me. You gotta believe me Gold," he continued, still assuming that he was only called in here because he was in some sort of trouble, understandably.

"Jet… you are not in trouble."

"Then why did you call me here?" he asked, confused.

"I'm sorry… I'm really, really sorry," Gold began.

"Geeze, calm down Ms. Tenrec. It's like somebody died or something," Jet laughed awkwardly, trying to lighten the mood but the painful expression the tenrec shot back at him said all Jet needed to hear. "Wh-who was it…?"

The next words that came out of the Tenrec's mouth shattered Jet's world like the mirror from the bathroom back at his old school. His heart sank, all sounds of the world drowning out and becoming nothing more than a toneless drone.

"There was an accident late Monday night… We are not sure if the driver was intoxicated but there was something wrong with them. They didn't see your parents crossing the street and… I'm sorry, they both perished on the way to the hospital."

Jet just stared, unable to say anything.

"I'm sorry we are only telling you now but because of the fiasco with the schools, they only just found out how to contact you and called Razor late last night. We wish we could have told you sooner. You may go back tomorrow morning to spend next week with some family if you would like," Gold offered but Jet just jumped up from his chair, it falling backwards with a thud as he sprinted out of the room.

Jet didn't stop until he made it to his room, slamming the door to his room as he immediately rushed over to his drawer and searched through it. He tossed out all his belongings, frantically trying to find the tiny blade, the only source of relief he could think of but it was nowhere to be found.

In defeat, Jet curled up in a fetal position and placed his head on his knees, his jeans soaking up the tears as he gently rocked himself, letting the depression that he struggled to keep at bay the past couple of weeks completely consume him again, enveloping like the darkness that always seemed to be hovering over his head.

…

The wide, spacious auditorium was a buzz with teenagers filing in through the main double doors at one end, their chatters floating through the air. Slowly, each and every student on campus found a seat and looked towards the small stage where a single, loan lectern.

Suddenly, a hush descended upon the crowd as silence filled the air. Razor strolled onto the stage, hushing all the students as he stood in front of the lectern.

"Hello everybody, welcome to the weekly assembly," he began, addressing not only the students but also the teachers that lined the walls, scolding those students who decided to continue to whisper to each other.

Eventually, as the time ticked away and all of the weekly bits of news had been addressed and all of the announcements had been delivered, Razor took to the stage one final time to give some much anticipated news.

"So I know that a lot of you are used to boarding at this school, some being here for the past three and a half years…" he began in a didactic tone. "However, a lot of our students this year are new due to the horrific fires that plagued our brother campus. So, to eradicate any homesickness and keep morale high, Gold and I have talked it over and we are pleased to announce the beginning of annual 'Parents Day!' We have sent invitations to all of your parents and this Saturday, in only five days' time, we are having an open day where they can all come to visit you."

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd as voices flooding with anticipation filled the air. Every student turned to their friends sitting next to them and began eagerly chatting about what they would do when their parents came and what sorts of things they would ask their parents to bring them from the city, ranging from new clothes to sweets and chocolate. Even the students who didn't have parents seemed happy for their friends whose faces lit up at the idea.

All except one lone, green hawk sitting in a corner. His eyes instantly flew over to the golden tenrec standing beside the stage, her eyes filled with apology as she looked upon Jet with sympathy and sadness. Tears filled his eyes as he quickly fled the auditorium, not stopping at any of the voices who called out his name…

* * *

 _A/N: Poor Jet... the guy just can't seem to catch a break, can he? And what of our newest broken up couple, Sally and Amy? Don't worry, they will appear soon!_

 _So, it looks like Rouge and Scourge do have some off screen history. Knuckles really did do a number on Rouge after that party, even though he didn't actually do anything and it looks like Scourge just seemed to be in the right (or wrong) place at the right time._

 _Shadow's secret is out, but Rouge finally has some closure and is finally able to fully forgive him, but with the strange new mystery surrounding the commander, Shadow needs some answers. However, it seems that not everything is as it seems at Mobius High. Who is Solaris' child? What will Shadow do once he finds him/her?_

 _Looks like Sonic and Tails are finally friends again, but will things ever really be the same between these two after what happened? But speaking of best friends, looks like Ray has placed Mighty in an increadibly hard position. With Ray on the verge of making a horrible, possibly fatal decision, Mighty needs to act fast but can he do it in time, or will somebody else be able to save the squirrel from himself? And the kiss certainly took Mighty off guard, but was there any meaning behind it or did Ray just need to feel something? What will Clove do when she finds out? If you liked this chapter, please don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought._

 _Question of the day: I know I forgot last week so I'll give you a big one to think about and discuss in the reviews. With the knowledge that one of the main 28 will die, and the funeral creeping up on us (It could happen next chapter, in ten chapters or in one of the final chapters! All I'll say is that the funeral is not in the final couple of chapters!) who do you think will be the one in that casket? Jet due to his depression? Ray due to his thoughts? Fiona due to prison? Or possibly whoever is the true child of Solaris once Shadow finds out? Or is it somebody else entirely? Either way, somebody WILL die._

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Fiona's past is revealed_

 _Julie tries to solve things between Knuckles and Manic but the topic of Sonic and Mina seems to throw a wrench in the works_

 _Amy and Clove discuss about Cosmo's strange behaviour_

 _Fiona is released from prison and makes a long overdue visit to Amy in her dorm_

 _..._ _Mighty goes to straighten things with Ray... but he is nowhere to be found_

 _All this and so much more, next time in Chapter 20: Vengeance_


	20. Chapter 20: Vengeance

_A/N: Hey everybody, I know that this chapter came out 2 days earlier than my usual Monday schedule but this chapter is different. This was especially hard for me to write and I wanted to share it earlier because... well I don't want to spoil anything inside so just make sure to read the A/N at the end of the chapter for a little explanation. Also this doesn't mean that chapters will start coming out on Saturdays. Unless I get really far ahead in writing, the next chapter will be next Monday and will continue to be on Mondays. It takes a long time to write all of these, along with my other story that is coming out on Thursdays *Plugging my other content* so yeah, enjoy the chapter. I really hope you like it!_

* * *

Chapter 20

Vengeance

Zector marched down the corridor, passing rows of prisoners who yelled at him or stared as he paid them no attention and continued to walk until he came to a stop outside a certain prisoner's cell.

"Fiona Fox," he stated, rousing her from her sleep.

"Yeah, what?" she yawned, stretching as she stepped off of the uncomfortable, small bed.

"The charges have been dropped and the case has been closed. You are free to go," he grumbled as he turned his set of master keys and slid open the bars. Fiona stepped out and he signaled her to follow behind him. The two walked down the corridor, angry snarls thrown at Fiona as she passed until she passed by Void's cell.

"Fiona?" he asked as he stood up and wrapped his arms around the bars, pressing his confused face between the bars to see her walk past.

"I'm… free to go?" She said with a confused inflection, just watching Void's sorrowful expression as she was pushed further along her path by the metal crocodile behind her.

"Hey, how come I'm suddenly free to go?" Fiona looked up to the intimidating guard towering over her, a permanent scowl across his featureless face.

"Some rich lawyer pulled some strings and got the charges changed with some accident claim or something like that," he shrugged.

"Why would somebody fight to get me ou-" Fiona mused aloud before she suddenly stopped in her tracks as the connection was finally made in her brain. "No… it can't be…" she breathed as she stepped out into the public area of the prison where an older, similarly coloured vixen wearing a grey suit and glasses with her hair tied back neatly in a pony-tail stormed up to her.

"You, young lady, are in a lot of trouble…"

…

Manic strolled down the winding pathway that connected a couple of the tall, school buildings. The late afternoon air billowed through the open space, chilling Manic to the bone. He stuck his hands deeper into the pocket of his dark green, loosely fitting hoodie in an attempt to warm them.

"Hey Manic!" A voice called out from afar. Manic turned around to see a familiar, albeit unwelcomed, pink echidna with long, flowing pink hair that billowed behind her in the wind. Her hair fell to her shoulders and draped down her back as she came to a standstill.

"Oh, hey… Julie was it?" Manic shrugged, feigning politeness despite his distaste for the echidna that inadvertently ruined his friendship with his first true friend he made since he arrived in Central City, Knuckles the Echidna.

"Yeah…" Julie replied before rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, not really knowing what to say to him next.

"Well… did you want to say something or can I go because I got a wicked stash of homework I've got to get through," Manic broke the awkward silence that descended upon the two.

"No don't go!" Julie called out, grabbing his arm before instantly recoiled. "Sorry… I just wanted to say that… umm, well Knuckles and I have started dating and-"

"Great, I'm _super_ happy for you," Manic interrupted her sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Give him my blessing, I've gotta go."

"Wait, don't be so rude! I just wanted to say that I never meant to come between you and I really don't want to be in your band and I told Knuckles that to, he just got carried away… you know how he gets," Julie sighed.

"Yeah, I do…" Manic trailed off, deep in thought.

"Well I just wanted to say that I know first-hand that Knuckles really misses you and… well maybe you should go talk to him and sort things out. I know you two had a fight but friends are there for each other through thick and thin. Times get tough, but I know the both of you can pull through this."

Manic stared up at her, studying her face and thinking to himself for what seemed like an overly long time to Julie when he finally nodded his head. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah… I'll go talk to him. The truth is… I kinda miss him too. It has been tough trying to stay mad at him whilst sharing the same room with him. I've had to focus on just how annoying I think Spike is to not let me guard down around him because I thought he still hated me," Manic admitted. "Thanks…"

"Hey, if Knuckles is happy then I am happy," she smiled, waving goodbye to him as she watched him walk off to the boy's dormitory.

…

 _I'd be forced to wake up every morning for my 6am piano lesson, followed by my quick culinary class before I had to rush off to school. Six classes a day, flute lessons instead of proper lunch time and then sprinting home in time for my advanced physics and algebra classes with the hand-picked tutors that my academic father had chosen for me. After this I had mountains of homework to do before I had to finish my chores, set the table, cook dinner for my mother who would arrive home late from the court house most nights and then more homework before a quick shower and bed. All this just to repeat the cycle over again the next day. And the day after. And the day after that. I never had time for friends, I was too busy with all my work._

 _I grew up in the richest suburb of Central City, living in a massive ten-bedroom mansion. On the weekends when I didn't have school, my mother would force me to come and sit in on some court cases with her, taking notes to further my career. She always wanted me to become a lawyer. She never cared what I thought. On the holidays we would head over to Westopolis where I would have to do horse riding lessons. Friday nights I always had recitals for either piano or flute and Saturday nights I was sent to the local observatory to extend my knowledge in the field of astro-physics, my father's major._

 _I hate space. I hate the stars, I hate the planets, I hate law and I hate my parents. One day, when I was only thirteen years old, I finally snapped. I couldn't deal with all the tasks, chores and work that my parents shifted on me. I was sick of being the perfect little girl they wanted. That wasn't me and it never was. They didn't want a child. They just wanted a slave. A clone of themselves. Well I wasn't going to fill that mold._

 _That's when I decided to run away. My name is Fiona Fox and this is my story…_

 _I spent the next couple of years on the streets, living in the slums of Central City. I had no money, I couldn't apply for any jobs in fear that my parents would be able to find me again and had absolutely no friends to turn to, not that I would have even if I stayed in the mansion. I had to prostitute myself and my body off to creeps who wanted a thirteen-year-old girl to suck them off just to get by. Those faces… the smirks of those business me allowing somebody so young to do things so vial to them… they still haunt me at night. However, that was still a sanctuary compared to my old life and that mansion that I often thought of as a hell, built especially for me. It was horrible and demeaning but at least I was free._

 _The nights were cold and the torment was unbearable. I was lonely, often sick and only just scraping by on mere scraps. Most of the money I made, I just spent it on alcohol, promising handies to elder men if they would go in and buy it for me, often losing the money I handed them. I just needed something to null the pain._

 _That was when I met them… my old crew. Boomer Walrus, Patch D'Coolette, Buns Rabbot, Jeffery St. Croix and even a couple of people who have striking similarities to that dweeb Tails and that slut Sally. They showed me how to survive, how to live on the streets. They taught me how being nice gets you nowhere and the only way to get ahead in this life is to use others. They were the ones who gave me the leather clothing and for once, I felt accepted. I felt like I had a place in this fucked up world. I felt like I belonged. For most people, a life with those guys on the streets would have been hell, but to me it couldn't have been more like heaven. Especially when Patch, the only other group member around my age, asked me out. We had a wonderful year together and for the first time, I had a stable relationship and somebody to let out all my frustrations with and to relieve stress._

 _However, hell always has a way of keeping a hold of you and the devil, dressed in a grey suit and pony-tail, will always drag you back with its clutches. I was fifteen years old, approaching my second year of living on the streets when everything went wrong. We were robbing a store, just a little alcohol joint on the corner when the guy behind the counter managed to subdue Buns. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by cops on all sides. There was gunfire, there was fleeing, but in the end they caught us all. My crew were all older than me, most of them about eighteen at the time and they were all sent off to prison and I never saw any of them again. Being under age, they called my parents and my mother sorted out a deal with them. I was back in her clutches and I couldn't have been unhappier. It would have been okay though, since I could have easily just run away with Patch, who I assumed might have received the same fate being only sixteen… but life doesn't work that way. Happy endings are bullshit and happiness is a joke._

 _It was the night I planned to run back to our old hideout to find him when she walked in. She stopped me from fleeing but I scratched her cheek, about to bolt again when she informed me of the news that broke my heart. Patch got hurt in the crossfire, but he seemed fine to me. Just a bullet to the shoulder, nothing as bad as we had faced before. Well apparently it must have done more damage than I thought because I was told he passed away. I didn't believe her at first, but she showed me the report. It was true… my heart never healed since then…_

 _My mother tried to mold me back into the perfect little slave she always wanted after that, but I was never the same. She never could control me. Eventually, her and dad had had enough of me and decided to just pay me off. They bought me an apartment in one of the middle-class suburbs of Central City and enrolled me in this stupid school. They said they would give me a weekly salary as long as I attended the school. As long as I didn't have to deal with them, I was happy. Occasionally dad would force me to go to that stupid academy up north with him on vacations, but no matter how hard he tried, I never caved. He gave up too. When the school burnt down and I got to bored, they immediately sold the apartment and fucked off. I think they were just glad I was moving further away from them._

 _I heard they had another child since then, but I wouldn't know. I haven't seen my mum since the day they enrolled me back three years ago. The only communication I ever get with them is an occasional text or a couple nights up at Mobius Academy with dad. If I couldn't be the perfect girl, they didn't want me. They cared more about their social standing than me, and I couldn't care less. As far as I'm concerned, I have no family. At least my ordeals on the streets taught me one thing. This world owes you nothing and life gets its kicks by fucking all of us over. So I live by the sage advice that Buns gave me. The only way to get ahead is to use others and trust yourself. The motto I now live by…_

Fiona's mother slammed the car door, starting the ignition as she pulled out of the carpark with Fiona in the back seat. She still rambled on about how disappointing I was and how I had such a bright future before I decided to throw it all away. I tuned it out, sick of her rants.

"Once we get back to your campus, I'm cutting you off. I already pay to let you bored at that school and they offer you food and shelter. That's all you need and deserve," she hissed harshly as she continued to drive. Fiona snarled, glaring up at the back of her head. The vixen turned her head, noticing for the first time the booster seat in the car. She looked over and saw a sleeping, cute little fox wrapped up in his blanket. His features so similar to Fiona's at that age.

"Good luck kid," Fiona whispered as she placed her headphones in and closed her eyes, blocking out the shrill voice of her mother who continued to drone on and on. "You'll need it in this life."

…

Mighty felt awful. He couldn't get that stupid kiss out of his head.

'Why didn't I pull away?' he thought. 'What if Ray… has feelings for me and just tricked himself he was thinking it was for Clove? What if he is just hurt and confused? What if he just needs to feel something? That would explain the cutting. Why did he call himself a burden to me? What is going on in his head?'

Mighty sat on his bed, thoughts rushing through his head as the thought of his best squirrel friend never left his brain. He couldn't sleep that night. He was either too hot or too cold. Too uncomfortable or far too comfortable. Nothing seemed right. Late nights like these, Mighty's thoughts always began to wonder about his friends, his life and the world around him but this particular night, he just had tormenting questions about Ray.

'What if he…' Mighty's thoughts trailed to a place that he scolded himself for thinking. However, he felt something horrible in his gut. Mighty quickly jumped up, grabbing a black and grey zip-up hoodie and slipping on his shoes before bolting out of his room. He didn't even bother putting proper pants on, opting to save time and just wear his pajama bottoms.

Mighty just needed to check Ray was okay because he had a horrible sinking feeling. He quickly rounded the corner and bolted up the stairs. He wracked his knuckles frantically on the wooden door when he arrived at the dorm that his best friend resided in.

A few moments passed before he heard a deep grumbling and hushed swears as the door was flung open and a tired, annoyed green hedgehog stood in the doorway.

"What the fuck do you want? I need my beauty sleep," Scourge growled angrily.

"You certainly do," Mighty snarled back. "Where is Ray?"

"Fuck if I know?" Scourge shrugged.

"Isn't he here. This is his room y'know."

"Yeah but the little twerp ran off a while ago. He was just looking out the window and then took off. Good riddance I say," Scourge smirked.

Mighty walked into the room, pushing Scourge out of the way and glanced out the window, searching for any indication of where the squirrel went. He passed by Jet, curled up in a ball on his bed, seemingly fast asleep and looking worse for wear. Suddenly, Mighty's full attention was brought to the one feature that stood out amongst the rest of the view of the forest that Ray would have gotten from this view. The large cliff…

Mighty's heart fell in his chest as he felt his palms get sweaty.

"Oh no…"

…

Amy: _What a massive tool_

Sonic: _IKR?! I think he just has a problem with me or something_

 _Amy: Who could have a problem with you?_

Sonic: _You always know just what to say to cheer a guy up Ames_

Amy: _I'm just speaking the truth. Zonic shouldn't have done that_

Sonic: _I only copied like one answer from Tails anyway_

Amy: _I thought you said you didn't cheat ;P_

Sonic: _I said I didn't copy my WHOLE test_

Amy: _You sneaky hedgie_

Sonic: _And I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for that meddling hedgehog_

Amy: _OMC shut up! Who even makes those jokes anymore_

Sonic: _Since when did we last watch those cartoons together?_

Amy: _Back when we were together…_

Sonic: _Oh yeah…_

Sonic: _Well… wanna hang out on the weekend and watch those old cartoons we used to love_

Amy: _Yeah sure, whatevs_

Sonic: _Cool, it's a date_

Amy suddenly squealed in delight, feverishly typing out a reply with her thumbs, not even looking up from the phone screen that both her eyes were glued to.

"Ouch," Clove said purposely loud, twisting her finger around in her ear after the sudden loud noise. "How about a warning next time before you try to blow out my ear drum?"

"Yeah, okay," Amy replied absentmindedly, not looking away from the phone.

"Umm… it was sarcasm Amy," Clove sighed, rolling over onto her side to look at the hedgehog.

"Amy, who are you texting? It's almost midnight," Blaze yawned as she flipped the page of the book that she was so engrossed in. The only light that illuminated the room was the yellow glow from Blaze's reading lamp and the florescent buzz from Amy's smart phone. The night was overcast, the clouds covering any light that the moon above could cast onto the land below.

"Just Sonic," Amy replied casually as she sent a final text before reaching placing her phone on charge, resting it on the bedside table.

"Oooooo," Blaze mocked. "Romance is blooming."

"I wish," Amy sighed.

"Who's Sonic? His name is vaguely familiar," Clove joined in on the conversation.

"Just Amy's ex who dumped her for his best friend," Blaze chimed in helpfully, winking at Amy who shot her an annoyed glance.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Mighty was talking about him and Tails…" Clove trailed off when she felt the intense glare that Amy was giving her. "But I didn't listen because boooooring, heh," Clove laughed awkwardly, trying to appease the pink hedgehog.

"Nice save," Amy replied sarcastically.

"Well it's good that you two are talking so often at least, right?" Blaze asked.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Hey, by the way girls, have either of you seen Cosmo?" Clove suddenly asked, the thought brought up when her eyes shifted upwards towards the seedrian's empty bed.

"Wait, she isn't asleep?" Amy asked, glancing upwards.

"Wow… you were super engrossed in that text, weren't you," Clove laughed.

"Isn't curfew at like ten?" Blaze enquired.

"Yeah, that's why it is weird that she is so late."

"Speaking of weird," Amy began. "Did you know she came to me asking for money the other day."

"What? Me too! She said she needed money for books because her parents cut her off."

"No way! She told me she needed money for books too but said she got robbed or something."

"She hasn't said anything weird to me yet," Blaze chimed in.

"Something is seriously up with that girl," Clove lamented.

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I knew she was lying when she said somebody robbed her because she never reported it…"

"We need to keep an eye on her. Something is definitely fishy," Clove decided.

"I'll make sure to keep an eye on her too. If she has been to the both of you, it's only a matter of time before she comes to me for money too." Clove and Amy nodded at Blaze. Amy opened her mouth to get out another thought when the sound of a key clanging against metal in the lock alerted the three girls.

"Pretend your asleep," Clove hissed.

"We don't want her to think we were talking about her," Blaze agreed in a hushed whisper. Blaze turned to switch off her light when the door creaked open and Cosmo stepped in. Amy and Clove quickly closed their eyes and feigned fake snoring as the seedrian tiptoed into the room.

"Oh… hey Blaze. I didn't think that any of you were up," Cosmo stated as she tried to act casual, climbing the ladder to her bed.

"I was just reading. The other two went to sleep a while ago," Blaze replied casually. "Where have you been? Curfew was at ten."

"Please don't tell," Cosmo begged. "I was just over at my friend's place."

"Which friend?"

"You probably don't know her."

"Who?" Blaze persisted, assuming that this was another lie from the seedrian based on the previous comments her two other roommates had told her.

"Cream," Cosmo stated finally. "Now I've got to get some sleep. I'm tired. Good night."

"Night," Blaze replied, shutting off her light before she sneakily grabbed her phone and ducked her head under the covers to hide the glow from her friend.

Blaze: _Cream?_

No response.

'Damn, she's probably asleep,' Blaze thought.

Blaze: _Cream?_

Blaze: _Cream!_

Blaze: _Cream?!_

Cream: _Okay, okay I'm awake! Jeez, what do you want Blaze? It's midnight_

Blaze: _Next time you hang out with Cosmo could you do it during the day? She woke us all up coming home from your dorm_

Cream: _What do you mean? Cosmo was never at my dorm. We haven't hung out in a couple days._

Blaze: _Thanks, that's all I needed to know_

Cream: _Okay…_

…

The clouds descended lower, falling from the indigo sky as the cumuli rolled slowly along overhead with the blistering winds. The sheer cliff rose out from the forest like a dull, maroon pillar keeping the heavens aloft. The steady incline the squirrel took brought him closer to the horizon, closer to the sky and further away from the ground and his old life.

Ray stood atop the cliff, the hood to his jumper falling backwards, draping down his back. He slipped down the zip, letting his jumper flow freely with the gushing winds that swept through his body, chilling his callus skin and brittle bones. He took a step forward, his glaucous eyes twinkling in the night, mirroring the stars that remained hidden, fearing for what's to come.

Ray peered over the edge, glancing down the sheer curtains of solid rock at the still lake below, its zaffre water frozen in time without a single ripple to be seen. Ray sighed, a surprising jasmine fragrance wafting through the air as he lamented how he arrived in this position.

'Everyone's lives would be easier if I just weren't in them,' his thoughts plagued him as he took a tentative step closer to the edge.

'I just make everybody miserable and they have to sacrifice so much just to put up with me. I'm useless. I'm a burden. I'm nothing.'

Ray took a deep breath in, the petrichor smell enticing his nostrils, signaling another bout of rain after nearly a week of dry weather. He steeled his nerves, listening to his mind berate him further and further until he made a fatal decision and a determined step closer to the edge. His toes dangled off the edge, hidden inside a casket of leather and fabric.

"Goodbye life… goodbye everybody… goodbye Mighty…" he whispered, his words carried by the blistering winds that soared off the edge. "I'm sorry…"

Ray outstretched his arms, letting the eager winds carry him as he shut his eyes tightly, a single tear falling from his eye, running down the contours of his cheek as he leant forward and let gravity decide the rest…

…

"Hey, Knux… you awake?" Manic whispered through the darkness. He had been thinking about what Julie had told him about when she approached her earlier that day. A slight rustling sound came from the bed opposite him as a body shuffled around underneath the sheets before Knuckles' face turned to him, an eye peeking open.

"Yeah?"

"Oh… cool…" Manic trailed off.

"Manic? You alright? You're acting strange?" Knuckles pointed out, sitting up slightly to face Manic.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just… Julie came up and talked to me today," Manic said, sitting up to mirror the way Knuckles was sitting. He looked around the room, noticing that both Spike and Shadow were both fast asleep.

"What'd she say?"

"She said that she was sorry."

"What does she have to be sorry for?" Knuckles asked, seeming slightly defensive.

"She said she was sorry for breaking us two up and making it so we don't talk anymore," he admitted.

"But we are talking now."

"You know what I mean."

"Well… I guess we haven't really hung out or spoken since the big fight at the party…"

"Yeah, I think that was both of our faults," Manic sighed. "I just… I got a bit carried away that day. Words were said, people were offended and… well, I'm sorry Knux." Knuckles stared at the hedgehog, making out his face and frame.

"I'm sorry too," he smirked. "I guess we got a bit carried away back there. We acted kinda like jerks didn't we," he chuckled lightly.

"You can say that again. Look, can we go back to how things were before that stupid fight?" Manic asked.

"Definitely," Knuckles smiled, to which Manic flashed his own back.

"Julie really is a good catch isn't she?"

"Yep, I'm pretty lucky," Knuckles thought back to his first fateful meeting with the echidna. "By the way, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah Knux, go ahead," Manic replied casually.

"Why… why do you hate Sonic so much? Like he's a nice guy once you get to know him and I think you should just give him a chance and-" Knuckles was cut off by an angry grunt by Manic.

"Don't even try to defend him to me," Manic stated stubbornly.

"Why? He is your brother after all."

"Half. Actually, he isn't even that. He is dead to me for all I care," Manic grabbed the blanket, slinking back down into his bed as he threw it over him, facing the wall.

"Come on, don't be so stubborn," Knuckles continued.

"You really don't know how much of a giant douche he is, do you?" Manic growled.

"Enlighten me."

"Sonic has been trying to get with Mina behind my back and I've walked in him trying to force himself on Mina a couple times. It's just fucking disgusting."

"He what?!" Knuckles gasped, unable to comprehend what Manic was insinuating.

"Yeah. So is he still Mr. Perfect? I don't think so. Now good night," Manic concluded angrily as he shut his eyes, trying to force out the thought of his brother that was slowly creeping its way back into his brain.

Knuckles just sat up, staring into space as he tried to understand the information he was just given.

'Sonic wouldn't really do that, would he?' Knuckles thought as he quickly yanked his phone out of the charge and feverishly begin typing away a message

Knuckles: _What you're doing is horrible!_

Sonic: _What do you mean? We don't have to watch cartoons if you don't want_

Knuckles: _wtf are you on about?_

Sonic: _whoops, thought you were Ames. LOL_

Knuckles: _Cut the crap. Manic told me what you were doing with Mina and that is so not cool_

Sonic: _not you 2_

Knuckles: _I heard you are trying to steal her from him. Why don't you stop thinking about girls for five seconds and focus on something that really matters?_

Sonic: _I'm not doing shit to Mina_

Knuckles: _That's not what Manic said_

Sonic: _Mina is trying to seduce ME not the other way around but whenever Manic sees it she pulls the I'm so cute card and paints me as the fucking devil_

Knuckles: _Why should I trust you?_

Sonic: _Why should you trust Manic?_

Knuckles: _Because he is my friend_

Sonic: _I thought I was too_

Knuckles: _How do I know you're not lying_

Sonic: _Because you know me! You know what. Fuck this, I'm done. Night._

Knuckles sighed in frustration, running his hands through his locks as he tried to understand what was happening around him. He looked over at the sleeping hedgehog, a sad expression on his face. He didn't know who to trust. His old friend, or his new best friend. Neither one had a reason to lie, but something was definitely wrong.

Knuckles yawned, lying back down as he threw the blanket over himself as he pondered what he should do. He wasn't sure who to believe but he did know one thing for sure. He was going to make it his personal mission to get to the bottom of this and sort out their relationship before it was torn too much.

…

"RAY!" a voice called out from afar, a mixture of urgency and hopelessness floated along the words. Mighty's eyes widened with fear as he felt his heart drop in his chest. His hands were clammy, his forehead sweaty and his breaths short and rapid from the sprint over to the cliff but through sheer adrenaline, he managed to find strength and stamina he didn't know he possessed to take over.

Mighty rushed up as fast as he could, blades of grass and dirt kicked up from the force of the soles of his feet pushing against it with all of his power to propel himself closer to the image of his best friend, slowly teetering on the edge of the cliff. Mighty reached out, his arm outstretched as he desperately tried to grab the falling squirrel. Just in time, Mighty's hand clasped fabric and his hand clamped around it, his fingers entwining with the familiar feeling of the squirrel's hoodie as he heaved with all his might, pulling the squirrel back onto the Cliffside.

"M-Mighty…" Ray breathed, not able to finish his thought as the sight of Mighty was too hard for the squirrel to bear.

"What are you doing?!" Mighty choked, tears streaming down his eyes like waterfalls, dampening his pajama bottoms. Ray stared at him, not able to look him in the eyes as a wave of guilt suddenly welled up inside of him.

"Please… please don't…" Mighty sobbed, clutching Ray's shoulders whilst kneeling next to the squirrel that sat down. "I need you…"

"No you don't," Ray replied solemnly. "All I am is a burden to you. It would just be better for everybody if I was just gone."

"Don't say that!" Mighty growled angrily, his emotions getting the better of him. "Don't you ever fucking say that to me. I don't know where you got this idea in your head but it's not true. Not at all."

"But it is true. I'm ruining your life."

"No you're not. You're the one thing that makes my life worth living. Ray… you're my best friend and you mean so much more to me than you could ever know," Mighty choked, trying to contain his crying.

"I'm worthless though…" Ray sighed. Mighty broke down again, digging his nails deeper into Ray's shoulders as the squirrel winced slightly.

"I can't lose you… I just can't." Mighty grabbed Ray and pulled him close, wrapping his arms around the squirrel as he hugged him tightly. He squeezed the squirrel, gripping for dear life in the fear that Ray would jump up and dive off the cliff if he released his grip even a bit. Ray felt an overwhelming amount of shame and sadness wash over him. He lifted his arms, hugging Mighty back just as tightly.

Slowly, it began to spit as slight rain droplets began to fall from the clouds overhead, soaking the two friends who just sat there, embracing each other as the minutes ticked by.

"Mighty… I'm sorry…" Ray whispered suddenly.

"How could you even think about this… how could you think about doing this to yourself… to me?" Mighty sobbed silently into Ray's shoulder.

"I'm just not worth anything…" Ray lamented softly.

"You're worth something to me," Mighty said, shuffling backwards from Ray and breaking the hug. He stared deep into Ray's glaucous eyes, shimmering with the hint of tears, with his azure iris'. "You are such an amazing person Ray and I'm not the only one who thinks that. You have so many friends that love you, Eclipse, Clove, Tikal, Mephiles, Shadow, Blaze and so many more. You have a great life. You're funny, smart, fun to be around and I couldn't imagine anybody else who I would ever make my best friend," Mighty continued.

Ray listened, the tears in his eyes slowly streaming down his cheeks with each touching word. Suddenly, all his feelings of self-deprecation, anxiety, confusion and love collided together and an overwhelming urge took control of the squirrel. He quickly leant forward, closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Mighty's.

This time, Mighty didn't even hesitate a second before pressing back against Ray, sharing the intimate moment. Mighty knew it was the wrong decision. He knew he shouldn't have reciprocated the kiss but he was just so distraught that his friend tried to kill himself not moments earlier and the fear of the possibility coming up again he knew Ray just needed somebody right now. The salty taste of tears was all he could taste but he didn't care.

He knew he was making a horrible mistake that would only lead to sadness and heartache later down the line but all he could think about was that moment in time. Right then, right there. His thoughts screamed at him to show Ray that he was needed, that he was loved in case the squirrel would try to throw himself off of the cliff again, despite the implications of the kiss. Mighty then made one, big mistake. He decided to slip his tongue inside of Ray's mouth, instantly touching Ray's own tongue. He immediately cursed himself for that action, but didn't know what else to do as Ray licked back. All he was thinking about was making sure that Ray wouldn't ever try this again. He didn't know what he would do with himself if Ray completed what he set out to do. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't decided to go check on Ray that night.

A few moments later, Mighty pulled away from the shaking squirrel and sat back.

"I-I'm sorry…" Ray breathed, looking up to Mighty who stood up and held out his hand.

"Come on… let's just go back to the dorm rooms…" Mighty said as he turned away from Ray and quickly wiped his mouth, "And never come back here again. You can sleep in my room tonight, I'll just crash on the floor. I'm not letting you out of my sight," Mighty decided, feeling Ray's hand slip into his as he lead the squirrel away from the cliff as fast as he could.

Mighty sighed, his heart still beating from fear and the image of Ray leaning off the edge of the cliff plaguing his thoughts and haunting his eyes as he looked up into the grey, menacing clouds which continued to shower the two with rain. However, Mighty didn't mind. To him, he just wanted the rain to wash everything away. Wash away all memories of this night, everything that happened and everything that he saw and did. He especially hoped it would wash away any self-deprecating thoughts that still existed in Ray's mind but he knew that rain could only ever wash away the present, and never the past.

…

"Give me the card," the domineering voice commanded, holding out her hand through the open window of the car.

"Seriously?" Fiona scowled, staring right at her mother who refused to even make eye-contact, continuing to stare forward with her other hand gripping the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles growing white.

"Now." Fiona let out a guttural growl before she fished her wallet out of her pocket and tore out the credit card, tossing it angrily at her mother before storming off.

"Fine!" Fiona looked back, giving one last glance at her mother as the woman reversed out of the carpark and slammed her foot down on the accelerator, the car shooting off out of the gate. "Figures…" Fiona whispered silently before continuing to walk away.

"Hey Fi," a conniving voice called out. Fiona turned her head to notice the familiar, sickening sight of the green hedgehog leaning back on the hood of his car like usual. "Glad to see you're out," he smirked as he strolled up to her and snaked his hand around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Get the fuck off of me," she growled, pushing him backwards.

"C'mon Fi, you know you want me."

"After that shit you pulled back when I needed you most? As if," she snorted, turning her head at him. "Leave me alone."

"You'll be back," he snarled, grabbing her and crashing his lips against hers, slipping his tongue into her mouth before she dug her nails deep into his arm.

"I said get off!"

"I give it a week," he chuckled before turning to walk back to his car, grabbing a cigarette out of his pocket as white smoke billowed around him from his exhale. Fiona narrowed her eyes, hating the hedgehog before she noticed a small golden fox walk down the path nearby. Fiona couldn't help the smile at seeing the only other person at school who ever cared about her.

"Tails!" she called out but her hopes dropped when she saw him turn, their eyes meeting, before he sped up and rushed off into the building. She just stared at him, confusion, anger and hurt mixing around inside of her before she narrowed her eyes.

"Amy ruined my life, sent me to jail and made the two guys in the whole school who ever gave me the time of day to turn into jerks. She is dead," Fiona growled as she set off into a sprint, heading for the girl's dormitory.

…

"I understand… yes, I'll make sure to tell him. Thank you for calling me, and… I'm sorry." Locke took one hand off of the steering wheel to press the hang up button on his phone before he quickly turned off of the main road, coming to a halt behind a parked car. Suddenly, he slammed his head as hard as he could against the steering wheel.

"I'm such an idiot," he yelled out, hitting his head again and again. "I really fucked up this time," he lamented, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "After all this time… I can't believe that one stupid mistake has come back to bite me."

"How am I ever going to tell Knuckles?" he growled at himself, shame and guilt washing over the elder hedgehog.

…

"Is that Fiona?"

"I thought she was thrown in jail?"

"Is she back already?" The gossips of all of the guys and girls that were loitering around on the indigo couches in the main lounging room that connected the two sides of the dormitory sent jolts of anger pulsing through Fiona. She wasn't use to having all the gossip being directed at her, rather than being instigated by her instead. She couldn't take the false accusations being thrown her way. As flames lit in her hate-filled, spiteful eyes she bounded up the staircase, coming to a stop outside of the pink hedgehog's dorm.

 _KNOCK, KNOCK_

She slammed her fists against the door, the screws that kept it on its hinges shaking from the blunt force before the door creaked open and a wide eyed, surprised hedgehog stood in the doorway. Amy squealed, swiftly slamming the door shut in Fiona's face but the clever vixen predicted this action, slipping her foot in between the door and the wall to keep it open.

"Fiona… calm down…" Amy mouthed with her hands out. "I didn't mean any harm by what I did." Fiona breathed angrily, steam coming from her nostrils as she pushed up her sleeves and clenched her fists, storming into the room. Amy, fear and adrenaline rushing through her, backed up until she was pressed against the wall at the back of the room.

"You did this…" Fiona spat.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to," Amy begged, shutting her eyes as Fiona grabbed a hold of her shift, crinkling the pristine fabric.

"You didn't mean to record me, edit it and show it to Gold to not only get me thrown in prison, but also make Tails not want to be associated with me and Scourge break up with me?" Fiona growled, her face now barely inches from the hedgehog.

"I had no choice."

"You lit that stupid fire and wanted to blame me to save yourself. Admit it!" Fiona bellowed, little bits of spit flying from her mouth and staining Amy's pink fur.

"No, no I swear I didn't light that stupid fire," Amy replied, her voice flooded with fear as Fiona's harsh gaze scared her half to death.

"Then why did you do it? Who were you protecting?"

"I… I…" Amy stuttered.

"Was it Sonic? Did he light it and you wanted to play the hero?" Fiona asked. Amy shook her head. "Oh, I know, you were protecting that little Sally slut that you were so fucking fond off," she snarled.

Amy just stared wide-eyed at the fiery vixen. "I knew it! Sally is so fucking dead."

"N-No it wasn't her… I-I-I" Amy tripped over her words, trying to force them out to sedate the angry vixen. "I wasn't protecting anybody… I don't know who lit that stupid fire but somebody needed to take the fall and I just thought you would be the best patsy," Amy lied. Rather than satiate Fiona's spiteful anger, it only served as a gust of air to fan the raging flames.

"You're a dead woman," Fiona yelled as she hoisted Amy up off of her feet with new found strength and slammed her against the wall.

"Amy!" A frightful voice shrieked as Blaze entered the room with Clove in tow.

"Let her go!" Clove shouted.

"Fuck off, this doesn't concern either of you," Fiona bellowed back.

"Blaze quick, get Gold now!" Clove yelled as she ran up to Fiona and wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to forcibly pull the fox off of the hedgehog but to no avail. Fiona reeled her arm backwards and sent a fist flying at Amy's face, making connection with her left eye. Amy shouted out in pain, but Fiona wasn't done with her onslaught yet. She continued this action, assaulting Amy's eyes, face, nose and head until Gold stormed into the room with a few of the other teachers and Blaze.

"Get off her!" Gold shouted frantically as two of the male teachers rushed up and managed to drag the rage filled Fiona off of the struggling hedgehog. "To the principal's office right now young lady," Gold stated, forcing her authority on the vixen. As Fiona began to leave, still held onto by one of the teachers for a safety measure, she turned to Amy and grinned a wicked smile, seeing her cowering in the corner with both hands held up to her bruised and damaged face. Clove and Blaze both at her sides, trying to calm down the crying, babbling hedgehog.

"Be on guard. I'll destroy you and your reputation at this school. Before I'm done, you'll wish you were never enrolled in Mobius High!"

* * *

 _A/N: There you have it, chapter 20 is done and dusted. I can't believe I'm already 20 chapters in. Don't worry, we aren't even half way done ;) Poor Fiona, does she earn more sympathy now that her past has had some light shed on it? Growing up with such high expectations put so much stress on the fox that she couldn't take it all any longer and turned into the Fiona we all love to hate. After learning her story, do you like her more or less now? I'm curious to know what you guys think of her now. This was a very Fiona-centric chapter but there was one other storyline going on between hers as well. That's the one I wanted to talk to you all about..._

 _Now I don't want to downplay the importance of Fiona's scenes in this chapter, but the scenes with Ray, Mighty and Ray and Mighty were the reason I posted this chapter earlier than usual. I just want to share something with you all, and try to shed some light on why it was so hard to write this chapter specifically. Now, if you didn't know I don't pull all of these arcs out of thin air. Yes, I take a lot of creative liberty and there are a lot that is completely fiction but a large quantity of character's and specific arcs involving them are actually either loosly or heavily based on not only my real world experiences but my friends as well. However, there are two characters and their current arcs that are almost 100% reality with little fiction from me added to spice up the drama (Except the fact that they are talking animals and it wasn't at a boarding school.) Okay, now remember that all characters have highs and lows and no character is more important than any other and letting you guys in on this information shouldn't sway you in anyway on how you see these characters but... well, Mighty is almost completely based off of me. His manerisms and characteristics are almost all mine, apart from his anger and strength which i used because that is Mighty's cannonical personality. Yes, I did have a best friend who was doing the things Ray did and yes, it did escalate to these heights. Almost everything that happened between these two in not only this chapter but the past bunch have all been events that truly happened. Ray is based off my best friend. Mighty is based off of me and Clove is based off my ex-girlfriend who I was with for over a year (What? Ex? Twotail, did you just spoil the story? To that I say, yes, of course they break up. No relationship is safe in this story. But after this current arc is finished, there are more ficticious ones that will come later so there is no guarentee that Mighty and Clove will stay broken up. No relationship is safe, but that doesn't mean that when characters break up they are done forever. Just take Blaze and Silver or Knuckles and Rouge for an example.) So there, that was why this specific chapter was quite dificult for me to write. I really hope you all enjoyed it either way, including the other parts with Knuckles and Manic (FRIENDSHIP RESTORED!?) and Sonic and Amy and Clove and Blaze and all that. So please, if you have some time, don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you all thought about this chapter and the new questions raised and answers that we have gotten. And as always, thanks for reading!_

 _A quick thing I wanted to address: Some of you say that Solaris' child must be Mephiles because they are canonically related. That in no way means that Mephiles is Solaris' son. I just needed a menacing, evil character from the franchise (Since I don't use OC's) and Solaris seemed like a good fit. That does not mean that Mephiles is the child at all though. Just wanted to clear that up, but I'm loving reading the theories of who it could be! Keep them up :D_

 _QotD: Well, when reading Mighty and Ray's individual scenes, especially Ray's, did you think that he was actually going to die then and there? I normall go all descriptive when writing super emotional scenes so I want to know who thought Ray was dead before Mighty came to save him?_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Cream and Tails finally confront each other about their feelings_

 _Some of Tikal's family history is revealed_

 _Fiona is extra cynical towards some of the MH students_

 _Sonic and Amy get closer and closer_

 _...And not only is Sonia's baby daddy revealed, but so is Solaris' child!_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 21: Discovery_


	21. Chapter 21: Discovery

_A/N: Hey everybody, another Monday and another chapter. I just want to say thanks so much for helping me reach 100 reviews, I love reading them all :) As a gift of thanks, i'll just shut up and let you read the new chapter :P_

* * *

Chapter 21

Discovery

Tails looked at himself in the mirror, running his aqua brush through his hair and bangs that sat neatly on the top of his head. He stepped back to make sure he looked approachable. He wore some basic black jeans with a neat, yellow sweater. He smiled at himself, taking a deep breath as he repeated what he wanted to say back to his reflection.

"Cream… look, I'm really sorry about how things turned out between us the other week," he began, nerves causing his hands to shake despite only talking to a mirror. He knew that he needed to make things right with the rabbit and sort out the awkward tension that had risen between the two since their last encounter. He was surprised when she texted him the other day asking if she could talk and so he invited her over to his room in hopes to sort out the situation once and for good. He made sure that his intrusive roommates were all out as well.

"But what I wanted to say was-" Tails continued but was silenced by a soft knock at the door. He quickly looked at his wristwatch, cursing himself for losing track of time before walking over to the door and inviting the waiting rabbit inside.

"Hey," she said softly as she entered, walking over to sit down on his bed.

"Hey…" Tails replied, not making eye contact with her as he slowly shut the door and walked over to join her. The two sat next to each other, looking around the room aimlessly as silence descended upon the duo. Finally, after what felt like hours, Tails was the first one to speak up.

"So Cream… I'm really sorry about how things turned out between us the other week but," he began, his practicing helping calm his nerves and curb his anxiety to make what he wanted to say come out clearer and with more clarity but the rabbit suddenly cut him off before he could finish his thought.

"Look Tails, I'm really sorry about what I did the other day. I know you were just trying to comfort me and I read the signs really wrong," she apologized.

"Cream, you don't have to apologize. It was a simple mistake and I could have handled the situation better myself," Tails reassured her but the rabbit simply shook her head.

"No you were fine. I just… Well, Tails, It's no secret that I still hold a lot of feelings for you. I didn't at the start after our breakup when I started dating Jet but when you were helping me for that audition and the time we spent at the academy… I don't quite know what happened but the feelings just suddenly resurfaced, stronger than ever."

"Cream… I have a confession to make too. I'd be lying if I didn't say that some of my old feelings for you came back during that time as well."

"Really?" Cream asked, a hint of hope twinkled in her eye as she stared into his Azure iris'.

"Yes," Tails nodded. "Look Cream," Tails began, drawing inspiration from his heart as he stared deep into her eyes, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Despite my feelings towards Sonic at the time, breaking up with you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Ever since then, despite how much I loved Sonic, I could never really let the feelings that you harbored go. You always did still have a piece of my heart no matter what happened between us. I do still love you, Cream."

"Oh Tails…" Cream breathed, a smile slowly creeping over her face as she began to lean in. However, before he could make the same mistake again, Tails let his hand fall from her cheek to her shoulder, pushing down with a small amount of force to stop her from getting any closer.

"But I can't be with you…"

"Wh-why?" Cream asked, a frown replacing the beginnings of a smile as he facial features drooped. She didn't expect to get back together with the fox when coming over but after his little speech, she couldn't help but get her hopes up.

"Look… Cream… I do really like you. I always have but I just don't think it's the best thing for me, or you right now," Tails admitted.

"It's because you still have strong feelings for Sonic, isn't it? Or do you now have feelings for Mina now" Cream sighed.

"Despite how I feel about Sonic… or Mina, that isn't what this is about," Tails corrected her kindly. "It's just… it's been about two months since Sonic dumped me and that time has really helped me grow, develop and take a step back to really look at myself. I was going out with you for most of year eleven and then earlier this year I was dating Sonic, then Shadow, and then Sonic officially again. I haven't really been single in the past two years, which is a really long time considering how young we all are. It's not that I don't want to be with you, I just think that I need more time to myself, to be single and get to know who I am before I jump back into another relationship."

"I think I understand," Cream faked a smile as she stared up at the fox that she still adored. "I hope things start to get better for you then."

"You too, Cream." The two leant in and Tails wrapped his arms around Cream, bringing her in for a deep, long hug before they broke apart and smiled at each other before Tail snapped his fingers, recalling something. "Oh, one thing before I forget. Can you do me a huge favour?"

"Umm, sure, what do you need?" Cream asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at the fox.

"I kinda told dad that you were my girlfriend so… when he gets here on Saturday can you please pretend to go out with me to fool him?"

…

Fiona stormed down the cafeteria, anger, aggression, annoyance and loathing fueling her adrenaline as she pushed through the line of people waiting to be served, demanding food from the lunch ladies on duty. The hedgehog serving cowered slightly, intimidated by Fiona's forcefulness and handed her the food without a complaint. Fiona grunted, seizing the food before marching over to take a seat on one of the spare tables.

"No more warnings," Fiona grumbled to herself through a mouthful of food. "Next time I see any physical violence from you, you're expelled," she imitated Razor again, rolling her eyes as she mercilessly chewed the food.

"I don't need to use physical violence to make that hedgehog pay," she grinned, shoveling more of her lunch into her mouth. "Everybody has a weakness… and I know hers," Fiona smiled as she eyed the pink hedgehog walking into the cafeteria, laughing and giggling next to a certain sapphire hedgehog.

 _Smack_

"What the fuck was that for?" Fiona growled, rubbing her leg as she scowled at the pink swallow.

"I'm so sorry Fiona. I didn't mean to I just wasn't watching where I was going and tripped over you," Wave apologized profusely, not wanting to antagonize the scary vixen whose brutal punishment of Amy had been spreading around the school like wildfire.

Fiona looked over Wave, noticing some strange things about her body. She seemed skinner, but not in a good way. Her skeleton was showing slightly more than usual, especially around the face and shoulders and she looked more frail than the usual feisty swallow.

"You've looked better," Fiona mentioned casually. "You look almost as pathetic as Jet."

"Don't compare me to him," she snapped back. Fiona smiled, realizing she had struck a chord with the swallow.

"Why not? You certainly did a lot of _comparing_ so to say at Elias' big party when he had a girlfriend," she cackled.

"That was a mistake."

"Was it? If you ask me, you and him should get together. You're both just as pathetic!"

"What's wrong with you?" Wave stammered back, a mixture of anger and fear in her voice.

"Me? What's wrong with you? It looks like you've been doing some bad things to your body," she scoffed. "You're worthless. I may be hated, but at least I'm not a cheater. You disgust even me." Wave stared down at the ground, slumping her shoulders as a wave of self-deprecation washed over her. Guilty, ashamed and embarrassed, the swallow turned and walked off.

"Where are you going Wave? Off to cut yourself like Jet?" Fiona called out after Wave who refused to turn around, set on a determined path out of the cafeteria and down an adjacent hallway to the bathrooms.

Wave pushed open the door, rushing over to one of the empty stalls and slamming the door behind her, locking herself into the tiny space. Fiona's words echoed through her head, causing a feeling of disgust to rise in the pit of her stomach.

'You're worthless… You're pathetic…'

'At least I'm not a cheater…'

'You disgust even me!'

Wave, on the verge of tears brought her finger up to her mouth, sticking it down her throat as bile rose up her esophagus, causing the swallow to empty the contents of her stomach.

'You can be pretty… you don't have to be the ugly person they see…' she sighed silently as she spewed vomit into the toilet. Meanwhile, just on the other side of the wall in the boy's toilets, Jet sat, his sleeves rolled up.

'I need to feel something other than sadness,' he thought as he brought the newly acquired blade down onto his skin, slicing a new, thin line to accompany the others, sighing as the crimson liquid seeped out of his wrist.

…

Eclipse yawned loudly as he folded his arms over each other and laid his head upon them. The year twelve area of the cafeteria was almost absent, most people already eaten and gone off to do their own things. Eclipse was almost all alone, super tired from his late nights studying for the big test that he had just completed the period before.

His eyes slowly sank, weighed down by what felt like sandbags as he began to slowly drift off into the land of dreams when the loud, heavy footed stomping of somebody storming into the cafeteria snapped him awake.

"Huh, wha?" he groaned, looking around to see what the source of the noise was. That's when he noticed his very disgruntled girlfriend stride over to him and slam down next to him, huffing to herself. He looked at her in confusion before sighing internally.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, draping an arm over her shoulders. "Everything okay?"

"It's just… ugh!" she let out a long, frustrated sigh as she slouched back on the little bench. "I don't even know why I even bother trying anymore."

"Who's causing you trouble?" Eclipse asked.

"It's just my stupid family," she waved him off.

"Want to talk about it? I know a thing or two about family drama," Eclipse smiled, trying to lift her spirits slightly. He grabbed her hand, squeezing it in his as he looked deep into her eyes. Tikal didn't know why, but for some reason she felt safer than she ever had before.

"Okay… Basically there is just all this drama with my adoptive parents recently," she began. Eclipse nodded along, paying attention to her speak. "After all the shit went down with my brother, my mum and I just continued to fight. We never really could see eye to eye and eventually I decided I couldn't take it anymore."

"What did you do?"

"I didn't want to be at home anymore and my mother didn't want me there either. She sent me off to an orphanage and I gladly accepted the excuse to leave. I packed up all my belongings that I could carry and she dropped me off. That was the last time I ever saw my real mother. That was back about five years ago when I had just turned thirteen."

"Wait, but didn't you just say you were having family troubles? Does that mean your mother wants you back in her life?" Eclipse asked, trying to understand the echidna's plight so he could offer better support and possibly advice if he had any.

"No, I'm having trouble with my adopted parents. About a year later I got adopted by who I thought were a loving couple at the time and they were the ones who originally sent me to Mobius High. However, recently they've been getting really aggressive towards me since I moved to this boarding school and we've been in a massive fight."

"Why are they pissed?"

"Well it turns out that since they adopted me, if I'm living with them they get extra money from the government or some shit but since I'm technically living at school, they don't get the money and they are trying to force me to transfer schools and come back to live with them."

"Wow, that's pretty unfair," Eclipse noted. "Not only would it screw up your mental state, but it'll be such a detriment to your schooling by moving with only months before finals."

"Right!" Tikal practically screamed in frustration, running her fingers through her quills. "I feel like I'm about to explode. I said I'm not coming home and they gave me an ultimatum about either I change schools voluntarily or they will cut me off completely, not giving me any money or pay my school fees."

"That's horrible."

"I said I'll think about it, just so that I have more time but just then she called me saying that they are coming to visit me on parent's day and they expect me to either have my things ready or to hand over my debit card."

"But that's in two days!" Eclipse stated plainly, earning an annoyed scowl from Tikal.

"Exactly! Do you see my problem? Chaos I hate them," she groaned.

"Come on, you don't mean that," Eclipse placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down after how riled up she had gotten.

"Yes I do. I'm not going with them."

"Tikal, baby, you need to at least try to talk to them. Face to face, not over the phone. Trust me, you don't want to go on fighting with your family and then regret things afterwards. If you stay and they really do cut you off, I'll help support you the best I can," Eclipse smiled. "And if you decide to leave, I'll make sure to come visit every weekend."

"Th-thanks," Tikal sighed, knowing deep down inside that Eclipse was right and this was one thing that the feisty echidna couldn't fight. "By the way… you speak like you are experienced but you never told me what happened with your family," Tikal pried, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Please… can we not talk about this right now," Eclipse pleaded.

"Why? I open up to you but you stay so closed and secretive towards me. Do you not trust me or something?" Tikal folded her arms.

"No, it's not that, it's just-"

"What is it?" Tikal interrupted. "Is it me? Is there something about me that y-" Tikal began to argue but was cut off by the sensation of the darkling's lips pressing against hers. She closed her eyes, giving in to the kiss as she pushed against his, falling into his loving embrace.

"Of course I trust you. I… love you, Tikal," Eclipse confessed after pulling away from her. "I just… I need you to trust me for now, please?" Tikal stared deep into his eyes, seeing hints of pain and angst that she was all too familiar with.

"Okay Eclipse… I trust you and I'll support you because… I do love you too," she smiled, wrapping her arms around him to bring him into another hug.

"Thanks…" he trailed off, giving the echidna an affectionate squeeze. "So… do you want to go get some of the fancy emerald coffee or something?"

"I'd love to."

…

"Surprised to see you back so soon," Zector laughed as he saw the rust furred vixen waltz into the main area out the front of the prison. "Society too hard for you now?"

"You really are a piece of shit, aren't you?" she scoffed, staring daggers at him.

"Hey, verbally assaulting an officer is an offense," he spat back angrily.

"Oh go and shove it. You're not even a real officer, you're just a lowly prison guard," she snapped at him, remembering the time when she was almost sexually assaulted and, as Void mentioned, probably would have been raped while he watched and did nothing.

"What do you want?" the metal crocodile asked in a passive aggressive tone.

"I want to see Void," she stated. "I know it's visiting hours right now so don't even give me any of your bullshit."

"Sorry, you can't see him," Zector denied her firmly.

"Why the fuck not?" she complained.

"Language!" Zector warned. "But you can't see him because… well the little shit broke out of prison last night…" Fiona's jaw dropped. She stood frozen, unable to believe what she had heard.

'He… escaped?' she thought. 'He never even told me why he was in here in the first place. What could he have possibly done?'

"That all?" Zector asked, an amused smile on his face seeing how distraught the vixen looked. Fiona nodded without a word and turned around to exit the prison like a zombie, ignoring the scoffs from the metal crocodile who loved to antagonize her.

"Figures. Everybody in my life who ever liked me fucks off. First Scourge, then Tails, and now Void… What did I do to deserve this?" she grumbled as she began the slow trip back to the school grounds of Mobius High's Emerald Lake county campus.

…

Sonic panted, his chest heaving as he pushed open the doors to the main building with force, startling the surprised tenrec who was busy working on the main administration computer behind the front desk.

"Sonic… can I help-" she began in a polite tone when Sonic quickly interrupted her.

"Sally, she told me she was coming here to confess. Where is she?!" Sonic babbled frantically, worrying about his friend.

"Sonic, it's too late to protect her now."

"Gold, it was an accident. She didn't-" Sonic tried desperately to defend the auburn haired squirrel but Gold shushed him swiftly.

"Sonic. She is telling the whole story to Razor and he will decide proper punitive measures," Gold explained. Sonic opened his mouth to complain further but at that moment, the door to the shark's office creaked open and a downtrodden squirrel stepped out, closing the door softly behind her. Sonic rushed over to her, placing his arms on her shoulders as he looked into her face.

"What happened?"

"He… he isn't expelling me or sending me to jail," she breathed, unable to believe what just happened…

 _"_ _Sally, you said you wanted to see me about something very important?" Razor spoke bluntly, a deep and domineering voice emanating from his mouth. I swallowed the lump in my throat down, knowing deep down that this was the right thing to do no matter how scared I was. I couldn't keep living like this. The guilt, the depression… Amy might have meant well but despite my feelings towards Fiona, she didn't deserve what happened to her. Neither did Blaze._

 _"_ _Sir, I started the fire at my old school," I stated plainly, not bothering to beat around the bush. I steeled myself, waiting for the punishment, for the yelling and the eventual sound of a police siren but none came. To my surprise, he didn't even believe me at first._

 _"_ _No, Fiona was the one who set the fire Ms. Acorn," he corrected me. I forced the words out of my throat, explaining the whole story. I informed him about what Amy did, about what actually happened at the old school with the leaves, buildings and cigarette and how I wanted to come clean but after seeing what happened to Fiona I lost my nerve._

 _"_ _Well, I'm proud of you for eventually coming clean and owning up to your mistake…" he began. "But I hope you understand that this is a serious accusation you are making upon yourself."_

 _"_ _I know," I nodded. "I am prepared for whatever punishment. As long as I get to say goodbye to my friends before going to jail." Razor looked at me, confused. He raised a skeptical eyebrow before a small smile came onto his face._

 _"_ _Sally, why would I send you to jail?"_

 _"_ _Because you did to Fiona."_

 _"_ _That was when we thought it was arson. Didn't you hear that Fiona got released?" I nodded, knowing that I needed to not only save Amy from her wrath, but the whole school and my soul._

 _"_ _Well," he continued. "She got released because her mother, one of the most prestigious lawyers in the whole country, proved that it was an accident and happened exactly how you just explained."_

 _"_ _Exactly, so you know that I'm telling the truth!" I blurted out._

 _"_ _I know. Sally, you are a straight A, honest student and I believe that you would never do this on purpose. If it really was an accident, you shouldn't go to jail for that."_

 _"_ _But what about Fiona? She can't have to live her life with a criminal record despite being innocent," I complained._

 _"_ _This wasn't her first criminal offence," he replied. Figures. "But… I will inform them that another student has confessed to the accident and see what I can do about getting all of this expunged from her record."_

 _"_ _O-okay… thank you sir," I said, getting up and getting ready to leave._

 _"_ _Oh, but Sally," he called as I reached for the door. I turned to look at him. "You are prohibited from any extracurricular activity for the rest of the year, your curfew is reduced to six for the next month and you have to do some community service around this school on weekends."_

 _"_ _Yes sir, that sounds fair," I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't have been able to get off so easily._

 _"_ _You're a good student Sally. Don't let this one mistake ruin your life. This Saturday is parent's day so I want you to help me out that day with all the parents and the festivities since I know you aren't having any relatives coming."_

 _"_ _Yes," I replied before slipping out of the door._

"That's amazing," Sonic cheered, pulling Sally in for a big hug as they walked down the path after she finished her story. "I'm so glad we can put this all behind us."

"But what about Fiona? She deserves to know that I did it," Sally complained, pulling away from Sonic.

"Sal, I know you are still kinda new to this school but you already have been on the receiving end of Fiona's torment and know that it can't be stopped," he explained. "If you tell her, it won't save Ames. Amy still framed her and she will won't stop until she has destroyed her. If you tell her, she will just come after you, and me, and anybody else who knew or was affected, including possibly Blaze and Silver too."

"But Amy…"

"Sal, it's better for everybody, even Amy, if you don't come clean. You don't know Fiona like I do. If she knew that Amy did what she did to save somebody else, that would make her even more bitter. All we can do is make sure we protect Amy and not let Fiona get the better of her."

"I guess so," Sally sighed, feeling the weight of her burden of guilt weighing down on her again from above.

"Hey," Sonic smiled, raising her face up to face him, smiling at her. "Ames is tough. She can beat Fiona and we can help her do it. If Fiona tries to take down Amy, then I guess this is war."

…

Fiona wrenched open the door, the wood splintering slightly as its hinges creaked from the sudden force and pressure. Mephiles, Mighty and Tails all jumped up in surprise.

"Fiona?" Tails asked as he removed one of the white headphones that was lodged in his ear, pausing the music that was playing from it.

"Emo, loser… get out!" Fiona commanded, looking at Mephiles and then towards Mighty.

"You can't just come in here and demand shit in our room. Curfew is in less than five minutes so you need to leave," Mighty confronted the enraged vixen, stepping up toe to toe with her, infuriating Fiona further.

"I'm speaking with Tails and you need to get out of here before I force you out," she warned, her rational thinking and any shred of compassion she had for others thrown out of the window after returning from the prison to find the third, and last person who ever cared about her had seemingly vanished out of thin air.

"Don't push me," the armadillo warned, flaring his nostrils.

"Mighty… it's okay," Tails stepped up, placing his hand on the armadillo's shoulder. "I'll handle her, can you two just please wait outside?" Tails pleaded with his riled up friend. Mighty looked over to Mephiles who just nodded a response before hopping off of the bed and strolling out of the room without a second glance. Mighty grunted before following, closing the door softly behind him.

"How are you so okay with this?" Mighty asked as he shot an inquisitive glance towards the hedgehog.

"I'll just go sleep with Shadow tonight. No bigge," Mephiles shrugged. Mighty sighed, pulling out his phone as he looked through his contacts deciding who he would ask to sleep with that night. He scrolled down his recents, Ray's name in the middle of his screen. His thumb hovered over the button but he sighed.

'Sorry buddy but I just can't deal with this right now…' Mighty thought, scrolling down further and instead hitting the contact that showed a darkling.

"Yo, I know Tails moved back in here so you guys have a spare bed right?" Mighty began his phone call as he strolled down the hall, yawning loudly.

Meanwhile, Tails tried to disarm the situation that was going down inside the bedroom.

"Fiona… just calm down…"

"What the actual fuck, Tails?" Fiona practically yelled despite Tails' attempts to quieten her down. "You constantly came to me for help when you needed it and I was there for you."

"You said it yourself, you were only there for me to see me fuck up my life," Tails shot back angrily.

"I was lying. You knew that so don't give me this shit," she retaliated.

"Fiona, I can't deal with this right now. I'm very tired and Parents day is coming up and I need to be ready for that."

"No, you need to tell me why the fuck you ignored me the other day. I thought you believed me when I said I didn't do it. I thought we were becoming…" she paused, unable to finish the sentence.

"…Friends?" Tails asked as Fiona shrugged. "Honestly, me too…"

"So why the fuck are you ignoring me?"

"Because of what you did to Amy! I heard about how you brutalized her and I was in the cafeteria when you berated Wave today and-" Tails continued but was interrupted by Fiona.

"Okay yeah, whatever. But I'm not talking about recently. I mean right when I first arrived and Scourge was a dick to me. You saw me and ran off before I did anything. Scourge dumped me, Void has vanished… you were the only person left who was ever there for me and you ran away like the coward you are!"

"You know what?!" Tails suddenly raised his voice, sick of the accusations. "I was almost half an hour late for a class and was rushing to get to it, not because of you. I did believe you, but after all the shit you pulled recently, I'm glad I was late. When we were drinking, you seemed like a different person… like you had a shred of decency inside of you but now…" Tails clenched his fists as he stared up at her. "You're hopeless."

Fiona narrowed her eyes, enraged beyond believe as she growled deeply at him.

"And here I thought maybe you were different… you're just a fucking dick… you made a big mistake Tails… watch your back, because I'll make you regret ever crossing me," Fiona snarled before storming out of the room.

Tails sighed, sitting on his bed as he placed his head in his hands, trying to control his anger when a certain sapphire hedgehog walked into the room, puffing.

"Sorry I'm late, got caught by Gold," he chuckled. "Hey… where are Mighty and Mephiles?"

…

Sonic and Amy sat together, lying on the same bed, both staring at the laptop screen. Her bruised and black eye evident despite the make-up caked on her face to hide it. They were both bathed in the artificial, luminescent light of the glowing screen as they enjoyed the old nostalgic feelings return as the familiar cartoon played in the background.

"I forgot how awful this actually was," Sonic chuckled as the ending credits appeared on the screen, the light dimming from the black background.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad," Amy defended the cartoon as she gently shut the lid to the laptop.

"Hey Amy, we said it was cool for you to watch your dumb shows with your boyfriend but I'm so tired so can you go outside to talk," Clove moaned loudly, the notion of a big test the next morning weighing heavily on her.

"He's not my-" Amy began but was interrupted by another voice from somebody on the other side of the room.

"Yeah Amy. I love you and all but either kick him out or speak outside because Mr. Ash is giving us this massive test tomorrow really early," Blaze chimed in, picking up her pillow and placing it over her head to block out all the sounds.

"I'll just go," Sonic whispered softly.

"No, they are just being jerks. Here, I'll see you out," Amy beamed as she rose, making sure to be loud whilst doing it, before walking outside and closing the door quietly behind her.

"So… this was, surprisingly fun," Sonic said after a few moments of awkward silence, grinning his signature smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, thanks for asking to do this. It's been a while since we have hung out together," Amy replied, a crimson blush creeping onto her face.

"You know what Ames. I was a little skeptical about doing this with you but… I don't know, something about you has changed for the better. You are… different somehow. Grown since the girl I used to date."

"I guess Sally was a lot better for me than I thought," Amy sighed. "I wish things didn't end so badly between us. I still like her as a friend and I hope she knows I didn't mean to cause her all the pain I did. I just was focusing on other things, y'know," she lamented.

"I believe you Ames. I know you wouldn't purposely try to hurt people."

"Thanks Sonic, I knew I could always count on you no matter what. My knight in shining armour," she smiled.

"Same with you. Despite all I've done to hurt you, you are still my number one fan. You always know how to put a smile on my face," he replied, mirroring her smile. The two stared at each other, neither one moving an inch. Then, slowly, Amy closed her eyes and began to lean forward.

'This is it. The moment I've been waiting for!' she squealed in her mind, unable to believe that she has been given a second chance with the sapphire hedgehog of her dreams. 'Nothing could ruin this moment!'

Suddenly, a bright light was suddenly switched on, aimed at the two teens. Amy froze, opening her eyes and turning her head like a deer in the headlights.

"Curfew was over an hour ago. And no boys are allowed up here after eight. You know the rules!" Gold scolded the pink hedgehog quietly as she shuffled up to meet them.

"Sorry Ames, gotta run," Sonic winked, giving her a thumbs up before sprinting off down the other way to avoid the wrath of the golden tenrec.

"I know it's you, Sonic," she called after him, trying carefully to not make enough noise to wake the sleeping girls up in the adjacent rooms. After Sonic disappeared from view, Gold sighed before turning to Amy, narrowing her eyes. "You, young lady, are in a lot of trouble."

"Worth it," Amy sighed as she stared into space, confusing Gold.

…

Sonia held her head in her hands, letting the tears stream down her face as she hugged her knees closer to her body. The distraught pink hedgehog hadn't left her room in a while, opting to remain behind closed doors. She didn't know what to do. It felt like her world had just caved in around her. Such a bright future destroyed in an instant because of one stupid party. The worst part was she didn't know what to do and had nobody to confide in. She didn't trust anybody with the knowledge of her being pregnant and felt even more alone now than she had ever been in her life.

 _Knock, knock_

Sonia sniffed, lifting her head as she stared towards the door, hoping against hope that it wasn't the fiery vixen that had recently returned to the campus and now occupied her old bed.

"Sally? Wave?" She called out, assuming it to be one of her roommates who had just forgotten their key.

"Come open the door, I'm not gonna leave," a voice called out. Sonia didn't immediately recognize it right away but her curiosity got the better of her. She swung her legs around, slipping her feet into her shoes that lay underneath the edge of her bed and slowly dragged her heels over to the door.

Sonia glanced at the mirror as she passed by, noting how hideous she looked. He eyes had bags underneath them, her nails long and un-kept and her hair was a messy tangle of knots and curls. Despite her appearance, she couldn't be bothered trying to make herself look any different as she walked over and twisted the door handle, opening the door to reveal a black and white bat standing on the other side with a hand resting on her hip.

"It's about time," she said, walking into the room without being invited by Sonia. "You look absolutely horrible," she winked as she passed by and leant next to the wall, staring at the hedgehog who closed the door.

"Great, that's exactly what a girl loves to hear," Sonia replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she shuffled back over to her bed and took a seat. "What do you want Rouge?"

"I want you to have a shower and put on some makeup. You are giving girls everywhere a bad name," she teased but it was clear thanks to the scowl that Sonia shot her way that the hedgehog wasn't up for jokes.

"Okay, okay. The real reason I wanted to see you was… well I overheard your conversation with Scourge the other day," Rouge began.

"And what, you wanted to make fun of me too?" Sonia lamented pessimistically, her dreary outlook on the world these days dragging her mood down even further.

"Do you really think I'd do that?" Rouge huffed, taking offence to the comment. It didn't help her mood that all Sonia seemed to do was shrug. Rouge let out an annoyed sigh before continuing. "No, it's not. The real reason I came here was… well… I think I know who the little guy's dad is."

"What? Who?" Sonia jumped up as she rushed over to Rouge and grabbed her shoulders. "Who did this to me?!"

"I'll tell you on one condition," Rouge held up a finger. "You need to get out of this room, go have a shower and then start being a member of society again."

"Okay, deal. Now who did I have sex with at the party?" Sonia urged, needing to know the identity of her child's father.

"So while looking for Knuckles I was wandering around the stadium and I saw you walking away from Scourge and Fiona looking worse for wear. I assumed that they must have done something to you so I decided to keep an eye on you just to make sure you didn't do anything you'd regret but suddenly I saw Knuckles and Julie and I needed to confront them and after that… well I don't really want to recall what I did after," Rouge commented, thinking back to the horrible party that only seemed to lead to heartbreak for everybody invited.

"Wait… so you didn't see who I was with?" Sonia frowned, all the hope immediately draining from her body.

"Well… before I got distracted, I did see somebody come up to you and I did see you guys heading over to one of the private rooms."

"Who was it!" Sonia almost screamed, desperate for answers.

"I saw you with… Mephiles the Dark!"

…

Blaze held her sides, he ribs hurting so much from the constant laughter. She lifted her hand and traced a finger across her skin underneath her eye, wiping away a stray tear that fell from her eye.

"Did that really happen?" She asked.

"Yeah, and don't even get me started about when Mephiles showed up," Silver smirked as he continued telling his story.

"Man, I really wish I had been around here longer and been able to see that," she sighed, thinking back to her painful time lying around in the hospital while her burns slowly healed. She looked down at her fur, still thin with little patches of singed skin hidden underneath her big, woolen sweater that she wore over the top to shield herself from the cold winds and to hide her blemishes.

"Hey, Blaze…" Silver broke through her contemplation, placing his thumb under her chin and slowly lifting her head to look at him. His facial features immediately softened as he saw the tears shimmering in her amber eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It's just…" Blaze breathed, looking down at herself, seemingly looking through her clothes to see the un-grown fur underneath. Blaze shuddered, her imagination showing her a gruesome sight that over-exaggerated thoughts portrayed. Skin peeling off, none of her violet hair anywhere and ugly blisters coating the skin that remained. "I'm hideous."

"Hey, hey, hey," Silver soothed, grabbing her hand in his as he stared into her eyes. "Don't say things like that. You may have gone through something horrible and didn't come out of it un-scathed, that's true. But no matter what happens, you will always be beautiful. Not just your looks, but also your personality, too."

"R-really?"

"Yes. Blaze, don't ever think down about yourself because you're an amazing woman and I'm so lucky to have you," Silver smiled as he leant over the table they were both sitting at in the emerald café and planted his lips softly against hers.

Whilst the two continued their passionate kiss, Breezie the hedgehog had just emerged from the back of the café, tying up the back of her apron, ready to start the afternoon shift when she laid eyes upon the silver hedgehog and violet cat. She frowned, unable to look away as her already broken heart shattered slightly more.

Silver pulled away, smiling at Blaze before he noticed her out of the corner of his peripheral vision. He turned his head slightly, making sure not to alert the feline in front of him as he looked at Breezie. Their eyes interlocked for a second and Silver could instantly see all the hurt and anguish on her face. Breezie quickly turned away, focusing her attention on Elias the squirrel, who had just walked up to order a coffee from her.

Silver sighed, a frown slowly emerging on his face as he watched the girl he was once desperately in love with go about her business. Something inside of him began to stir, some strange feelings but he couldn't quite decipher what they were telling him before Blaze pulled him back out of his trance.

"Silver… you okay? You seem sad," she commented, studying his face.

"Who me? No, not at all. I'm fine, just thinking about stuff," he dismissed her before changing the subject to something else the two could talk about.

…

Shadow leant on one of the windows of the increasingly popular emerald coffee shop, wrapping his hands around his take away coffee to warm them up. He blew away the steam that dissipated from the coffee before taking a tentative sip. Shadow glanced around, studying all of the faces and the people that ran in and out of the bustling café. He watched Breezie frantically try to take all of the orders. He noticed Sonic and Amy chatting away at one of the tables, Blaze and Silver looking at something interesting on the hedgehog's phone and everybody else in between.

'Who could it be…?' Shadow thought, studying the individuals. 'I know one of them is his child, but who. Commander needs to give me more information if he ever wants me to be able to solve this.' Shadow continued to stare at all of them, not knowing what he was even looking for. Anything out of the ordinary, but nothing seemed to jump out at him.

Suddenly, Shadow felt a buzzing in his pocket, startling him. In his surprise, the ebony hedgehog almost let the burning cup of coffee fall out of his hands but thanks to his quick reflexes, caught it just in time.

Shadow grunted, annoyed at whoever texted him as he fished his phone out of his pocket and swiped his finger across the screen, opening the phone. It was a message from G.U.N. Shadow opened the message, looking at the image that was attached.

It was as if time slowed down. Shadow's eyes bulged wide open as his grasp loosened. Slowly, the coffee fell from his grip, colliding with the ground with a thud. The lid slipped off on impact and the brown liquid pooled all around Shadow's feet on the ground. All in an instant, all the individual conversations of the students that filled the café ceased as all eyes turned to Shadow, especially the annoyed eyes of Breezie.

However, Shadow didn't pay any attention to anybody else. All he could focus on was the message sent from his commander. Shadow could feel the bile rising in his stomach as his eyes scanned the image.

Commander: _One of our agents discovered the identity of the child. You are to deal with the problem. Permentally._

Accompanying the message was a picture of a slightly younger, dark hedgehog not dissimilar to Shadow in size and stature. It was a picture of the son of Solaris and also Shadow's current boyfriend. It was a picture… of Mephiles!

* * *

 _A/N: Well there you have it... next chapter begins the big Parents day Trilogy. A lot of excitment, drama and... parents! (Sorry Jet :P)_

 _Looks like although Tails and Cream both have feelings for each other, they have decided to just remain friends so they can both just get some space and be single for a while, apart from pretending to be dating to trick Amadeus, naturally. But with Sonic and Amy slowly getting closer and closer, will the two hedgehog's eventually start dating or is Sonic only seeing her as the friend she has been? Only time will tell._

 _Mephiles... poor guy. He hasn't really been seen much since chapter 14 and now not only has he been revealed to be Solaris' child (Yes Ik what i said last chapter but the fact that they were canonically related had nothing to do with the choice of putting him as the child. It just made sense to have Shadow's boyfriend as the one who he is forced to deal with) but he has also been revealed to be the one who had sex with Sonia. The last we saw of him, he thought he was rejected by Shadow and went to heavily drink to soak away his rejection... looks like you can fill in the blanks about what happened after that, even if he doesn't know it. What will Sonia and Shadow do with this new information?_

 _Fiona, Fiona, Fiona... the four guys in her life who have ever shown her love and kidness all turned on her... or died in Patch's case. Scourge left her when she needed him most. Tails turned his back on her because of her frustrations and Void has dissapeared. With nobody left, she wants to take out her anguish and frustrations on those around her, which in this case seem to be Wave, Tails and, most importantly, Amy. Will Amy crack under pressure and reveal to FIona the truth about Sally?_

 _Speaking of Sally, looks like she finally admitted to what she did and, wihtout realising it, it seems that FIona's mother inadvertantly made her punishment a lot less severe than it could have potentially been. But is Sally truly out of the woods. Unless Fiona ever finds out... But it seems Sonic and Sally's strong friendship is getting stronger... despite them telling themselves that they will never be more than friends, is that really the case?_

 _Slowly, Tikal's past and family drama's are being revealed, but she is still keeping tight lipped about whatever strange fate or circumstance occured to her brother. However, Eclipse is being tight lipped too. Will Parent's day force them to fully open up to each other? Speaking of keeping tight lipped, it seems that Silver might not be completely sure about his decision, as some strange feelings seem to still be plaguing him whenever he sees Breezie. What will he do, and what will happen when/if Blaze actually finds out about Breezie._

 _Once again, thanks so much for all the support and reviews on this story, it means a lot. Don't worry as I have plans at least up to about 50 chapters so this story is nowhere near finished. As always, please leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter and some theories you may have._

 _QotD: Whose parents are you looking most forward to seeing interact with their kids?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _It's Parent's day at Emerald Lake, but Spike doesn't seem as thrilled as everybody else_

 _Shadow choses between his mission and Mephiles_

 _After further straining, Mighty goes to Tikal for help where she reveals her biggest secret to him_

 _Rouge decides to finally put to rest her fued with Cream_

 _...And Locke delivers some devastating news to Knuckles_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 22: Parent's Day (I)_


	22. Chapter 22: Parent's Day (I)

_A/N: Hey everybody, bit of a PSA I need to get through at the end of this chapter (the longest one yet) in the footer Author's Notes so be sure to read through that when you finish the chapter. Also, get ready for a trilogy of chapters that are hopefully as entertaining and drama filled as you were hoping for!_

* * *

Chapter 22

Parent's Day (I)

Mina yawned, stretching her arms skywards as she slowly fluttered open her eyelids, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning girls," she sung out sweetly as she looked around the room. However, as she swiveled her head to take in her surroundings, she noticed that she was left alone in the room. "Girls?" she called out again as she swung her feet off of her bed, standing up. She took her phone out of the white charger cable and pressed her thumb down on the circular button, watching as the dull black screen illuminated to display the time.

"Nine thirty! I'm super late!" Mina squealed, slightly angry that her roommates didn't wake her up but more annoyed at herself that she was missing the day. The mongoose quickly dived to the floor, scrambling to grab out a cute outfit whilst also grabbing her marine brush and sweeping it through her purple locks, trying to make herself presentable in the least amount of time possible.

Meanwhile, on the other side of campus, Razor ascended the wooden steps of the little pop-up make-shift stage that the campus grounds men had slowly been constructing throughout the week on one of the many grassy fields that the students would often sit and relax upon during the warmer months.

"Hello everybody," he began, addressing the crowd of parents, teachers and students who were all gathered on the lawn. He glossed over the crowd, noticing many familiar faces, as well as a bunch of new ones who either were looking over the crowd trying to find their kids of standing next to them, happy to see their kids after the couple of months that had passed since the new semester began.

"I really hope all of you had a pleasant trip here…" the shark principal continued as Mina the Mongoose sprinted down the steps of the dormitory, clumsily fumbling with her earrings as she hastened her way over to the gathering area. Mina rudely pushed through the crowd, looking for the tall, good looking mongoose that went by the name Isabella. Eventually, after many apologies and trodden toes, Mina eventually saw the elder, purple haired mongoose standing next to her husband, Arthur.

"Mum, dad," Mina cheered happily as she rushed up to the two and threw her arms around them happily. The two looked at each other before chuckling lightly.

"Hello Mina, you were a bit late this morning," Arthur mentioned casually, noting his daughter's natural lateness. Mina blushed slightly, turning her attention to her mother.

"And now, as a gift from me to you…" Razor bellowed through the microphone, addressing the entire crowd. "A student of ours who has seen some fabulous success this year, Espio Chameleon will play you all a song," he announced, signaling for the purple chameleon who was waiting on the sidelines to start climbing the steps.

"How has your singing been going darling?" Isabella asked, paying no attention to the cheering of the parents and some laughs by the students as the nervous purple chameleon slowly began to ascend to the wooden stage.

"H-hey everybody," Espio spoke nervously, his eyes scanning the crowd, especially noting all of the taunting faces of those who still continue to make fun of him thanks to the photo that still cycled around the school. "Th-thank you all for coming today and thanks to Razor for letting me perform a song from my new album…"

Espio took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves. He glanced over the crowd until his eyes met with the vibrant, optimistic ones of the school secretary, Gold. She smiled warmly at him, mouthing words of encouragement. Espio felt his heart soar as a new found confidence entered him through the acknowledgement and he signaled to the two other animals behind him who none of the other students or staff new.

"This is a song I wrote about… somebody… that has taken influence from a time a couple years ago… I hope you enjoy."

The guitar player started strumming lightly before the bear behind the drums started to join in with the beat. Knuckles and Manic, who both stood in the crowd, looked at each other, a frown on their faces as they were flooded with guilt knowing that both of them should have been up their supporting their purple friend by playing the guitar and drums but instead both ditched him because of their little feud.

 _One of these days, I'll say that I'm sorry  
One of these days, I'll work my way up to an apology  
I know I've tried, to stay sane all these years apart  
Despite the lies, I can't feign my hollow heart, anymore  
I know that now, somehow I'll make it back to you  
And so I vow, somehow It will go back to being us two_

"Clearly not as well as it is for him…" Mina lamented, replying to her mother as she focused her whole attention on the chameleon, her mind running wild. Espio smiled, continuing to sing as he noticed most of the crowd bobbing their heads along with the crowd and Gold beaming him the biggest smile she could muster.

 _If I could go back and change the past, I'd make you mine again  
If I could go back and make it last, I'd keep you there with me my friend_

 _Achieving impossible, pushing though the obstacles,  
I'm coming back to make amends, I'm coming back to make things right my friend_

Meanwhile, as Espio gave in to the melody and the lyrics, there was one student who wasn't out enjoying the festivities with the rest of the school. Spike the Porcupine sat, locked away in his room with his phone stuck next to his ear and a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry son but you know my work keeps me far too busy," his dad replied dully through the receiver.

"I know dad… but can't you just come for the day. Without the limo, without the goons and without-" Spike pleaded through the phone but was silenced by his dad's growls.

"Spike, you know that I can't do that. I tried to drop you off properly at school but you wouldn't let me and wanted to just walk instead," his dad interrupted.

"I know but… well you know I don't want people to know that you're-" Spike tried to reason but was once again cut off.

"That I'm what, son? Are you ashamed of what I do? Are you ashamed that I'm-"

"No!" Spike bellowed. "No dad I'm not ashamed… It's just that… I really like this school and my friends and I think that maybe if they knew that you were-"

"I see… very well. Have a nice weekend. Also I'm sorry that you will have to be spending the holiday break on campus again but I'm very busy again. Have a nice year, I'll see you in December," his dad said his goodbyes before hanging up the phone.

"Yeah… bye dad…" Spike sighed as he fell back onto his bed, letting the phone slide out of his grasp to lie next to him on the sheets…

 _Think of the memories, Crystalline fantasies  
Through twilight scenery, We danced in majesty, my friend_

 _I made you furious, I was oblivious  
I grew delirious, I was an idiot, my friend_

Tikal watched on, listening to the song. She could feel something inside of her, like a feeling of guilt. She didn't need Espio to tell her about it, she was sure that the song must have been about her despite the chameleon's claims. There was nobody or nothing else it could have been about. Tikal turned her head, unable to listen anymore as she walked back to her dorm, glad that at least she couldn't be found by her adoptive parents.

 _Hate growing stronger and,  
Distance grew longer and,  
I finally squandered it,  
Need to reconquer it, my friend_

 _I'm fighting through the tears, Overcome all my fears  
Remember the good years, It has finally become clear!_

 _Do you remember when, It was us versus them,  
We never played pretend, Because I had you in my arms!  
You will stay in my heart my friend_

…

Ray and Mighty both hung out in the armadillo's room. Sonic was out with his family probably, same goes for Tails and neither boy had seen the darker hedgehog all day. Mighty and Ray were deep in conversation, just normal business like usual.

"Your parents couldn't make it either?" Mighty finally asked, drastically changing the topic of conversation between the two best friends.

"Nah, they don't really have much to do with me nowadays…" Rays trailed off, lamenting on his drifting relationship with his parents. An image of the lake meters below the edge of the cliff that he stood atop not a week earlier flashed through his mind. He quickly thought about how his parents would react.

'Would they care when they heard the news or would they not even notice? They always were so engrossed with my brother anyway,' his thoughts tormented the unhappy squirrel. Mighty took notice of the squirrel that stared blankly at the wall, not saying anything.

"Ray… you in there, buddy?" The armadillo asked, waving his hand in front of the squirrel to try to snap him back to reality.

"Wh-huh? Oh, yeah sorry just zoned out a bit," Ray waved Mighty off but the headstrong armadillo was having none of it.

"Ray, you know how stubborn I can be," he began. "Now c'mon, I know you better than that. Tell me what you were thinking about."

"It's nothing."

"Is it about your brother and parents again? Ray, we've been over this. I-"

"Why don't you just butt out of it!" Ray snapped back, anger in his eyes. He immediately shrunk backwards, apologizing profusely.

"No… it's okay…" Mighty breathed, not used to seeing this side of the squirrel. "I shouldn't have pushed."

"No, it's cool. Yeah, it is. I was just thinking… would they even care if I did die?"

"Ray!" Mighty gasped. "Don't think like that. They love you very much, or course they would care."

"No they wouldn't," Ray protested, his self-deprecating thoughts plaguing him. "Nobody would," he sighed.

"Hey!" Mighty grabbed his arm, staring into the squirrel's eyes. "Stop thinking like that, okay? They love you and would care if anything bad happened. So would your brother, and all of your friends… and me. So why can't you just get that into your thick skull?" Mighty joked, ending on a lighter note to try to ease the sour mood that had descended upon the two friends.

"Th-thanks…" Ray said before he closed his eyes and leant forward, planting his lips against the armadillo's. After a couple of seconds, Mighty pulled away, standing off the bed. Ray shot him a perplexed expression, tilting his head.

"S-sorry," Mighty began. "I just remembered that I promised I'd help Tikal avoid her adoptive parents today," he said as he rushed over to the door and opened it up, craning his neck to look back at the squirrel. "I'll see you in a bit."

"O-" Ray spoke as the door slammed shut to interrupt him. "…Okay," he sighed.

…

"Thanks mum," Cosmo beamed happily as she reached upwards, standing on her toes to wrap her arms around her taller mother's neck to embrace her.

"Remember to keep up with your studies," her mother lectured the seedrian as Cosmo nodded, gladly accepting the wad of cash that her mother and father handed her.

"Remember, this should last you until you come back for the break," her father added, giving his daughter a stern look.

"Don't worry papa, you know I'm good with money," she assured her over-bearing parents. "I still have some of that money you left me before."

"That's my girl," Cosmo's father stated proudly, giving his daughter a hug. "So, we hope you've been liking the new school. Care to give your old man a tour?"

"Sure thing papa," she smiled as she began walking off. "I can show you guys my dorm room." Curiously, a certain violet feline's ears picked up on the distinctive voice that the green seedrian possessed and turned to see who she was talking to. Whilst the polite exchange between Cosmo and her parents took place, the inquisitive eyes of Blaze the Cat watched the display.

'Strange…' Blaze though to herself. 'I thought Amy said that Cosmo told her that her parents cut her off. If she has all this money, why does she keep begging us all for more?'

"Blaze!" A voice called out, snapping her out of her reality. The cat whipped her head around to come face to face with a silver hedgehog, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"C'mon, I saw your aunt waiting over in the parking lot and she asked me to come find you for her. She can't wait to see how you've been doing since… well, let's not keep her waiting," he smiled, grabbing her hand in his and dragging her over to the parking lot.

…

"And then Mr. Ash jumped up on the table and started quoting Shakespeare but he slipped and fell," Sonic stifled a chuckle as he tried to finish his story.

"Oh no, is he okay?" Amy asked, worry and concern for one of her favourite teachers washing through her.

"He was fine. He managed to save himself but ended up with his foot in the bin that he left under the bed," Sonic laughed. Slowly, a smile began to form on the pink hedgehog's face as she couldn't help but let a small giggle escape from her lips.

"He's such a goofy teacher," Sonic concluded. "But I still love him."

"I could say the same about you," Amy blushed. Sonic looked at her, raising an eyebrow as a smirk crossed his face.

"What do you mean by that, Ames," he teased. "That I'm a goof or that you still love me," he winked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself there," Amy retorted with a playful smile of her own, trying to take the attention away from her cheeks that began to glow crimson. "I clearly meant the goof. But… now thinking about it, you're more of a dork."

"Yeah but…" Sonic began but stopped himself mid-sentence, a strange feeling entering his gut.

"But what?" Amy asked. Sonic quickly shook himself out of the trance, burying that feeling deep inside himself as he flashed his usual cocky grin.

"But I'm your dork," he chuckled.

"And I wouldn't want it any other way," Amy replied as she closed her eyes and began to slowly lean in. Closer… and closer…

"Sonic!" A shrill voice pierced through the two. Amy snapped open her eyes, jumping backwards from surprise as she looked around her to see another pink hedgehog walk up to the two.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," she scolded him.

"Ugh, what now Sonia?" Sonic asked, annoyance flooding his voice.

"We've got lunch with your mum and your late. C'mon, let's go," she let out an exasperated sigh, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. Sonic awkwardly stumbled upwards and begun being dragged back by his sister, giving up on retaliating.

"Sorry Ames, I'll catch you around," he waved before following behind his sister willingly, unable to see the frown that crossed Amy's face once he left.

"By the way, I saw what was about to happen," Sonia laughed, punching his arm playfully.

"And you shouted anyway?"

"Of course. I've gotta protect my big brother and keep him out of trouble," she giggled.

"I definitely miss being an only child," he joked as the two hedgehog siblings continued down the path heading towards one of the many grassy fields that dotted the campus where Bernadette and Manic would be waiting for them.

…

Zonic, the metallic hedgehog strolled down one of the many winding paths that crisscrossed through the school grounds, his head on a swivel. His cold heart melted slightly at the warming sight of happy students rushing over to greet their parents, smiling and laughing together.

"Why hello there, I appear to be lost," a seductive voice purred from behind him. Zonic turned behind him to see a tall, thin bad that bore a striking resemblance to Rouge, but much older.

"Yes, how can I help you?" Zonic replied politely.

"I am trying to find my niece, Rouge, but I appear to have gotten lost. Maybe a strong, strapping gentleman like yourself could help me out," she winked, waltzing closer to him so that she was mere centimeters away from his body.

"Um, uh, y-yes, I can help," he mumbled over his words, sounding like a nervous wreck. Zouge let out a little giggle before placing her hand in his, pressing her body up against his in the process.

"Thank you ever so much, how could I ever repay you." Rouge sighed, rolling her eyes as she tore her view away from her aunt, shaking her head.

"Wow, she really doesn't waste much time does she," Shadow smirked, looking over to Rouge.

"She sees what she wants and she goes to get it," Rouge shrugged as she took off in the other direction. "At least I don't have to deal with her while she goes and deals with Zonic."

"How can you be so calm knowing what your aunt and teacher are going off to do?"

"She screwed most of my adult family friends so it isn't going to be anything new," Rouge shrugged.

"At least I now know where you get it from," he smirked, his crimson eyes darting up to look at her. Rouge gave him a light shove and he chuckled darkly in response.

"Don't push your luck," Rouge warned in a joking tone. "So, you wanna go grab some food or something?" She offered. Shadow opened his mouth to speak, about to agree when he caught sight of a dark hedgehog walking up the stairs to the dormitory on the other side of the grounds.

"I'd love to, but I need to go deal with something first," Shadow remarked, strutting off towards the dormitory without a second thought. Rouge huffed, blowing the strand of hair that fell off her head to obscure her vision before she turned to march off. However, before she could get too far, she heard the crunching of soft footsteps on the gravelly path and some soft panting behind her. Curious, Rouge turned and looked down to see Cream the Rabbit standing in front of her.

"Rouge?" she asked.

"Oh, hey, what do you want?" Rouge brushed off the rabbit coldly. It broke the bat's heart to see the little rabbit's eyes well up slightly as she looked down at her feet but she knew she needed to stand firm and tough after the way Cream went around treating her and Wave.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry… I promised I'd help Tails out with something," she began, trailing off.

"So off you go then," Rouge replied bitterly.

"O-okay… I just wanted to come say that… Rouge, I'm really sorry." Rouge looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry?" She asked.

"Yeah… for how I treated you after Elias' party. I know I was really shitty but I just… well my whole world was kind of crashing down on me. I walked in on my boyfriend cheating on me and I walked into my ex and crush having sex with another girl too… it was just too much for me and I took my anger out on you," Cream paused, glancing up to look Rouge in the eyes. "I was a jerk and I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you were," Rouge replied, extinguishing all the hope that filled Cream, draining out of her after Rouge's distant response. "But I can't stay mad at you Creamy."

"Really?" Cream beamed, a hopeful smile crossing her face as she stared up at the black and white bat again. Rouge nodded.

"We both got the short end of the stick, but I know you didn't mean it that way," she smiled. "Now go help Tails, we can talk more tonight." Cream thanked Rouge, giving the taller girl a quick hug before rushing off. Rouge waited until the rabbit was out of sight before letting a small smirk cross her face. She was relieved that the rabbit finally wanted to be friends again. Although she would never admit it, she did miss her quite a bit.

…

Shadow stealthily followed the dark hedgehog up the staircase, making sure to stay quiet as he remained a few paces behind, observing him. Eventually, he ducked behind a corner as Mephiles stopped to pull out his key and slowly unlock the door, pushing it open with his free hand before he suddenly turned down the hall.

"You coming in?" he asked casually to the space.

"How'd you know I was here?" Shadow asked, unable to stop the small smirk that crossed his face as he stepped out of the shadows and into the hallway, his hands stashed into his black jean pockets.

"You might be all secret spy, but I can recognize when somebody is following," Mephiles retorted playfully before wrapping his arms around Shadow's neck and bringing his lips against the ebony hedgehog's. Shadow froze, not knowing whether to kiss back or not as the image that the commander had sent him flashed through his mind.

"Is something wrong?" Mephiles asked as he pulled back, raising an eyebrow as he stared deep into Shadow's crimson eyes.

"Me? No, why would something be wrong?" he asked casually as he brushed passed Mephiles and walked into the room and ran head first into the smaller squirrel who was rushing to exit.

"S-sorry," he mumbled as he walked passed, his head concentrated on the floorboards as he disappeared down the staircase.

"Weird," Mephiles shrugged as he closed the door behind him and went to sit on the bed next to Shadow. Mephiles smiled as he placed his hand on Shadow's chest and slowly pushed him down to the bed. Shadow obligingly swung his legs up onto the mattress as Mephiles began to straddle the hedgehog.

"Looks like we get the room to ourselves while everybody is out with their parents," he chuckled darkly as he leant down and gripped Shadow's shirt, slowly raising it up the hedgehog's body and up over his head. Mephiles then placed his lips on Shadow's kissing gently as he moved onto his chin, neck, chest and abs as he slowly worked his way down, unbuckling the hedgehog's belt in the process.

Shadow bit his lip, trying to focus on his mission. He tried to be strong, but how could he. The guy he loved was right there on top of him, pleasing him in all the right ways. Shadow thought he had finally found something in his life that made him happy and now he was ordered to give him away to G.U.N who would do Chaos knows what to him.

Shadow shook his head, trying to keep his hormones under control, taking deep, slow breathes as the mental image of his commander appeared in his head, holding that picture of a younger Mephiles.

"Do it," the figure barked as he tore the picture down in to, casting away the fragments.

"But I can't!" Shadow screamed back, rushing over to the commander. He got down onto his knees, pressing his hands together as he looked up at the domineering figure in front of him. "Please don't make me."

"You need to do this. Save lives, Shadow." Shadow gulped, nodding his head as he knew what he was supposed to do as he opened his eyes to be greeted with the sight of Mephiles that Shadow never wanted to get out of his head.

"Hey, Mephiles?" Shadow asked, sighing as he interrupted the hedgehog who looked up.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"How come your parents aren't here? You know why mine aren't, but what about yours?"

"Really… you're asking this right now?" Mephiles asked, baffled by Shadow's actions.

"Mephiles… I…" Shadow took a breath, unable to believe that he was actually about to do this. "I… I know who Solaris is." Mephiles froze before quickly shaking his head, thinking quickly.

"Yeah, so do we all. Just like we all know who Chaos is. I did religious studies in my youth too. Chaos, the water god and Solaris, the sun devil. You know I don't believe any of that shit right?"

"Mephiles…" Shadow said sternly, pushing Mephiles back as he quickly pulled up his pants and stared into him. "I mean Solaris your father."

"Y-yeah, so what? My grandparents were sick freaks who decided to name their son after the devil, get over it Shadow. I don't see you going around and making fun of that Chaos kid who was also named after a deity," he folded his arms over his chest defensively.

"I think he gets enough shit, but that's not the point. I'm sorry… I need you to come with me."

"Are you fucking serious, what for?" Mephiles growled, standing up off the bed. "I haven't done anything."

"I know who your father is and what he's done… I've been tasked to apprehend you," Shadow sighed, his voice distant and full of doubt and lacking emotion.

"Seriously Shads…"

"Don't call me Shads!" Shadow interrupted forcefully. "… please," he looked up at the hedgehog, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"So what… just because of some shit my father has done I'm not allowed to have a proper life?" Mephiles practically screamed, unable to take the fact that Shadow was doing this to him.

"Don't talk like all he was, was a petty criminal! He killed thousands, Mephiles! He's a menace to this country!"

"That doesn't make me one too!" Mephiles snapped back. "You wanna know why dad isn't here today? Not because of who he is, but because we aren't in touch anymore. I'm like you, Shadow. I'm a stray, living on my own. At least you have some people who love you… I'm all alone and constantly chased because of my dad. I thought changing my last name would be enough…"

"Mephiles… you do have people who love you… I do. I-"

"Do you?!" Mephiles erupted. "If you did, then why the fuck are you trying to take me to some dumb militaristic prison."

"Mephiles, it's not like that."

"Don't give me shit," Mephiles bawled up his fists, gritting his teeth. "You know what… fine. You really care more about your stupid job than me, then be it. Fucking take me in, see if I care!"

"Mephiles…"

"Come find me tomorrow, after all the parents leave," Mephiles said as he walked to the door, wrenching it open. "Oh… and Shadow… we're through!" Mephiles slammed the door shut behind him.

Shadow stood motionless in the middle of the room, trying to process everything that had just happened. He turned around, let out a frustrated scream as he reeled back and punched his hand as hard as he could at the wall. The plaster cracked and splintered off, a cloud of dust billowing around the angry, hurt hedgehog as his bruised, bloodied knuckles slammed into the wall again and again and again as Shadow let out all his frustrations despite the pain.

…

Mina and Espio strolled down the path, continuing their talk that started back after the purple haired mongoose had approached him after the song.

"I still can't believe I haven't seen you around before," Mina commented as they continued to walk.

"I have kind of been keeping to myself recently…" Espio trailed off, trying to hide his saddened exterior.

"Really? How come? Don't your friends like miss you or something?" She asked, combing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.

"I don't know, everybody kind of hates me right now…" he admitted, shoving his hands into his pockets as he kicked up some dirt.

"How come?"

"Nah, you don't really want to hear my life story," Espio brushed her off.

"Try me," she smiled, grabbing his hand as she rushed over to the grassy patch adjacent to the dormitory and sat down, patting the ground next to her as she laughed. Espio sighed, a small smirk on his face as he sat down beside her, arms resting on his knees.

"Well, I had this girlfriend earlier this year and I sent her this picture right-"

"Oh, were you the guy whose-"

"Yeah… yep, that was me," Espio let out a groan. "I accidently sent it to somebody else who spread it around and I still have no idea who it is."

"Well… if it makes you feel any better I never took a look at it."

"Really?" Espio raised a curious eyebrow as she shot her a look.

"I respect privacy. I know what people think of me but… well if somebody does something that is supposed to be for one person and one person only, then it's not cool to go and show everybody," she finished.

"Wow… thanks, that… actually means a lot," Espio smiled at her, genuinely thankful.

"So who's the chick so I know who to not like?"

"C'mon, you don't have to not like her just because she is my ex," Espio chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why would I want to be friends with her. She sounds like an idiot." Espio tilted his head in confusion.

"Why?"

"Well anybody who dumps you must be stupid," she giggled.

"Thanks… but I did kinda do some horrible things," Espio lamented.

"Was this girl the one who that song you sung today way about?" Mina inquired.

"What… oh, no, not at all," Espio laughed. "That song was actually about somebody from long ago…" he trailed off.

"What happened to her?"

"Well… can you keep a secret?"

"My lips are sealed," Mina nodded, tracing her hand across her lips before tossing away an invisible key.

"Well, normally I don't tell people this but… there is something different about you," Espio admitted.

"Was it because I ditched my rents to come hang out with you," she said facetiously.

"Yeah, something like that," he smiled.

"So go, who's the song about?" Mina persisted.

"Well… back when I was first starting high school at Mobius High, I was kinda confused. Like, I had a girlfriend all through year eight and a bit of nine but it didn't turn out so good."

"And the song was about her?"

"Well… not exactly. You see, before I met my best friends Charmy and Vector, who both couldn't come board unfortunately…"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mina placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks… but before I met them I had this best friend. We were inseparable. His name is Bean."

"Oh, the green guy who worked at the café?"

"Yeah… him… anyway we were best friends for ages and it was around year nine that I started to develop… certain other feelings for him."

"Wait," Mina paused. "You're gay? Because from the things I've been told you were a massive dick and womanizer… no offence."

"What? No… I'm not gay… and yeah, that was the old me, none taken."

"If it helps I don't think you're one."

"Well that helps I guess… anyway, I do like girls but it was just him… the one and only guy I ever loved. I knew he had feelings for me too but I was always too scared to act on them… always scared about what others would think…"

"What happened?" Mina asked, captivated by the story.

"Well like in the song, I took too long, blew my chance and he found another chick to be with and they are still going out now. Her name's like Tekno or something… I don't know but after that awkward year between us we haven't really talked since…" he trailed off, lost in memories.

"How come it was a girl in the song?" Mina asked.

"Well… people don't exactly like guys singing about guys, do they?"

"Fair enough… but what happened after that?"

"You've met Fiona Fox right?"

"Yeah I've had the displeasure of running into her a couple times," Mina nodded.

"Well she found out about me and Bean and used that to get under my skin. She taught me some things about using people and, to be honest… for a while I kind of looked up to her. I had a string of lovers, got with almost every girl at school and would help Fiona do her dirty work so we could laugh at others misfortunes."

"That's horrible," Mina gasped.

"I know… I was a little shit," Espio admitted. "Eventually, earlier this year I had enough. Thanks to some friends I started to change my ways and fight back against Fiona so she told everybody I was gay, even though that's a fucking lie, and turned the whole school against me. It was only thanks to meeting the girl of my dreams… Tikal… that I was able to pick myself up. Until things broke down at the end of last semester…"

"And she dumped you," Mina finished his sentence. "Wait… Tikal? Red echidna?"

"Yeah…"

"She's my roommate. She was the chic you were talking about before? What a bitch!"

"Come on she isn't that bad. I fucked up, don't take it out on her."

"You're a good guy Espio… I'd definitely hold a grudge. Can I hate Fiona for you then?"

"By all mean go ahead," Espio chuckled, holding out his hand forward, gesturing to the crowd of people still hanging out by the stage. "You can join in with the rest of the school."

"I bet she was the one who spread around that picture! You said you and her used to be tight so maybe you sent it to her by mistake!" Mina remarked hopefully.

"I thought that too and confronted her but she made a good point in her defense. If it really was her, she would have held it over my head to get me to do her dirty work for her again instead of spreading it anonymously."

"Good point," Mina pouted. "I thought I solved it."

"Well thanks for trying to help… Sorry… I didn't mean to dump all my shit on you like that. Normally I'm pretty guarded and don't normally talk about this shit with my close friends, let alone a stranger."

"It's okay, I'm glad you talked to me. Sometimes it's just good to talk to somebody. And besides, we aren't strangers anymore," she laughed. "We're friends now, whether you like it or not."

"I'm so glad I ran into you today," he chuckled.

"Well technically I came up to you as you got off stage after that amazing performance, but yeah, I agree. Here," she took his hand and pulled out a pen from her purse. She quickly scrawled ten digits onto the palm of his hand before replacing it back into her purse.

"What's this?" He asked, inspecting his hand.

"It's my number, give me a call sometime and we can hang out some more," Mina winked. "This was… nice… but I've gotta get back to the rents since I promised them I'd spend the day with them. Don't be a stranger," she laughed as she stood up and began to run off, waving behind her.

"Mina…" Espio sighed as he looked down at his hand, examining the digits as his heart fluttered in his chest until suddenly he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He watched on, a smile instantly crossing his face as he watched the golden tenrec, and school secretary, Gold, walk across the lawn and into the dormitory with clipboard in hand.

"Gold…"

…

Emerald Café was buzzing with excitement as many families sat to enjoy some of the now infamous minty coffee after some students continued to rave about it to their parents. Bean and Breezie, neither of whose parents were at the parent's day, were being run rampant and pushed to near exhaustion to accommodate all of the orders that continued to pile up.

Along with the crowd, on a small table situated in the corner that lay adjacent next to one of the large, glass window's that looked out across one of the sporting ovals sat Mighty and Tikal.

"Thanks for hanging with me. Things have just been getting super complicated with everything at the moment," he sighed, taking a sip from the cup of coffee in front of him.

"Trouble with Clove?" Tikal asked. "I promise I won't tell, cross my heart," she smiled helpfully, tracing her fingers in an ex over her shirt.

"No, it's not her at all. Things are going fine with her…"

"Are you sure? Because she has been complaining to me a bit recently about how you seem to be avoiding her more and more recently and are not spending enough time," Tikal whispered.

"Wait, really? She hasn't said anything to me… I thought we were fine," Mighty replied, oblivious to the pronghorn's conflicting and unappreciated feelings.

"Yeah, just a heads up."

"Well thanks I guess… but it's just… things have just been really stressful with Ray recently and I just… am struggling is all," Mighty admitted.

"Hey, can I ask you a question and you have to promise me that you'll answer truthfully," Tikal suddenly said out of the blue.

"C'mon Tiks, you know me. I never break a promise," Mighty put on that smirk that he had become known for.

"So say it…"

"You know me too well," he chuckled. "I promise I'll answer truthfully."

"Well the school has been talking… actually to be honest this isn't really a new rumour but I just want to know if it's true or not and I won't judge you if it is…" she began cryptically. "But… do you… y'know… love Ray?"

"Are you asking if I'm gay with him?"

"Well, when you put it that way… yes," she leant in.

"No. No I'm not," Mighty stated plainly. "But I do love Ray. He is my best friend. I love him in all ways except sexually I guess is my answer."

"Okay, I thought they were just rumours but I just wanted to know. But… do you think Ray is in love with you?"

"I… I wouldn't know for sure so you'd have to ask him," Mighty replied.

"You dodged the question. Yes, or no?" Tikal persisted intently.

"Tiks, c'mon, I don't know. He hasn't told me he is into me so why don't you ask him?"

"I guess that's fair," Tikal pouted as she sat back down in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. "So you guys have never, y'know, done anything together like made out or whatever."

"Tikal, come on that's gross," Mighty replied a little too quickly, neither confirming or denying her question.

"Okay, okay, sorry. So why are things super stressful right now?" She asked the question that Mighty had been dreading.

"It… I… I can't say. I made a promise," Mighty sighed. "But all this is just eating me up inside, and now with Clove starting to feel like I don't appreciate her…" Mighty trailed off.

"Is this all because of Ray and… well how do I put this? His… thoughts?"

"Wait…" Mighty froze, looking at Tikal. "What do you mean his thoughts?"

"Mighty… I know he is suicidal," Tikal confirmed.

"How? How do you know?"

"I saw the signs." Suddenly, without warning, Mighty leant over the table and wrapped his hands around Tikal, bringing her in for an awkward hug.

"Sorry…" he apologized as he sat back down. "I just… it's nice to finally be able to talk to somebody about all this. It was just kinda eating me up inside," the armadillo admitted, a sheepish, embarrassed smile slowly crossing his face.

"Don't worry Mighty, I'm always here for you if you need. I'm not going anywhere," she assured him. "And… well since you have opened up to me and I know how trustworthy you are…"

"Yeah?"

"Well, the reason that I knew Ray was… having some trouble recently… was because… I know the signs very well," she breathed, clearly struggling to produce the words as they brought up some serious pain for her. "Have you ever wondered why I don't live with my real mother anymore?"

"I've thought about it before but never wanted to seem nosey," Mighty replied, urging her to continue.

"The truth is… back when I was younger… my brother was suicidal. I started to realize recently that Ray was showing some of the same signs, but he seemed different… happier when he was around you so I didn't say anything…"

"I…I'm so sorry to hear that," Mighty put a comforting hand on Tikal's shoulder as she wiped a stray tear that began rolling down her cheek.

"It's okay… I should have done more to help him. He trusted me and I couldn't save him," she sniffed.

"Hey, hey now. It wasn't your fault."

"Mum sure thought it was," Tikal replied bitterly through tears that stained her eyes. "She blamed me for how he killed himself because she found out that I knew about what he was doing and never told her. He didn't want her to know, and I tried so hard to be the best sister I could and make him as happy as I could but in the end…" she trailed off, unable to finish. "Mum kicked me out shortly after since we got into a massive fight and just couldn't ever get along. I went to a foster home and got adopted by the people I'm currently living in are dick heads and are just being frustrating at the moment now too."

"If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know," Mighty shot her a comforting smile.

"Just don't let Ray follow the same fate my brother did. Go hang out with him now, since nobody should be alone today," Tikal decided.

"Okay, I will. But Tikal, you're adopted parents are here… you should go at least try to talk to them too," Mighty replied.

"That's just what Eclipse said…"

"He's a smart guy, I would know. I've known him for almost five years now," Mighty chuckled as he quickly downed the rest of the now lukewarm liquid before standing up, taking his black and grey hoodie off of the chair behind him and quickly throwing it on.

"Thanks Mighty, this was nice," Tikal smiled.

"Yeah… it was," he returned the gesture before he turned to walk out of the busy café when suddenly he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He fished it out and read the message.

Clove: _Hey, my little sister's here and I don't know how much more of her I can take. Can you please come hang out with us?_

Mighty hesitated, his fingers hovering just above the screen as he tried to think about what to say in response.

Mighty: _Sorry I can't, I have to go hang out with my parents_

Clove: _I thought you said they weren't coming today?_

Mighty: _Yeah, they managed to make it. Tell Cassia I said hi!_

Clove: _Okay, have fun I guess_

Mighty sighed as he put his phone back in his pocket, guilt washing over him as he tried to shake the feeling away and began to walk back over to the dorm room, sending the flying squirrel a quick message.

…

Knuckles and Julie waited by the car park, lounging on the side of the road, chatting about nothing in particular whilst they waited for Knuckles' father, Locke, who was renowned for always being super late to most things in his son's life. Eventually, as the sun grew higher and higher into the sky, the familiar sounds of a struggling car engine sputtering pierced through the atmosphere. Knuckles turned, a big smile on his face as his dad's car came into view, turning off of the dirt road into the paved car park of the school campus.

Locke parked the car and stepped out, stretching his arms skywards as he shook out his aching muscles from the long drive.

"Hey dad," Knuckles greeted him with an outstretched hand that Locke shook.

"Hello Knuckles…" he replied, seemingly different. Knuckles noted his father's strange demeanor but decided to shake the thought out of his head for the moment, focusing more on the pink haired echidna behind him.

"Hey dad, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Julie-Su," he announced, gesturing towards Julie.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a smile.

"Likewise," he noted, surprised that his son wasn't still going out with the black and white bat that had spent many nights over at their place throughout the holidays. Locke turned his head towards his son, his voice lowering as he spoke.

"Could I please talk to you for a second," his eyes darted towards Julie who stood next to the two. "Alone." Knuckles paused, not knowing how to respond as he wondered why his dad needed to talk to him without Julie.

"It's okay Knuckles, I'll just wait over there," she pointed to a bench situated underneath the foliage of one of the trees nearby.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Knuckles asked obliviously.

"I…" Locke paused, the words struggling to come out as a look of pain and anguish crossed his face.

"Whoa, dad, are you okay?" Knuckles asked, noticing the sudden tonal shift of his father.

"Yes, I'm fine… but there is something very important that I need to tell you. I should have told you straight after I found out but I thought telling you face to face would have been better… for the both of us," Locke began in a solemn tone.

"Okay, now you're starting to scare me. It's not like somebody died or anything," Knuckles commented facetiously.

"Quite the opposite," Locke replied cryptically, to which Knuckles raised a confused, skeptical eyebrow. Locke took a deep breath before continuing. "You see, son… well, I was young and stupid once."

"Yeah, I know dad, I don't need the responsibility talk again, I'm nineteen," Knuckles waved him off but Locke cut his son off.

"No, it's not that again," Locke reassured his son. "But… I wish somebody had told me that when I was your age."

"Can you get on with it already pops? Julie and I want to show you around campus."

"Okay… well, you know I loved your mother very, very much."

"I know, dad."

"And you know I would never have done anything to hurt your mother, Chaos rest her soul," he continued.

"You were a great husband," Knuckles assured him.

"You might not think so anymore…" he sighed, to which Knuckles tilted his head in confusion. "You see… I got a call from a nightmare the other day who gave me some great, and also horrible news."

"What did it say?"

"Well… when I was younger, I used to go out partying and drinking a lot. In fact, I met your mother at a party."

"You've told me this story before," Knuckles rolled his eyes. "But what was the call about?"

"Well after your mother was pregnant, she got… moody. I did my best to always comfort her and be there for her in her time of need, but occasionally it got a bit much and I went out with some mates drinking. I wasn't proud of it, but I just needed a break. But one night… I had a little too much to drink and made a big, big mistake that still haunts me to this day. There was this very attractive woman in the bar and I began to chat to her. It was nothing but friendly talking at first but then one thing lead to another and-"

"You cheated on mum while she was pregnant with me?" Knuckles gasped, mortified as he interrupted his father. Lockes features hardened as he looked down to the ground with sorrow, nodding.

"I didn't mean to… it was a momentary lapse in judgement and I have never forgiven myself. I made sure to never falter again and was only ever good to you and your mother until she was taken from us," he lamented.

"It… it's okay dad… you were good to mum and she loved you… I won't say I'm not pissed off but you were there when she needed her," Knuckles said.

"That's very mature of you son," Locke mentioned before he continued. "But… I wish that was all there was to the tale. It was… until I got a call the other day from the same woman…"

"What did she say?"

"It turns out that in my drunken state I may have forgotten a very important step before I slept with her and she had tried to find me to tell me ever since and had only just recently discovered a way to come in contact with me because she noticed that I also had a kid who goes to Mobius High's Emerald Lake campus just like she did…"

"Wait…" Knuckles froze, his heart skipping a beat as his breath was caught in his throat. "What… what are you trying to say…"

"Knuckles… you aren't an only child…" Knuckles stood still, his world spinning around his as everything seemed to go a bit fuzzy. He saw his father's mouth open and close, but couldn't hear any of the words that he was saying, still in a state of shock.

"Go…" he managed to say after regaining some of his senses.

"Knuckles… please, I-"

"Just go. Please," Knuckles looked dead into his father's eyes, his own black and emotionless. Locke turned away, unable to face his son as he nodded.

"Okay son… call me if you want to talk… I'll see you at home for the break," Locke finished before he hopped back in his car and drove off. Julie, noticing the serious tension between the two, got up and made her way over to where Knuckles still stood, still as a statue.

"Knuckles?" She asked tentatively, tapping him on the shoulder. Suddenly, without warning, Knuckles span around, wrapped his arms around Julie and buried his face into his shoulder, convulsing infrequently as sobs rang out from his mouth.

"Knuckles?! What happened?" She enquired, not used to seeing the echidna in such a vulnerable, saddened state.

"I…I…" he cried, trying to hold back the tears that streamed down his face from the sudden realization that, not only did he have a sibling, but was robbed of knowing them because of his father's selfish desire to keep the woman he cheated on his mother with a secret from him. A strange mix of happiness, sadness and anger welled around inside him.

"Knuckles…" Julie soothed, rubbing the red echidna's back. "It's okay, I'm here for you."

"Julie… I… I have a little brother… somewhere in this school!"

* * *

 _A/N: Well there you have it. We are only a third of the way through the day and already everybody has their own problems they have to deal with. It seems that having everybody's parents at the school would only cause more stress amoungst the students, not less!_

 _Espio's career has been going strong, accumulating some recognition with his new album and thanks to Gold constantly supporting him and helping him, his confidenc ehas improved and can continue to play in front of crowds. However it seems that he found some unlikely friendship in renown slut, Mina Mongoose. Where is this going to lead them? Is he making a big mistake?_

 _Poor Mighty, can't seem to catch a break. Neither can Ray, the squirrel in a currently dangerous mindset. Mighty found the unlikely help that he didn't realize he desperately needed in Tikal, who revealed one of her biggest secrets. It seems that she already had to face the suicide of a loved one and it tore her family apart and she doesn't want to see it tear Mighty apart either._

 _Locke's secret is finally out, and it seems that Knuckles isn't alone in the world. With a brother somewhere in the school, who could it possibly be and how can Knuckles possibly discover who it is? Shadow? Spike? Espio? He'll find out eventually... hopefully..._

 _Looks like Shadow made his choice, and it wasn't one that Mephiles was too fond of. The dark duo, after only 8 chapters seem to have called it quites thanks to Mephiles' troubled past. But the real question is will Shadow follow through with his instructions? Is this really the last we will see of the hedgehog?_

 _Thanks so much for reading and sticking with this story through 40 chapters (I'm including the 18 of last story) it means a lot to me that you all are enjoying it so much. Please don't forget to share your thoughts and theories with me in a review, it means a lot. So the PSA that I was talking about is the fact that there is a high likelyhood that I'm not going to be able to make any deadlines for a while because I'm entering the final couple of weeks of uni and then exams. Just to let you know how busy I am right now, I have 6 projects all currently due in at different points before the 20th of October (and a 7th one that I handed in today) and then my exam period starts in November where I have all four of my big end of year exams so I'll be pretty busy. Also add work and life on top of that. Sorry, but money and a social life comes before writing, don't hate me :P So what I'll do is just post chapters when I'm done writing them and get rid of the schedule, at least for now. This could mean 2 weeks without an update, but it also could mean I find a free day where I dedicate a bunch of time to writing and get a chapter out only a couple of days after the previous one. I'll try to at least finish the big Parent's day Trilogy as quick as possible just so we can get it all wrapped up, but these chapters seem to all be longer than normal so we will see. Thanks for being so understanding and, until next time, thanks for reading._

 _QotD: Did Shadow make the right choice? And bonus question, who do you think Knuckles' half sibling is?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Parent's day continues!_

 _Cream and Tails try to fool Amadeus about their relationship_

 _Manic, Sonic and Sonia have lunch with Bernadette, but things don't go according to plan_

 _Breezie get's the wake up call that she desperately needed_

 _...and Silver finally gets fed up with Scourge and reveals some of their shared past_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 23: Parent's Day (II)_


	23. Chapter 23: Parent's Day (II)

_A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's been so long but I have been so busy with life and stuff like that. But don't worry, I'm not dead and I'm not giving up on this story, it's just going to be a little while between chapters until I finish with all this life stuff. Althoguh I guess I can't complain about my life stuff when these characters have it far worse than me at the moment. Anyway, sorry for the delay, and for the short chapter since this is one of, if not THE, shortest chapter in this story so far. So... sorry, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Some big events occur, and also some sublte hints and setups for future plots are set up so please enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 23

Parent's Day (II)

"Ah, there you are son. I've been looking all over for you," the tall fox donning a business suit announced promptly. He towered over Tails, quite tall compared to the smaller fox and rabbit beside him. Amadeus stuck out his outstretched hand, waiting for his son to shake it. Tails obliged almost immediately, gripping his father's hand.

"Hey dad," he muttered.

"You still need to work on that handshake," Amadeus replied sternly.

"It's nice to see you too dad," he sighed. "How's the academy going?"

"You would know if you had accepted my generosity," Amadeus responded in a passive aggressive manor, straightening his neck tie. "Speaking of you rejecting my kindness, where is the girl that you gave it all up for?"

"R-right here…" Tails gulped, swallowing down his fear as he gestured for Cream to come over beside him. Tails draped his arm around her waist, bringing her in slightly closer as she addressed Amadeus.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Prower," she smiled confidently despite her nerves, extending out her own hand. "My name is Cream."

"Likewise," he replied. "Wow, that's quite the handshake you've got there. Maybe you could teach a thing or two to Miles." Cream smirked, trying to stifle her laugher.

"Your real name is Miles?!" she giggled, unable to believe her ears.

"How does your own girlfriend not know your own name?" Amadeus asked.

"My friends know me as Tails, dad. Just like I've asked you to call me countless times," he groaned, his face turning slightly red as Cream continued to laugh.

"Miles, don't be ashamed of who you are," Amadeus lectured him in a didactic tone.

"It's quite okay Mr. Prower. No matter if his name is Miles or Tails, I'll still love him all the same," she chimed happily before leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Please, call me Amadeus," he said as his lips curved upwards slightly. Tails opened his mouth slightly in shock, not used to his father smiling, let alone to a stranger. He couldn't help but smile himself, realizing just how much a shine his father had taken to Cream in such a short time.

"Would you like us to give you a tour Amadeus?" Cream offered.

"Why that would be lovely Cream," he nodded as the two of them began to lead him around the campus, showing him all of the buildings, café's, sporting fields and everything in-between. A few hours passed as they continued to show him around when Amadeus decided to change the topic of conversation.

"So Cream, where are your parents today? I would love to meet the parents of the wonderful girl that my lucky son managed to get," he chuckled.

"Daaaaaaad," Tails whined.

"Vanilla couldn't make it today unfortunately. She is very busy," Cream admitted.

"Vanilla…" Amadeus pondered. "Vanilla Rabbit… I know that name from somewhere."

"You probably do. She is a doctor in the Royal Mobius Hospital," Cream began to explain.

"Ah yes, I remember getting an operation on my leg from her," Amadeus snapped his fingers as his brain made the necessary connections. "She worked wonders. You must be very proud of your mother, just like I'm sure she is proud of you."

"Thank you very much," Cream bowed her head. "I think what she is doing is wonderful. I hope to one day go into the same field as her and become a-" Cream continued when suddenly a wicked voice cut her off.

"Yo small fry!" The three of them turned their heads to see a smiling, rust furred vixen dressed in her revealing black leather attire waltz up the them, her hips swaying with the breeze.

"Oh no," Tails and Cream said in unison as they looked at each other worryingly.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to the rent that you've told me so much about," she smirked wickedly.

"Miles, who is this girl?" His words had a hint of distaste wafting along with them as he stared unapprovingly at the vixen.

"I'm the girl who your son often gets drunk with," she grinned. "And the girl who has to deal with him constantly complain about how much he hates you."

"My son would never," Amadeus gasped, mortified by the accusations Fiona was making.

"Come on honey, let's get out of here," Cream took Tails hand, trying to take control of the situation. "Sorry, just an angry ex-girlfriend of Tails' who just couldn't take being dumped," Cream assured the older fox.

"Oh, are we playing pretend house today?" Fiona mocked. "Please, you're probably loving this aren't you little miss innocent. Still upset that preppy boy dumped you at the start of the year? Hoping that if you do this for him he might love you again," she laughed.

"What? Explain yourself Miles," Amadeus cut in sternly.

"Dad, it's not what you thi-"

"Mr. Prower, it's so nice to meet you," Fiona grinned as she pushed passed the fox and rabbit to grab Amadeus' hand in hers. "I've heard a lot about you. How's the job at the academy going? Keeping you busy I hope."

"Naturally. Now please, tell me what's going on," he commanded her.

"Well you see sir, you're a respectable business man and I know that you are an honest fox who would never lie," she paused, turning to wink at Tails, licking her lips as she lapped up every second of sweet satisfaction. Vengeance on her mind after Tails completely abandoned her.

"Unlike your son, who has been lying to your face this whole time!"

"What is she referring to son?" Amadeus shot Tails a glance, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing dad, honest," he replied defensively. "You'd really believe her than us?"

"Okay, well if you won't tell him then I will," she smiled, ignoring Tails' pleading eyes. "Tails refused to go to the academy, not because he was going out with Cream, but because he was in a serious, sexual relationship with his best friend, Sonic the Hedgehog and only asked Cream to pretend to be his girlfriend to trick you."

"Fiona, how could you!" Cream screamed.

"Tails!" Amadeus growled, piercing loudly through the air. All the families, parents and students who were nearby all suddenly stopped, startled as they turned to see what the commotion was about. "Is this true?! With that Sonic boy?"

"Y-Yes… it's the truth," Tails admitted, his head falling as his shoulder felt weighed down. He stared at his feet, unable to face his father. A few moments of gut wrenching silence passed before Amadeus finally spoke.

"After all I did for you… after all the strings I pulled to get you that position… after the countless years I spent raising you, this is how you thank me?"

"I didn't do this to you dad," Tails replied quietly. "It's not my fault I fell in love with him…"

"You're no son of mine. Don't expect an invitation back to the academy after you graduate… in fact, don't expect a home to return to. You disgust me," he finished, spitting on the ground as he turned and stormed off.

"Dad… please…" Tails replied, tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to stop himself from breaking down in front of half the school, who still watched the whole debacle. Cream clenched her fists, passion and fire in her eyes as she took chase, shouting out for Amadeus.

"How could you!" She growled as she grabbed his arm. "He is your son. Who cares who he loves? He isn't any different to the boy you raised… the boy you loved. You think it was easy for me to get dumped for Sonic? No, it wasn't, but I didn't turn on Tails. I still love him, and so should you!" she heaved, her chest rising and falling as she breathed heavily, her anger taking over.

"You're just as bad as him," Amadeus said finally. "I can't believe I ever liked you. You're a disgrace to your mother, just like Tails is a disgrace to me."

"But he is still your son!" She called out as he began to storm off.

"I have no son!" he shouted as he slammed the door to his car shut and sped off out of the gate and down the dirt road, leaving a shocked rabbit, a depressed fox and a happy vixen. Cream watched in sadness as Tails quickly turned and sprinted towards the dormitory, head in his hands.

"I hope your happy with yourself," she hissed angrily at Fiona, who stood with her arms folded.

"Very."

…

Fiona, a smug expression plastered on her face, watched as Tails knelt to the ground, head in hands as the only father he ever knew drove away. The angry rabbit comforting him, trying to cheer him up.

"Hmph, I probably did that little shit a favour," she tried to convince herself as the tiniest shred of guilt began to tear up inside of her. "He might be so depressed that's he'll finally fuck that rabbit like she want's so badly." Fiona shrugged, tearing her eyes away from the sight as she skulked back to her dorm room, deciding that she didn't want to stick around watching all of the people she despise roam around campus happily with their parents while she wasn't even on speaking terms with her own parents. Even though she would never want to be.

She sighed, gripping the skin underneath her black leggings deep with her fingernails, biting the bottom of her lip and clenching her eyes shut tight as the pain washed over her. She growled under her breath, taking in the pain as she made her way down the desolate hallway until she finally made it to her room.

She pulled out the key and scraped it in the lock, twisting slowly until the dull click emanated from the hole and the door slowly creaked open to reveal the darkened, depressing room. Blinds drawn, lights off and not a soul nearby.

Sally, off somewhere doing Chaos knows what. Sonia out with her family and Wave, the annoying swallow that just moved in with the girls after Fiona was sent off to prison whom she never got the chance to protest the swap to. She was alone, like usual.

"I was wondering when you were going to come back here," a voice pierced the darkness. Fiona froze, her hand still on the doorway as her eyes scanned the room. It was too dark, and her eyes hadn't adjusted properly to the new light level but there was somebody else in the room. All she could see was deep, sparkling dark violet eyes stare at her through the darkness.

"V-Void…" she breathed, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you," he smirked.

"It is you!" Fiona cheered as she rushed up to him and draped her arms around her, taking him completely off guard.

"Whoa… what is all this for?" He asked, used to the dark, condescending Fiona. "Didn't think you were one for hugs."

"I'm not," she coughed, breaking apart from him and taking a step back. "I just thought you left forever."

"I broke out to come see you. That place was hell, but you made it bearable," he admitted.

"But you told me about your trial that was coming up soon. Surely they would…" she began but trailed off.

"No, you don't understand. You don't know what I did. I'll get prison time. I made peace with that, but when you left the prison, so did that peace. So I escaped and came to find you," he smirked seductively.

"Wait… how did you find me?"

"I could tell you, but isn't the mysterious bad boy angle sexier?" Void chuckled deeply.

"You're lucky it is," she smiled as she placed her hand on his chest and slowly pushed him backwards. He stumbled back a bit until the back of his knees hit something soft and he fell backwards, landing on one of the beds. Fiona took no time in jumping on top of him, pinning him down by placing her legs on either side of his waist, straddling him.

"What makes you think I want this?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You went to all the trouble to try to find me, so I thought I better reward you," she replied seductively.

"Is that so?"

"It's okay, I'll just go," she threw up her hands and began to get off him when his hand quickly shot out and grabbed her arm, freezing her in place. She looked down at him and laughed. "I knew it," she purred as she let him slowly sit up and remove her top before she did the same to him.

"There are no guards around to tell us what we can and can't do," he whispered into her ear as he fiddled with her bra strap.

"No bloody bars keeping us apart anymore," she replied before crashing her lips against his, aggressively wrestling his tongue with her own while pushing him back down so he was lying flat. The vixen proceeded to jump on him and ride him, moaning as she felt him enter her. Void was ready to give her what she wanted, and she wanted to give him a night… or day… that he wouldn't soon forget.

…

"Do we have to do this?" Sonic pouted as Sonia dragged him along behind her, spotting the blue furred hedgehog standing neatly on one of the grassy fields. Sitting next to her, with his arms folded over in front of him was a green hedgehog with shaggy quills that jutted out all over the place.

"You haven't seen your mum in ages, she'll want to spend time with you," Sonia replied, rolling her eyes.

"But why does he have to be here?" Sonia paused, turning around to look sternly at him.

"Look, I know you two can't get along but this is supposed to be a happy occasion so could you two just put aside your petty differences for one afternoon and just get along, for Bernadette?" Sonic looked at her, his expression slowly softening under her glare.

"Okay mum," he smirked.

"She's over there, actually. I've spoken to Manic too so please, for me?" Sonic nodded before the two met up with the other two hedgehogs.

"Sonic, I've missed you so much my little hero," she smiled, wrapping him up in a big hug.

"Ma, I… can't… breath," Sonic choked, greedily gulping in air as Bernadette released her. Sonia smiled, watching the heartwarming display of Bernadette's affections for her son. She looked down at her stomach, which still showed no signs of increased size yet and sighed.

"Sonia, what's wrong?" Manic asked, noticing her sour expression.

"Oh, just missing mum I guess," Sonia lied, thinking on her feet as to not give away any clues to what she was really sad about.

"Well, honey, I've got a surprise for you," Bernadette smiled.

"What do you…" Sonia began to ask but trailed off when she saw the outline of the taller, sleeker hedgehog walk down the path.

"Mum!" Sonia and Manic both squealed in delight as they rushed up to greet her, jumping into her arms.

"Manic, Sonia… I've missed you both so much. Have you been good for Bernadette?" she laughed, returning the hugs of her children.

"Why are you here?" Manic asked.

"After we got in contact with each other, Bernadette and I have been messaging back and forth. She told me how you were all boarding now and that there was this parents day happening so I booked the first flight from Westopolis and came right here," she beamed with delight as she led the two hedgehog's back over to where Bernadette and Sonic were waiting and sat down.

The five of them all sat around the red and white checkered blanket, eagerly munching down on the snacks that both Bernadette and Aleena had spent hours making the night prior. Everything seemed to be going well, even between Manic and Sonic, until Aleena began to ask questions.

"So, Sonic, do you have a girlfriend? I've heard a lot about Manic's little girlfriend so I was wondering how you were going dear," Aleena began politely.

"Please Ma, don't ask him about girls," Manic interrupted.

"Oh, because you're one to talk," Sonic spat.

"At least I don't need to try to seduce other people's girlfriends," Manic retorted.

"She seduced me!"

"You're just jealous that Mina loves me and that drives you crazy so you have to try to fucking get with her. You know that's fucking sexual harassment right?"

"Oh no," Sonia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "Here we go again."

"Sonic?"  
"Manic?" The two mothers asked in unison. "What are you talking about?"

"Sonic is trying to steal my girlfriend, that's what," Manic pointed an accusing finger.

"She is trying to get me. I don't want her. Besides, she doesn't even want you anyway. I saw her run off with Espio a few moments ago," Sonic snapped back.

"You're just jealous of what we have!"

"Me jealous? Look who's the real stealer here. You're trying to take Knux from me," Sonic stood up, raising his voice.

"Seriously? He likes me way more than he ever did you and you're just annoyed. That's probably why you want to take Mina from me!"

"Oh yeah, let's ask him then," Sonic narrowed his eyes as he noticed the red echidna rush past them, Julie-Su in toe. He had an incredibly distraught look on his face but neither of the hedgehog's cared at that point in time.

"Hey Knux! Who do you like more?" Sonic called out.

"Yeah, Sonic or me, your best friend?" Manic added. Knuckles didn't even bother looking, just continuing along his path. Julie turned, scowling at both of them.

"Can you both not see he's not in the mood. Sort out your own problems for once," she bellowed angrily, completely out of character from the normally calm echidna that they had gotten to know.

"Manic, baby, calm down. There is no need for this," Aleena began.

"Sonic, sweetie, you share the same blood. Can't you work out your differences somehow?" Bernadette added.

"There is no way I share his blood," Sonic scoffed.

"At least we can agree on one thing," Manic growled.

"But I know a way we can settle this."

"I think I've got the same idea," Manic challenged Sonic as they both stared at each other. Suddenly, without warning, both hedgehog's jumped up and lunged at each other. Sonic, being quite faster than his green brother, took the opportunity to jab a quick punch into Manic's gut. The green hedgehog doubled over in pain. Sonic stood over the top of him, gloating and Manic took this opportunity to sweep his legs into the sapphire hedgehog's. As Sonic stumbled, Manic jumped up and punched him across the jaw.

"Manic, Sonic, stop this right now," Bernadette and Aleena commanded, but their words didn't seem to get through to the angry, rage fueled teens. The anger and resentment that had developed between the two continued to grow. The incidents with Mina only widened the gap between the two and finally things had gone too far.

"ENOUGH!" Sonia bellowed as loud as she could. Her piercing, worried words managed to break through to the two boys and they immediately stopped and both turned to Sonia. They noticed her face, makeup running from the tears that streamed down her face.

"Sonia…" Sonic breathed.

"Sis, what's wrong?" Manic asked, kneeling down beside her.

"I… I… I can't deal with this anymore. This is all too much," She sobbed, burying her face into her hands. Aleena quickly draped a hand around her daughter, bringing her in for a hug. She looked up, scowling at the two boys.

"Look what you are doing to your sister!"

"I-it's not that…" she sniffed. "I just… seeing this family falling apart I…" she cried again, unable to gather any composure.

"Sis…" Manic breathed, his heart breaking from the display.

"Sonia, c'mon, what's really bothering you? Despite how Manic and I feel, we are still family and you can tell us anything," he smiled, placing his hand on her shoulder. Sonia took a deep breath, closed her eyes and just blurted out the bombshell that she couldn't keep locked in anymore.

"I… I'm pregnant!"

…

Shadow groaned, his hand still bruised and bloody from repeatedly punching the wall as he lay in his bed, his thoughts running wild. He felt horrible, but he knew he had done the right thing.

'I definitely did the right thing… right? Why does it feel so wrong?' his thoughts plagued him. He felt like he was a ship in the night that had just crashed into an iceberg. Mephiles had been the passing boat that saved him from drowning, only to then throw him overboard later. Only, it seemed that it was Shadow that had thrown Mephiles over.

"I need to figure this out…" he whispered, running his hands through his quills, stress eating away at him. He pulled at his hair, his eyes bulging as he continually kicked himself.

"Mephiles… I'm sorry but this was something I needed to do," Shadow said, staring up at the ceiling as his mind began to be made up. Shadow quickly grabbed his phone and began furiously typing away a text.

Shadow: _I found the target and will deal with him but I need you to meet me at the school, now!_

Commander: _Know your place, Shadow. You can't command me._

Shadow: _I need answers. I'll deal with Solaris' kid if you just come meet me_

Commander: _Ten minutes. This is the last time you can call me for help. After this, the next time we speak the target better be neutralized._

Shadow stuffed his phone back in his pocket and raced out the door, determined to get to the bottom of all of this before it's too late.

…

Zonic pushed open the door to the janitor's closet, his head on a constant swivel to make sure the coast was clear. After double checking, he quickly stepped out and hurried down the hall, still fumbling to put his belt back on.

"See you 'round," Zouge winked, leaning on the wall adjacent to the closet, watching the teacher stumble away and she reached into her pocket and fished out a pack of cigarettes, expertly lighting one with little effort.

Zonic tightened his tie around his neck as he emerged from the building, walking down the steps. However, he had forgotten to tie his shoelaces after his little incursion with Zouge and tripped on the material, falling forwards. He braced himself, shielding his face with his arms as the ground rushed up to meet him. He clenched his eyes tightly, awaiting the sheer force of the concrete pavement but it never came. He quickly opened his eyes and noticed that somebody had caught him just in time.

"Are you alright Mr. Zonic?" the teal hedgehog asked, helping him stand back up.

"Ahem, yes, quite right. Thank you for the help Breezie…" he replied before trailing off, staring into space like a zombie.

"Hello? Mr. Zonic… are you okay?" She waved her hand in front of his face, snapping his attention back to reality.

"Oh, yeah, sorry just zoned out for a second," he coughed, straightening his tie as he began to walk off. "Oh, by the way," he paused turning around to face Breezie. "Ash wanted to see you."

"Mr. Ash? Why?"

"I don't know but it was super important. I think he's in his office now so you better go see him," and with that, Zonic walked off, back to his post near the stage to observe the students and make sure no harm came to them. Breezie shrugged, thinking it was nothing and made her way across the field to the tall building. She decided against the elevator, wanting a little bit of exercise, and so she climbed the seven flights of stairs until she arrived at his office.

"Hello, Mr. Ash, you wanted to see me?" Breezie knocked.

"Ah yes, come in Miss Hedgehog," he instructed, gesturing to a seat in front of his desk. Breezie obliged and waited. Ash fumbled through his drawers, sorting through some files before she pulled out one with Breezie's name on it and placed it on the desk.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked. Breezie shook her head. "This is your record for my History Class. Do you even still know what that is? I hardly ever see you anymore," he shot her a disapproving glance.

"Sorry, but I've just been working at the new café recently. I need the money really badly," she tried to make excuses but Ash just shook his head, having none of it.

"I don't really care what your excuse is, you shouldn't ditch class. I'm going to have to fail you, meaning you will get a zero for my class."

"What?!" Breezie screeched. "You can't do that sir. If I get a zero, then my end of year mark will be horrible and no university will accept me."

"You should have thought of that before ditching most of my classes," he replied passionlessly.

"But… but…" Breezie began to panic, fear rising in her chest, constricting her air pipe and making it difficult for oxygen to reach her lungs. "Please, please you have to give me another chance. I can't fail, I just can't. I'll do anything, anything for extra credit," she pleaded, groveling at his desk as she begged for any way that she could make up the credits that she missed out on due to her absence.

"Well… there is one thing," Ash trailed off.

"I'll do it, just tell me what to do."

"Give me a five-thousand-word report on the great Mobian war, referencing at least ten peer-reviewed sources. You have until the end month to get it to my desk," he said with a hint of finality to his voice. Breezie's heart dropped in her chest, unable to believe the request.

"That… that's impossible," she sighed. "That's only like two weeks…"

"Well if you went to my classes you would know all the information already, wouldn't you?"

"There is no way I can do this on my own," she lamented.

"I do have one suggestion. Seek help from Spike Porcupine. He's top of the class, aced everything. I'm sure he would help you if you helped him in return."

"Spike… really?"

"Yes, now out of my office," Ash said, shooing the hedgehog out of his personal space and closing the door abruptly behind her. Breezie's mind was still running.

'This project is impossible, I don't know the first thing about the war,' she thought, but as she began to trudge back to her dorm, wicked thoughts began to fade into her head, brought on the wings of demons tempting her.

'Spike knows it all… you could get him to write the whole thing for you. Remember what Mina said… he is desperately in love with you.'

"No! I couldn't do that to him," she yelled allowed, her voice echoing around the empty stairwell. "…Could I?"

…

Scourge lay on the hood of his car, his eyes glazing over the banal movements of all the cheery students rushing around giving their parents tours. He rolled his eyes, sighing at the sight as he reached into his pocket and fished out a pack of cigarettes. He placed one between his lips, bringing up the lighter to the end and cupping his hands around the flame to block the prevailing winds. He inhaled deeply before breathing out a slow, contented breath. He flicked the end of the ciggy, letting some of the blackened ash fall onto the pavement below.

"Those things will kill you y'know," a voice said.

"I thought I told you to stay away from me," Scourge replied bluntly, no emotion in his voice as he brought the cigarette back to his lips and inhaled again.

"I have been… but, I just keep seeing you. You're wherever I go now," Silver said as he emerged from behind the car and stood next to the teenager lying on the car.

"Yeah, we go to the same school genius," Scourge shrugged it off.

"No, it's more than that. It's like, fate, that we met each other again after all this time," Silver tried to explain.

"Fate, for real? Don't give me that crap," Scourge rolled his eyes, flicking more ash towards the ground.

"Don't you feel it too? Our connection we had back then, it's pulling us back together again."

"Wow, that's… the gayest thing anybody has ever said to me. Look, it's flattering that you wanna fuck me but I don't swing that way," Scourge sneered.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing, I've always been this way. You just got lamer," Scourge disregarded the question.

"Now who's the one talking crap? I remember when we first met," Silver smiled, thinking back.

"I don't," Scourge growled, but despite his unwillingness he could still picture the day as fresh in his memory as what he had for breakfast that morning.

"Yeah, remember, when we met… at space camp. You still had glasses and-"

"I said beat it," Scourge bellowed as he grabbed Silver's shirt in his hands and brought the scared hedgehog's face up to his own, anger in his eyes. "Stay away from me." Scourge released Silver, jumping off his car and crunching his cigarette underneath his boot before walking away.

"So that's it then?" Silver called out after him. "You're just gonna ditch me again like you did the last time? After all that happened…"

"Yep," Scourge called, putting up his middle finger towards the saddened hedgehog as his figure slowly shrank away.

"What even happened," Silver pouted as he kicked the wheel of Scourge's car, pulling out his hair to try to figure out just how things got so bad between the two…

…

Fiona's eyelids fluttered open, taking in the room around her. She noticed light still flowing in through the room through a crack in the blinds, signaling that it was still day. She rolled over and felt something stir next to her in her bed. Suddenly, the memory of Void in her room and what they had just done flashed back into her mind. She quickly stuck her hand under the covers, noticing that she wasn't wearing any clothes. Fiona couldn't help the smile that slowly crossed her face as she breathed out contently.

She planned to just roll back over and enjoy the rare peace but suddenly something struck her thoughts. She recalled Void come in with a big duffle bag and kick it underneath the bed. Her curiosity of what it could be, seeming as he had broken out of the prison, took control of her. She subtly removed the blankets and crouched down on the floor, reaching for the bag.

Slowly, she dragged it out and began to quietly unzip the top of it but she would never have expected to find what she did. There, inside the bag was thousands of dollars in cash, stuffed to the brim inside the bag. Fiona gasped, covering her mouth as she realized the amount of noise she was making.

"You know it's rude to look through other people's stuff," a dark voice spoke from above her.

"Oh… hey," Fiona replied, frozen as she looked up to meet the gaze of Void staring back at her. "Where did you get all this cash?"

"I don't ask you about your personal life," he said back, unemotive.

"Yeah, but I also don't have all of this cash on me. Did you steal it?" She asked, pushing the topic further. Void sighed, rolling onto his back as he stared up at the bed above him. Fiona sat back down on the bed, placing a hand on the sheets as she stared at him.

"Yes," he said bluntly after minutes of contemplation. "I needed the money so I robbed a few stores on my way over here."

"This is more than a few," Fiona remarked, looking back at the bag still open on the floor.

"So?"

"Void… why were you in prison. You said you ruined people's lives, but you didn't get locked up for stealing, did you?"

"No."

"Then why? Why were you-" Fiona began probing for more answers again but before she could get another thought, she felt lips press against hers, silencing her. Fiona wanted to protest. She wanted more answers but the irresistible nature of Void was too overwhelming as he pulled her naked body back onto his own.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, the second part of the Parent's day Trilogy is said and done and that means there is only a couple more stories to tell before all the parents go back home and we continue with the normal daily life._

 _Tails... looks like you shouldn't have played with Fiona's feelings the way you did (Even if what happened from that short lived friendship was completely incidental). Rule #1, never mess with Fiona. Didn't you learn from Espio or Amy? People who mess with Fiona get burnt (Sorry Blaze, didn't mean to bring up old wounds :P) With Tails' father not only finding out about his relationship, but full on denouncing his son and retracting all promises of a spot at the academy after highschool, how will Tails react?_

 _Sonic and Manic can't ever get along, even when Aleena came all the way from Westopolis to see her kids. That could have gotten way out of hand if it wasn't for the little corner stone of the family, Sonia, finally snapping and revealing her secret to the family. But with this knowledge, will she tell them who the father is and, if she does, how will Sonic and Manic react with this news? Will Mephiles be safe?_

 _Silver, it looks like you just can't get through to Scourge, but what could have happened between the two in the past. Were they good friends or did they just know each other? Did Silver do something to Scourge? And did Silver mention space camp and glasses? That doesn't sound like the Scourge we all know. All these answer revealled... eventually so be patient._

 _Poor Breezie, she needs to focus more on her schoolwork. But when the only thing that is going to save her from failing is a seemingly impossible task, will she really use her best friend, and the guy who has loved her for years, just for her own benefit? Can she really do that to him? And if she does, what will he do when he finds out she was just using him?_

 _I just wanna say thanks for sticking with this story, and I promise that if I do ever give up on it (Which i don't plan to) then I will let you know. I won't just randomly stop, so if there is a bit of a break don't worry. Although some reviews saying that you miss me and my story are always nice and might help me write faster :P But seriously, thanks so much for the support and, as alway, leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter._

 _Question of the Day: Do you think Fiona was justified for telling Tails' secret to his father? Also, what do you think happened between Scourge and Silver?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Shadow's past is finally revealed_

 _Cassia makes a discovery and Clove gets mad_

 _Wave and Jet finally have the talk they both need... kind of_

 _Of all people, it's Sally that rushes to Tails' rescue_

 _...and Eclipses family and past is finally revealed  
_

 _All this so much more, next time on Chapter 24: Parent's Day (III)_


	24. Chapter 24: Parent's Day (III)

_A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the loooooong wait throughout what was planned to be a quick, back-to-back trilogy of chapters but life gets in the way sometimes. Good news is that all my exams are done so apart from work, I have a lot more free time. This chapter was originally going to be finished and posted last night but then Pokemon Sun and Moon came out and I've been playing that game basically non-stop all day so sorry about that but it's up now. I'll try to update quicker from now on. And just quickly, since I know more people read the header author's notes than the footer author's notes (Even though you should read both because they contain a lot of information normally) I wanted to address this here. Bear with me, you can read the chapter in a second. Please, if you like the story then that is great, I love that, but if you want to re-post it somewhere please ask me. You can put links to my ff page wherever you want but don't just repost the story. I recently found two different cases of people pretending to be me on other webistes and 'reposting this story from my fanfic page' as they say. I don't appreciate people pretending to be me (Even though it is rather flatering that people would want to) but I put a LOT of work into these stories and don't like others plagerizing and stealing my work. You know who you are, so please, just message me and we can talk about the issue but stop stealing my identity. Anyway, on with the chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 24

Parent's Day (III)

The sun began to descend, the bright, blue sky draped in beautiful hues off deep orange and yellow. Clove sighed, watching the time tick by on her watch as she sat at one of the outdoor wired tables, typing out some notes on her laptop. The proactive pronghorn decided that, since her family couldn't make it to come see her and that her friends and boyfriend were all busy with their own parents, she could use this rare opportunity of tranquility to work on some long overdue school work. With all the things that continued to occur around her, she often forgot about classwork.

"Clovey!" A young, shrill voice called out from behind her. The sound of the familiar voice sent shivers down Clove's spine as she instantly froze, sitting up stiff. She began to slowly crane her head around, hoping against hope that the sound didn't come from the person she thought.

"Clovey!" The voice called again, closer and louder this time. "Clovey, it's me! I made it," the voice proudly stated with glee.

"What are you doing here…" Clove sighed as she looked down at the pronghorn standing next to her. Her yellow eyes beamed with enthusiasm and confidence as she threw Clove a smile, the small bun of hair on her head bouncing as the girl did. "Cassia…"

"Clovey, I've missed you so much at home, how is school," the younger girl cheered, throwing her arms around Clove. "You can't tell me you forgot about your little sister," she giggled.

"Oh don't worry Cassie, I could never forget about you. Believe me, I've tried," Clove rolled her eyes sarcastically but the only response she received from her sister was a round of laughter.

"You're such a kidder sometimes," Cassia laughed, slapping her sister on the arm.

"What are you doing here?" Clove asked, closing her laptop lid, sighing at the fact that she was just going to fall further behind in her work.

"Mum and dad couldn't come but I begged them if I could and they bought me a bus ticket," she stated happily.

"You're too young to travel that far on your own," Clove lectured.

"I'm not young! I'm going to start school here next year, remember?"

"I know. It's sooooooo sad that I'm graduating this year and so we can't hang out together," Clove rolled her eyes for the second time.

"I know," Cassia pouted. "So anyway, where is Mighty? I miss him too." Cassia noticed the instant frown that formed on the pronghorn's face, gasping as she put her hands over her mouth, eyes bulging wide. "No, don't tell me you and him…"

"No, no, not at all," Clove reassured her sister, who breathed a sigh of relief, returning to her enthusiastic, hyper demeanor. "We are still together, it's just that… I don't know."

"Well why don't you tell your little sis all about it and I can make it all better," Cassia giggled, her naiveté somewhat endearing for Clove who couldn't help but smirk slightly. Despite how annoying she found her little sister, she couldn't help but admire her optimism and love the pronghorn dearly.

"Cassia, don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy the rest of our day together," Clove smiled, ruffling her little sisters head. "Hey, the school just opened up a new café and it has the greatest scones you have ever tasted. I'll buy you one, okay?" Clove asked. Cassia nodded, jumping off her seat and bounding away.

"Come on, I'm hungry," she called out, turning around to her sister. Clove just smiled, shaking her head as she carefully placed her laptop back into her backpack, zipping it up and slinging it over her shoulder before plodding along lazily after her little sister.

…

 _"_ _He is truly growing up to be a strong, passionate boy, Doom," I replied, watching as the young hedgehog continued his training in our facilities. "He has made excellent progress and will make a fine agent."_

 _"_ _I… I'm just not sure," Doom replied, sighing heavily as he sat down at one of the many desks in the main hanger of the G.U.N secret headquarters. Rows of desks, each holding a multitude of computers displaying an array of different maps, charts and documents lined the walls and covered the empty spaces._

 _"_ _Why the uncertainty?" I enquired. "He is already surpassing some of our most competent agents and he isn't even of teenagerhood yet."_

 _"_ _I know, but… I just… I don't know if I made the right choice," he lamented. I looked at him, confused as I urged him to continue to go on. "It's just, how do I know if this is really what he wants to do?"_

 _"_ _He seems to enjoy training and he is a natural, just like you were," I commented._

 _"_ _I know, but that's because after he was born and his mother died in childbirth…" Doom stopped, choking up slightly as a tear ran down his cheek. "…I wanted to make him tough. I knew how dark this world really is and I wanted him to be strong. I wanted him to be able to deal with all the shitty things that life throws his way, like her untimely demise, and be able to fight back. This work that I do… it's dangerous and if something were to happen to me… I need to make sure he will be able to continue, survive and thrive," Doom finished._

 _"_ _You have made him tough. You have been a wonderful agent, one of the best and an even better father," I responded, complimenting him._

 _"_ _But, what if it isn't what he wanted? He's grown up so secluded, cut off from the rest of the world. This life is all he has known. He has no friends, no real life outside of G.U.N. Who am I to take that childhood away from him?"_

 _"_ _You did what you thought was right."_

 _"_ _But what if it isn't what was right?" Doom asked. I looked at him, not knowing how to respond. We both just stood there, thinking when he slowly reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small letter, handing it to me._

 _"_ _I wrote this for him and I want to keep it here, in a safe place," he began._

 _"_ _But why don't you hold onto it or give it to him?"_

 _"_ _I want him to read it when he is ready. If anything happens to me, I want you to give it to him," Doom looked me in the eyes._

 _"_ _Don't say things like that. You aren't going anywhere," I replied, but as if Chaos decided to intervene, my words were drowned out by the blaring sirens. It all happened so fast, we were so unprepared for it. The doors burst open, thrown off their hinges by a fiery blast as a figure came in. A tall, dark hedgehog with death in his eyes rushed in, guns in either hand. We knew exactly who it was, without even needing to see his face, we could tell it was him. Solaris, the man we had been hunting._

 _What we didn't realize was that your instincts kicked in. As we sat there, still bewildered by the sudden intrusion, your training took over and you rushed into the room, intent to take out this intruder. Solaris, however, was prepared for this. He simply held up a gun and pulled the trigger, aiming the barrel straight at you, Shadow._

 _"_ _No!" Doom screamed as he rushed in front of you, shielding you from the blast whilst simultaneously taking a fatal blow. I felt the blood boil, rage fueling my actions. I pulled out my own pistol that I always have on me and shot Solaris, striking his side. He howled in pain, grunting but knew that he couldn't finish his plan with his newly acquired injury. He pulled out a grenade, pulling the pin and chucking it at us before retreating._

 _The explosive detonated, crumbling the structure around us. The ceiling began to cave in, huge chunks of plaster and cement falling from the roof. I rushed around, trying to avoid the falling debris when I noticed you, lying on the ground surrounded by a pile of rubble. I hastened over, disregarding my safety when I heard him cough._

 _"_ _Doom!" I called, rushing over and kneeling beside him. He coughed again, blood trickling from his mouth as he pulled me close, whispering through raspy breaths._

 _"_ _Protect… my son…" he moaned. "Give him a proper life, one I never gave him. Send him to school, let him forge friendships and be able to live the life I stole from him… please," his eyes begged me as he let out one last cough before I felt him go limp._

 _"_ _Doom? Doom!" I bellowed but it was too late. However, his last words were about you, Shadow, his son. That's when I remembered your condition. I raced you down to hospital and they all worked on you but the irreversible damage had already been done. When I went to see you in the hospital, weeks later when you finally awoke, you couldn't remember my face. You couldn't remember anything. You're father, G.U.N… I decided that day, after the incident that I would fulfil your father's wishes. I set you up with the nanny, let you live with her and Maria and sent you to Mobius High to let you live out a normal life until you were eighteen._

"So that's why I can't remember anything…" Shadow breathed as he leant back against the great tree, trying to digest all the information he had just been given.

"I'm sorry I never told you, but I didn't think you were ready," the commander replied.

"So you held this information over my head to get me to do more work for you, when I should be finishing my studies?!" Shadow snapped angrily, tears in his eyes, devoid of hope and soul.

"Mephiles needed to be dealt with. Solaris is still out there and maybe bringing him in is the way to find him. To get justice for your father, my best friend," the commander tried to reason with Shadow. "I know it wasn't the best way to go about this, but if I told you the truth, you might have gone crazy and killed our only lead."

"I wouldn't have killed Mephiles," Shadow replied indignantly. "I…" he paused, thinking about the other dark hedgehog. He thought back to the wonderful past weeks that the two had spent together. Mephiles' words echoed through Shadow's brain, emanating across his thoughts.

 _That doesn't make me one too_

"…He's already dead," Shadow sighed. The commander froze up, shaking.

"How could you…" he tried to sedate his anger and disappointment.

"You said deal with him, so I did? It's not my fault you and dad trained me so well," Shadow shrugged, trying his hardest to keep a straight face.

"I… I…" the commander stammered, trying to control his anger when he suddenly sighed. "I have something for you." The commander reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, torn letter.

"Your dad wanted to give you this if anything happened to him. Now you know the truth, it seems only right that now is the time," the commander admitted, handing Shadow the envelope. "I'll see you soon, agent Shadow."

Shadow immediately tore into the envelope, gripping the sheet of paper inside but when he looked up, the commander had already vanished. Shadow shrugged, his attention focused back on the letter, the last words his father had ever written before his demise and began to read

 _Dear son,_

 _If you are reading this, it's already too late for me. Hopefully nothing happened while we were on the same mission. I still think about that, us on the same mission. You have grown so much. I know I wasn't always the best father. I was distant, I was cold and I treated you more like an agent than as a son and that I truly regret. I just wanted you to be tough, to be able to face the cruel world after your mother was taken from us. I didn't mean to rob you of your childhood. I just wanted to protect you… I am truly sorry._

 _But, if you are reading this, I just want you to know that out of all the things I've done in my life, you are the best. My greatest achievement. My miracle… Watching you grow up into the fine young man I watched train, I couldn't be prouder. I know you'll do great things in life, Shadow. I believe in you and I know that if your mother could see you now, she would be so proud of you._

 _I know I don't say it enough son, but I love you… my miracle, Shadow._

Shadow let out a slow, shaky breath as he finished reading the note, letting a single tear droplet fall onto the paper, soaking the words.

…

Wave sat underneath one of the deciduous trees, slowly picking up the individual blades of grass and throwing them into the wind, watching them toss and turn in a desperate fight to make it back to the ground. She sighed at their struggle, noting that no matter how hard they tried, they were at the complete mercy of the prevailing winds, just like she was.

Wave glanced down at herself, noticing her increasingly slender figure. Her shoulder bones had grown slightly more prominent, sticking out more and her ribs began to show through her skin that was hidden under the large jumper she wore over her clothes.

'You're more ugly now than ever before…' the thoughts began to tiptoe their way into her head, pressing the very spot that controlled Wave's movements. Before she knew what she was doing, she was already rushing towards the bathrooms. Her legs carried her slender figure as she made her way towards one of the small, outdoor cubicles that had more recently been built to facilitate the need for more public restrooms around the school's grounds. It was located near one of the large sporting ovals, slightly out of the way of the main area of the school. Wave was thankful that none of the happy families saw the distress and angst on her face. Confrontation was the last thing she needed at that moment.

Wave walked up to the main door, placing her hand against it and pushing slightly when she heard voices inside.

"I can't believe he is making you do that," she could hear the distinct, melodic voice of the indigo-haired mongoose. "What are you going to do?"

"Well… he did say that Spike has the top mark in the class," another voice that Wave was quite familiar with responded, a hint of promiscuity in her voice.

"Oooo, I like the sound of that," Mina laughed. "So a kiss in exchange for a history report?"

"What? No, I couldn't do that to Spike… could I?" Breezie lamented. Wave shook her head, backing away from the bathroom stalls. The last thing she wanted was more gossip and drama. She just wanted to be alone, to let out all of her pain. She glanced around, noticing that all the people in the area were positioned on one side of the stalls. She decided to sneak around to the back, if not for just a moment of privacy, just to sedate the increasingly prevalent feeling that she couldn't escape.

'This is all your fault,' voices inside of her head whispered to her as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small razor blade. 'Vomiting might get rid of the ugliness, but it won't make up for how horrible you treated Jet!'

"But I didn't mean to do it," Wave spoke into the brick wall, steadying her hand as she rolled up her sleeve.

'That doesn't matter. You weren't strong enough. You couldn't stand up for yourself. You sat by and did nothing!'

"I tried to. I didn't want to leave Jet like that. I wanted to tell him the truth. I didn't want to just disappear for years without even a word but I couldn't go on…" Wave tried to reason with herself but the malicious thoughts that plagued her brain had control of her left arm, which brought the razor blade down onto her wrist, pausing centimeters above her flesh.

'That's a lie and we both know it! When he said he loved you, that wasn't the reason you ran. Don't tell yourself that. I know you better than that. I am you. You can't ever trick me!' the voices attacked her again and again.

"You… you're right," she admitted, defeated. "I was weak… I was scared… and I screwed Jet up. Then, I did it again. I hurt him twice, and poor Cream too. I'm ugly… despicable… I deserve to suffer!" Wave concluded as she sliced the blade across her skin, drawing blood. She sliced again and again and again, over and over as the thoughts screamed at her.

'UGLY!'

'MONSTER!'

'DEMON'

"Wave?" A voice tried to break through the haze that had descended upon her brain. "Wave, Wh-what are you doing?" Just like a light, piercing through the fog to let the ship pass by safely, the sound of the familiar voice acting as the guiding source for clarity.

"Jet… it's… I…" she trailed off, quickly shielding the razor from view, but Jet had already seen what she was doing.

"Wave… C'mon, I saw what you were doing. Don't hide from me," he said, the tone in his voice undecipherable.

"You always could see right through me," she replied, the faintest hint of a relieved smile on her face before she immediately wiped all traces away.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"I screwed up. I ruined everybody's life. I fucked up my… my best friend too," she admitted as she looked up, staring deep into Jet's eyes for the first time in a long time. Jet looked back, undeterred by her confession as he shook his head.

"Wave…" he began. Here she was, the girl that Jet had spent the better part of a month despising, blaming for all his recent problems right in front of him. Broken, destroyed, exactly what he wanted. But, when it finally happened, he was mortified. "It wasn't your fault. It was unfair of me to blame you. I… I don't hate you, I never did…"

"But I-"

"I know what you did, I was there. I did it too," he interrupted her, not wanting her to blame herself for one second longer.

"But I screwed you up, Jet. I screwed everything up."

"No you didn't. I was screwed up long before I met you again at Emerald Lake, trust me," Jet reassured her.

"That's not true. I…" she began but cut herself off when Jet slowly rolled up his sleeve to reveal to her his arm, covered in a multitude of serrated scars. "Th…they weren't there when-"

"Yes, they were. I just hid them from you. I didn't want you to see them. I didn't want you to know. I never wanted you to know. But now I do, just to prove it wasn't your fault." That's when Jet did something that Wave didn't think she would ever see him do again. She saw him smile.

"Wait…" Wave began, a thought in her mind. A thought she couldn't allude from the moment he called out to her. "But… why are you here, behind the bathroom… with a razor? Were you going to…?"

"Yes… yes I was," he admitted. "But it's not for the reason why. It's because… well, I just needed to feel something. Something other than this sadness… this emptiness."

"Jet… I thought you said you didn't feel that way because of me."

"This isn't because of you. I just…" he paused, taking a big, deep breath. He needed to say it. To let it out, hear himself say it and stop living in denial. I heard last week that my parents… they both died."

"I… I'm so sorry," Wave said as she stood up and wrapped both her arms around Jet. He froze, not knowing what to do. He wasn't expecting to get this close to her ever again. To let himself feel this way around her again. But there she was, the one person whose comfort seemed to help, if only in a miniscule amount. "I know how hard it is. You remember my parents? Well… they both died recently too."

"I… I had no idea. Your parents were both always very kind to me… to everyone," Jet replied.

"I know. But when it happened, I fell into a depression and the only thing that I needed was somebody close to just hold me. To show me not everything in life is bad. Somebody to show me the light. Just like you need somebody right now, somebody who understands," she breathed as she buried her face into his shoulder, squeezing his body in her embrace as she tried to steel her nerves, trying to stay strong for the both of them.

"Somebody like you…" he whispered as he let himself squeeze back, hug back and give into her. Jet didn't think he was ready to forgive her, but he knew whether he wanted to or not, he needed her. She was the one person who understood him. The new and old him. The one person who understood the pain he was going through. The one person who he could share the pain with. The one person he needed…

…

"We have been looking all over for you," the slightly taller echidna lectured her in a stern and domineering voice. "We didn't buy you that phone so that you could ignore us so unless you want us to take it away, you will respond when we call you, got it?"

"Sure, whatever," Tikal responded absentmindedly, refusing to look her adoptive mother in the eye.

"Look at her when you address her Tikal. We didn't raise somebody without manners," her adoptive father instructed her.

"You never raised me at all!" Tikal fired back. "You just stepped in to receive government funds."

"That's it young lady," her father snapped, raising his arm and slapping her across the face, leaving a bruised mark on her cheek. "Don't you dare talk back to us."

"After all we have given you, after driving all the way out here to see you this is the thanks we get?" Her mother chimed in, just as angry.

"You don't deserve any thanks. Just leave me alone," Tikal growled before turning away to storm off, trying to hide the stinging tears that stained her eyes, refusing to look weak in front of them.

"Get back here now. You have until the count of three!" Tikal could hear their angry calls for her but she refused to stop. Refused to turn around and refused to face them. The last thing she heard was her adoptive father counting numbers at her before she ducked around the corner of a building and broke into a sprint to get as far away from them as possible.

'I told Mighty this was a bad idea. That armadillo frustrates me so much sometimes,' she thought as she continued to run until her chest felt heavy and tight. She ceased her running, leaning against a wall as she let air fill her lungs when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Tikal turned her head to see Eclipse, her boyfriend, dressed up in a nice tuxedo that she hadn't seen him in before walking down the path, his eyes shifting right and left. He seemed nervous.

"What is he doing?" Tikal wondered to herself when she noticed the bouquet of flowers in his grasp. Tikal sighed, assuming that he was heading to her room to surprise her with beautiful flowers to cheer her up after her visit with her adoptive parents. However, she furrowed her brow when she saw him make a quick left turn and hasten over to the small gap in the thick trees that served as the path that lead out into the forest and towards Emerald Lake.

"He couldn't be…" Tikal thought, her mind instantly turning to the worst possible outcome. She imagined one of her schoolmates waiting on a picnic table in a pristine spot overlooking the lake. She would let out her long, beautiful hair and bat her eyelashes at him in the romantic environment as he would deliver the flowers to her. "Not if I have anything to say about it!" She puffed her cheeks in anger as she disregarded her fatigue and stealthily followed him.

Tikal continued to follow him, ducking behind trees or diving over bushes whenever he turned his head. Each time Eclipse thought he heard a noise and looked behind him, he saw nothing and shrugged before continuing on his path. Each time Tikal would breathe a sigh of relief before scolding herself to be more quiet. Eventually, Eclipse made a sudden left turn, pushing through a concealed path through what looked like a mass of trees. Curious, Tikal followed but stopped just shy of the edge of the forest.

She looked on as Eclipse pushed through the tree line and out into a small area next to the shore of the lake. Her eyes darted around the clearing but apart from Eclipse, she could see nobody else. Confused, she watched as he walked out to a single, lone stone slab stuck into the ground. He carefully positioned the flowers on the stone before kneeling down and burying his face into his hands.

"I'm so sorry I haven't visited in a while," Eclipse said solemnly. "I just… I thought maybe you didn't want to see me," he choked up. Before Tikal could realize what was happening, Eclipse broke down to an uncontrollable fit of sobs.

With careful footsteps, she tiptoed out of her hiding place and made her way over to Eclipse who was still sobbing. She glanced once over the slab, noticing that it was actually a gravestone. She noticed a small inscription on it and read it in her mind.

 _Here lies Veil_

"It's my mother's." The voice surprised Tikal who stumbled backwards.

"You… you knew I was here?" Tikal asked as she came back to her senses and knelt down next to Eclipse, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I knew somebody was following me and assumed it must have been you."

"Eclipse… I… I'm so sorry," Tikal frowned.

"Don't be. It's my fault. I should visit her more often anyway," he lamented.

"This place is very beautiful. I'm sure she loved being buried here. Now she gets to see this beautiful view for the rest of time," Tikal tried to smile but the sadness that enveloped Eclipse showed no sign of lifting.

"That's what my brother thought too. He tried to get me to come to the funeral, but I refused. I didn't think she would have wanted me here," he sniffed.

"What do you mean? She was your mother, right? I'm sure she loved you and would have wanted you to have gone."

"You never knew her. I guess I never really knew her either. She… she…" he trailed off, shaking the thoughts out of his head.

"She what?" Tikal urged him to go on, showing him that she was there for him.

"We were in a fight. It didn't end well."

"What happened?"

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"If you don't feel comfortable telling me, I get it. But she was your mother, so I know it still matters."

"I didn't even go to her funeral, Tikal," he growled, more at himself than her as he beat the ground with his fist. "But who cares. It's over now," he continued in a tone that seemed like all emotion had been suddenly sucked out of him.

"Eclipse…"

"My brother had her cremated after the funeral and scattered her ashes out here on the lake, her favourite place as a kid. He made this gravestone to let everybody know who came here who she was. Who Veil was…"

"I'm sure she would have loved it," Tikal assured him.

"That doesn't matter anymore… it's over… I wasn't there for her and now she is gone. There is nothing left to say…" Eclipse regained that darkness that scared Tikal as he stared out into pristine lake. "I just wanted to see her… after all this time… to apologize. It is Parents' Day after all."

"Eclipse, I-"

"Come on, let's get back to the campus, it's getting late," he remarked emotionlessly, shielding his face from her as he stood and began to walk back towards the path. Tikal took one last glance at the grave, her heart welling up with sadness before she walked off after Eclipse, leaving the gravestone alone and undisturbed like it had been for all these years.

…

Tails just sat there, sitting on the grass as he glanced absentmindedly at the gate that his father had driven through. Cream offered to sit with him but he insisted that he wanted to be alone. He just sat there, throughout the rest of the day watching happy families rush by him, seeing their parents off. He watched proud fathers shake their son's hands and hug their daughters goodbye. He saw emotional mothers crush their sons with love, kissing their cheek and engulfing their daughters in a loving hug. He frowned, growing sadder and sadder as more happy families said their goodbye. His mood only worsened as the sun began to set.

"You alright?" A voice asked from behind Tails. He said nothing, just sat with his head in his hands as he watched the empty parking lot with a vacant expression on his face. He hoped that if he said nothing, the owner of the voice would just go away. That's when he felt the grass next to his move and felt the presence of somebody sit down next to him.

"I want to be left alone."

"I know, but nobody should be alone. I know that more than anybody," the voice said. Tails turned, not being able to accurately place a face to the voice when he locked eyes upon the auburn-haired squirrel.

"Sally?" He asked. "You're the last person I'd expect to see here."

"Why? We're friends, aren't we?" She responded with a shrug.

"Yeah, but we haven't really talked much. Mainly in a group and most of our connections are because of Son-"

"How about we just don't talk about him for now, hey?" She smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We are here to talk about you."

"I don't really want to talk," he sighed, shifting his gaze back to the cement.

"I know, I've been there. I really have. And I'm not going to force you to talk, but I'm not going to leave your side."

"Fine," Tails stated stubbornly as he continued to stare blankly at the ground. He sat motionless for another ten minutes, not shifting, expecting the squirrel to give up any moment and leave, but she never did. He began to feel slightly guilty, letting another emotion other than sadness enter inside of him. Finally, he gave in.

"Okay, you win."

"It's not about winning and losing."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just… thanks, thanks for being here," he managed to put on a small smile as he glanced over to her.

"So, I heard about what happened. I'm sorry about your father," she said empathetically.

"I just… I knew it would be bad but not that bad. I knew I shouldn't have told him. Now I've lost him, and Sonic, and everybody who I ever loved," Tails sniffed, water welling up in his eyes again that had been trying to escape since the incident earlier that day.

"Hey, come now," Sally soothed, rubbing her hand on his back. "It's not all bad."

"Yes it is. Maybe if I hadn't told him. Maybe if I just wasn't… this way. Maybe if I was straight like he wanted. Maybe if I was normal."

"No!" Sally almost screamed, causing Tails to jump in fright. "Sorry, but don't say that. You are normal Tails. The way you feel is completely normal and people like your dad who can't see that just can't understand."

"But I need him to understand. He is my dad."

"And he loves you very much, whether he showed it today or not. Trust me, he'll come around," she smiled again, letting the anger that filled her moments ago subside.

"How do you know?"

"Because, remember, I'm just like you. Do you think it was hard for me to accept my sexuality? When I went back to visit my parents in Mobotropolis and told them about my discovery. About who I liked, about Amy…" she trailed off.

"How did they take it?"

"Not well, at first. But after ignoring me for all of the holidays, I said goodbye to them, not wanting to leave hating them and mum just hugged me. She apologized for how she acted and although it would be hard for her to understand, she still loves me no matter what," Sally smiled, thinking back to that moment.

"But father seemed really mad."

"Don't worry, he'll come around. Just give him time," Sally assured him.

"You promise?"

"I promise," Sally said as she wrapped her arms around the fox. "Now come on, let's go get some dinner. I hear it's pizza night tonight to celebrate a successful Parents' Day."

"Pizza sounds nice, I'm starving," Tails admitted as him and the squirrel walked back to the cafeteria with a new feeling in his gut and a closer relationship with his friend forged.

…

"I'm going to miss you so, so, so much!" Cassia mumbled, her mouth still full with her third scone as she squeezed her older sister as tight as she could. Clove struggled to breathe under the surprisingly crippling grip of her sister, but couldn't help to let out a small chuckle of appreciation.

"I'll miss you too Cassie," Clove admitted, returning the hug before breaking apart, re-straightening her clothing. "But mid-sem break is less than a month away so I'll be able to see you then, remember."

"OMC, I totally forgot. Are you coming back home? You're coming back home right? You've just got to be coming back home," Cassia belted out, her pleading eyes begging Clove who couldn't get a word in edge wise.

"Yes, I'll be back for the break," Clove chuckled. "That's a promise." Clove gave Cassia one last hug before breaking apart. "Now, you should hurry along and catch the next bus before you miss it."

"Bye!" Cassia called as she grabbed her bag and raced off down the park, continually waving until Clove was out of sight. The young pronghorn slowed to a walk, gulping in air as she took one last moment to look around. The twilight hour descended upon the school as the last lights of the sun began to fade, giving way for the encroaching night shadows. That's when she saw two people walking down the path next to her.

Cassia recognized one of the two boys, about to open her mouth to say hey when she remembered something. She remembered her sister, Clove, not hours earlier being so upset that her boyfriend couldn't hang out with her and keep her company because he was with her family. She remembered the sadness evident on her sister's face.

'Why is Mighty walking with that squirrel when he should be with his family like he told my sister he would be?!' she thought as she ducked behind a tree to avoid being seen.

…

Although a fair few of the parents had already said their farewells and driven off in preparation for the long drive back to Central City, the majority still stuck around, giving some their children gifts, money, advice and everything in between. Razor looked around, noticing that they were all slowly being shepparded over to the largest of the grassy fields in the schoolgrounds in which the make-shift stand had been constructed. Razor smiled, scanning the crowd before he ascended the steps and took the microphone.

"Thank you all so much for coming today. Parents' Day used to be a tradition at this school before I was principle and it was a tradition that unfortunately ceased about a decade ago but we took a chance to reinvigorate it and I think it was an outstanding success," Razor beemed professionally out towards the crowd. A small chorus of claps rang out before Razor continued to speak.

"I hope to see all of you again soon and get to further converse with all of the wonderful parents that make up this special community of people. As always, you will be able to see your children in less than a month when they return home for the two-week break but, as always, the campus will remain open for those who unfortunately can't return home. So once again, thank you all for coming and please say your last goodbyes as the gates will be closed in twenty minutes. Goodbye and safe travels home."

At the conclusion of Razor's short, sweet speech the crowd of students and parents applauded before they all strolled towards the carpark, all absentmindedly passing by a disheartened fox who sat and watched them all leave. As the time ticked on, only a few parents still remained. Two of them happened to be Bernadette and Aleena.

"Yes mum, it will all be okay," Sonia reassured her pressuring mother who had been in a panic since the bombshell that her daughter had dropped.

"But you're not even eighteen yet. Not nearly old enough for a baby," Aleena pressured. "What if-"

"No mum, for the last time I don't want to get an abortion," Sonia replied, still as horrified at the idea as she was when Aleena first suggested it.

"But Sonia, sweetie," Bernadette chimed in, trying her best to help Aleena.

"Bernadette, you have been nothing but kind and loving to me but could you please stay out of this. I'm just… I'm not ready to talk about this yet," Sonia breathed, trying to keep her already shaky composure intact in the presence of her mother.

"Okay," Aleena forfeited, knowing she wasn't making any headway. "But will you promise me we can talk about it over the break? Bernadette has been nice enough to offer me a room to stay over the break, like she did last night."

"Okay, deal," Sonia agreed, wrapping her arms around Aleena and bringing her in for a tight, long hug.

"Don't worry Aleena, I'll keep an eye out for Sonia here at school," Sonic stated.

"Me too. We'll be there for her whenever she needs," Manic added.

"Thanks Sonic, that means a lot coming from you. And I know I can always count on you Manic," she kissed her son on the cheek, much to his displeasure. Bernadette said her goodbyes to Sonic and the two mothers bid one last farewell before hopping in the car. Sonic quickly rushed over and gave Aleena one last hug as she opened the door to the car.

"I love you, mum," she whispered.

"You too sweetie. My phone is always on me if you ever need to talk," she replied. The trio of hedgehog's stood and waved as they watched their parents drive away before Sonic spoke up.

"Would you like to have some grub?"

"I'd be down for something to eat," Manic nodded, the news of his sister's pregnancy diminishing the resentment and anger he felt towards the sapphire hedgehog for the time being, despite the feelings only going dormant.

"Sorry guys but I really just want to go get some sleep. How about tomorrow night?"

"Deal," they both nodded as she bid them farewell. The two of them waited until Sonia was out of sight and earshot before they turned to each other.

"Look I don't like you, you don't like me but we need to do something," Manic growled.

"Feelings mutual," Sonic responded.

"So you know who this Mephiles guy is that ruined Sonia's life?"

"Yeah, he's my roommate and my ex's boyfriend," Sonic frowned, the thought of how devastated Shadow would become only just now entering his mind.

"We need to have a little chat with him," Manic narrowed his eyes.

"Couldn't agree more."

"He's so dead. Just wait until I get my hands on that douchebag!"

* * *

 _A/N: Well there you have it, a lot of big mysteries revealed and some more questions raised, like how can Tikal put up with her abusive adoptive parents. Shadow has had some memory problems recently and it was strange that the nanny, G.U.N and the school all had connections that not even Gold could explain but finally the commander has revealed it all. Too bad that Mephiles seems to be the one problem that is stopping Shadow from reaching full closure. Can he really still like Mephiles after finding out his father was killed by Mephiles' father?_

 _Speaking of Mephiles, it looks like Sonic and Manic are coming after him. Maybe being taken by G.U.N would be safter?_

 _One mystery that was discovered by Tails and Sonic was Veil. I had many theories and people asking me if Veil was Void's brother, since all the signs seemed to point to it but no, it was Eclipses mother. Unless... could Eclipse be Void's brother? Surely not... Now yes, Veil is an OC as it were as she is not a character in Sonic but since it was just a name to a long deceased character, i just made up a name. Also if I did then there wouldn't be a mystery at all, would there._

 _Some of you asked if Cassia would be a character since Clove is a main character. Well there you go, the hyperactive annoying little sister that Clove loves, and loves to not be around has made her entrance. It also seems that she has discovered Mighty's lie so will she bring it up when Clove returns home for the break, or just forget about it? Only time will tell._

 _Poor Wave, she is really eating herself up inside. Is Jet really the right person to help her? He is increadibly co-dependant and only seems to be encouraging her destructive behaviour. Can their reconcilliation really be what both of them needs or will it only lead to more heartache. Well one thing is for sure, Cream wont be happy either way._

 _I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and the trilogy. I will try to update more frequently like I used to but keep in mind that, unlike a lot of authors, I like to write long chapters. The shortest chapter this story was chapter 7 and that was still 6200 words! The average word count is about 7500 so it takes a while to write this stuff. ALso with so many characters, stories and plotlines all happening at once, it takes some time to work it all out in my head. I have a plan written up to about chapter 52-ish and that is already a 20,000 word document which is continually being changed and altered so its a big task. Please just stay patient, I'm not giving up on this story. If i ever do decide to quit, I promise I won't leave you hanging. I'll release a little update explaining why I don't want to continue and just type out a quick synopsis of where I planned to take all the characters. The only thing I don't really have planned out for this is which characters are going to end up together permanently at the end. If I did, what would be the fun in constantly creating and destroying couples? Anyway, I'm rambling so I hope you enjoyed and please, leave a review to let me know what you thought and some theories or to simply answer the QotD, it really helps motivate me and means a lot._

 _QotD: Just a simple one this time, after some big reveals and characters pasts being brought to light, who is currently your favourite character and why?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Scourge discovers what Fiona and Void has been doing and enlists vulnerable prey for help_

 _Mighty's whirlpool of lies and excuses starts to get out of control_

 _Shadow approaches Mephiles one final time_

 _Blaze, Amy and Clove have an intervention for Cosmo_

 _And after talking with Sally, Sonic makes a decision that could change everything_

 _...All this and so, so much more, next time on Chapter 25: Decisions_


	25. Chapter 25: Decisions

_A/N: Hey guys, sorry it has been so long but I've just been swamped with work and other commitments... and also I've started bingewatching once upon a time and am already onto season 3 (NO SPOILERS) so that's why this has been so late. Also last month was not only this account's one year anniversary but also my first story Dreams Come True so I released a double back-to-back chapter for that sequel as a celebration BUT, today marks the one year anniversary of Sonic High! And for this series as well I'm going to be releasing a double chapter update. This one today to mark one year and another chapter tomorrow so the three week wait was sorta worth it... right? Right?! Anyway, please enjoy the chapter and thanks for sticking with me for one year!_

* * *

Chapter 25

Decisions

Scourge sat on his bed, his head resting on his arms as he stretched them behind him. He sighed, kicking off his sheets due to the rising heat as the day progressed and the sun grew higher in the sky.

"You're still looking shit as ever," Scourge remarked as Jet pushed open the door and strode into the room, his face looking as pale as a ghost.

"Yeah whatever," Jet responded in a defeated manor as he breathed out slowly.

"You're no fun when you've already given up," Scourge grunted, missing the times when he would tear down Jet's spirit the more the hawk fought with him.

"Yeah… whatever," Jet repeated in the same tone before picking up his backpack off the ground and exited from the room without another sound.

"Chaos this place has gotten so boring," Scourge grunted, sighing loudly to himself as he sat up. "And I haven't gotten any action since Rouge. Guess it's time to go get Fi back. She's surely past her temper tantrum by now."

Scourge rose, slipping on his shoes and grabbing his bag before he stepped out of the room, not even bothering to lock the door. He strolled casually down the stairs and over to the girl's wing of the dormitory. He craned his head around, scanning the faces of his fellow students, noticing that a lot of familiar faces seemed less content than normal. Scourge hadn't really given it much thought before now but he realized that in the week that had passed since Parent's day everybody seemed quieter. Like there were clouds that had descended over the school and their gloomy atmosphere had effected the students, despite it being hot and sunny.

Scourge lapped up the newfound aura as he made his way back up towards Fiona's room and pushed open the door without knocking first, like he so often did. He knew Fiona's roommates never put up a fuss, especially the pink hedgehog that Scourge new was scared to death of him. He smirked as he entered but as soon as he took a step inside, he froze. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he had in front of him. The sight of Fiona, snuggling up to some weird, naked guy next to her.

"What the fuck is this?" Scourge cursed as he felt his blood boil in his veins. Fiona and Void's eyes quickly snapped open as they sat up, startled by the sudden intrusion.

"What are you doing here, Scourge?" Fiona asked angrily, covering her bare breasts with her arm.

"I came to get you back but now you're fucking this freak?"

"Wait, this is Scourge? As in _the_ Scourge?" Void asked, piecing the puzzle together in his mind as he finally had the complete picture. He recalled back to the time he first met Fiona after hearing the commotion of her and Scourge's final confrontation back at the jail.

"Yeah, I'm the Scourge. And now you're going to be _the_ dead man," Scourge growled, snarling as he showed some of his razor-sharp teeth. Void clenched the sheets, getting ready for a fight when Fiona placed a hand over his shoulder.

"I'll handle this. Could you give us a minute?" Fiona asked as sweetly as she could.

"Yeah, okay. I've got some stuff I need to take care of. I've been in one place too long already. I'll be back in a couple days," Void remarked before he quickly threw on his clothes, grabbed his duffel bag from its hiding place underneath the vixen's bed and rushed out of the room without even a second glance at the hedgehog that disgusted him.

"Great, now you made him leave," Fiona snarled angrily.

"Why were you fucking that loser?"

"What's it to you. If I remember, you broke up with me, so I can screw whoever I want and there is nothing you can do about it," Fiona retorted bitterly.

"Fi, c'mon. Come back to me."

"That's never gonna happen," she crossed her arms, making up her mind.

"You know what? Fine," he threw up his hands angrily. "You wanna play it that way? Let's play it that way."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Scourge smirked before he wrenched open the door and slammed it as hard as he could behind him, rousing the remaining girls in the nearby rooms out of their lazy slumbers. Scourge disregarded all the confused and judgmental glances of girls sticking their heads out of their rooms to catch the commotion and stormed down the hallway, disappearing down the stairwell.

…

 _I slowly opened my eyes, yawning quietly as I sat up. I scanned my surroundings, surprised by seeing the calm waters of Emerald Lake just in front of me. Surprised to feel the dew morning dew of the blades of grass underfoot or feel the brisk morning air billow through my jumper. I grabbed my hoodie and zipped it up tighter to prevent the prevailing winds from chilling me further._

 _That's when I heard his voice. The soft snoring of somebody next to me. I swiveled my head to look down upon the shorter body or Ray, sleeping next to me on the little blanket we rolled out. That's when I remembered why I was here. I remember Ray started feeling worse and asking if we could come out here to camp one night. It was quite hot and we didn't have a tent so we just brought some blankets._

 _I smiled, watching his sleeping figure as I lay a hand on his fragile head, stoking it soothingly as I thought back to what he told me the night before._

 _"_ _Hey Mighty, can I tell you something?" Ray asked as we lay on our backs, side by side looking up at the majestic twinkling stars that bathed us in their serene light._

 _"_ _You know you can tell me anything, buddy. I'm always here for you, remember," I replied as I turned my head to face him. He mirrored my movements so we were looking at each other, face to face._

 _"_ _Well, you know that I haven't really been in the best mindset lately," he began._

 _"_ _Ray, I know that better than anybody. But I'm trying to help. We can get through this, together."_

 _"_ _Yeah, I know, that's not what I wanted to say," he continued. "It's just that… I'm sad. Like, a lot but whenever I'm with you, it's like I'm a different person. I'm actually happy. You're really the only reason I haven't tried to do… it… again," he admitted. I just lay there, staring at him, unable to really comprehend what he was saying. It was a lot to take in. Like a giant weight was placed onto my shoulders. Well, it was heavier than that, because an entire life was placed on my shoulders. I didn't know what to say. What are you supposed to say when somebody drops a massive bombshell on you like that?_

 _"_ _Don't worry, I'll always be right here. I'm never leaving you," I smiled as I draped my arms around him and brought him in for a hug. We just lay there in an embrace for a bit. I don't know what he was thinking about, but I was too exhausted, both mentally and physically, to say anything else._

 _"_ _Night," I piped up finally, retreating with my arms and rolling over so that my back faced him. I couldn't see his reaction or his facial expression but I knew it probably wasn't the best response after hearing what he said but I just needed some sleep._

 _"_ _O-Okay, night," he replied sheepishly._

 _I continued to run my hand over his head, smiling as I watched him sleep. I knew now that things were changing, and not for the better. However, I had to stay strong. Not just for me anymore, but for the both of us. He needed me._

Mighty sight as his phone beeped again. He hated himself for how he was treating Clove recently, but he didn't know what else to do. He was swamped with schoolwork, most free time he managed to have he spent with Ray, noticing that it was working since he seemed happier recently and the rest of it he spent chilling with Tikal. The one person in his crazy world that understood him. A third party he could vent to and the one person that seemed to take all his stress away. However, these actions were taking their toll on a certain pronghorn that began to feel more and more unappreciated.

Clove: _How about tonight?_

Mighty: _Sorry, I can't tonight. I have a Chemistry prac I need to redo because I missed the lab yesterday since I was sick_

Clove: _I'm acing Chem atm, maybe I could help you?_

Mighty: _The professor said I couldn't bring any guests into the lab_

Clove: _No, it's okay. I get it_

Mighty: _I'm really sorry. I'm free Friday night if you want to have dinner?_

Clove: _That's like almost a week away!_

Mighty: _I know, I know…_

Clove: _Okay, sure. Let's do it. I just miss you so much_

Mighty: _I know, me too_

Clove: _I love you_

Mighty: _You too Clove._

Mighty sighed, letting the phone slip from his hands. He cursed himself. He hated making Clove so sad but he didn't know what else to do. That's when he felt his phone vibrate.

Ray: _We still on for tonight?_

Mighty: _We only just got back from the lake_

Ray: _I know but I just thought we could hang out_

Mighty: _I'm kinda busy tonight_

Ray: _Oh… okay it's cool. Well can we go back and chill at the lake on Friday again? It was really fun and It's just really nice spending time alone with you. Please?_

Mighty: _Okay_

Mighty growled, pinching himself.

'Why would you say yes?' his mind yelled. He ran his hands through his hair, small strands falling out from the increased stress. He just needed somebody to talk to. Somebody to help him. He picked up his phone and quickly shot out another text.

Mighty: _You free to talk?_

Tikal: _Yeah, sure._

Mighty: _Emerald Café, 5 mins?_

Tikal: _Yep. I'll be there_

Mighty: _Thanks so much._

Mighty tossed his phone back in his pocket, jumped off the bed and fumbled around as quick as he could, trying to stuff his feet into his shoes that were one size too small.

"You alright?" Sonic asked from the other bed, taking his head out of the glare of his phone.

"Yeah I'm good. Thanks," Mighty replied before grabbing his bag and rushing out of the room.

…

Mephiles lounged around on the old, hidden bench behind the dormitories where he first met Shadow, thinking back on that first fateful memory. He was surprised that it had been a week since his fight with Shadow and hadn't been either contacted by him or taken away by G.U.N agents.

'Shadow must have lied…' he thought, a yearning want filled his body. The building sensation begged his body to go over and approach Shadow and work things out but his heart still hurt. He still couldn't get over Shadow's reaction when he found out about Mephiles' father. He thought he knew Shadow. Apparently not.

"I was told I'd be able to find you here," a voice spoke up from behind Mephiles, rousing him from his position. He sat up, glancing around until he finally laid eyes with her. The pink hedgehog in front of him wore a simple pink top paired with navy blue jeans and determination alight in her eyes.

"Sonia, right? What can I do for you?" He asked, standing up to greet her.

"Hey… we need to talk." Her dour attitude immediately changed the atmosphere surrounding them, indicating something serious.

"Uh, yeah, sure thing," Mephiles replied, gesturing for her to sit down. He sat next to her, head facing hers as he spoke again. "What do you need to talk to me about? If this is about Shadow, I'm not int-"

"It's about us," Sonia cut him off mid-sentence. He gave her a perplexed look, not quite understanding what she was talking about. "About what we did," she continued, alluding to their encounter a few months ago at Elias' big party.

"Encounter…?" he asked, still not fully comprehending her words.

"At Elias' party," he just shrugged his shoulders. Sonia groaned before sighing. "You really can't remember, can you? Well at least that means you didn't use me while drunk."

"Wait… what do you mean by use you?" Mephiles asked, panic rising in his voice as curiosity was replaced with a feeling of dread. "Stop being cryptic and tell me what happened.

"Mephiles… we both got very drunk and one of my friends saw us walking off into one of the private rooms together and-"

"Let me stop you right there," Mephiles interjected. It was now his turn to stop her and explain himself to her. "I don't know what you think. I can't remember much after getting rejected by Shadow but if what you say is true and we did have sex, you need to know, as cruel as this sounds, it meant nothing. Sonia, I'm gay so if you're coming here to ask for a relationship or-"

"No, it's not that," she assured him.

"Then why do you need to tell me about it?" he asked obliviously, still not being able to connect the dots that Sonia laid out for him. What she said next made him freeze. He became short of breath, not being able to fill his lungs enough as he wheezed. A ringing sounded through his ears, causing all other sounds to drown out and make him feel like he had developed tinnitus. His heart began to race and all he could do was stare at her as she repeated herself again.

"Mephiles… I'm pregnant!"

…

Mighty sighed loudly as he blew away the billowing steam from his cup of emerald coffee, taking a sip of the hot liquid after dispelling the heat. Tikal sat opposite him, listening to his frustrations as he vented his feelings to her. Mighty knew he promised Ray that he would never tell anybody, but seeing as Tikal figured it out on her own, he felt more at peace with his actions because of it.

"And I miss Clove heaps but whenever I'm with her I can't help but worry about Ray. It's like he's always in my mind and it's not fair on Clove for me to be so distant," Mighty lamented aloud.

"So, to be less distant you are just not seeing her at all?" Tikal questioned, trying to get a grasp on the story that she had already heard countless times from the stressed armadillo.

"Well when you put it that way…"

"Look Mighty, maybe you should just talk to Clove and let her know what is happening," Tikal offered her advice.

"But I promised Ray that I wouldn't tell anyone. Not even Clove. He made it quite clear," Mighty protested.

"Okay, but you have to understand why she is feeling unappreciated. Look, just make time for her and force yourself to forget about Ray for those times you are with her or else your relationship with her will dwindle and die."

"I'm trying but it's hard because Ray is never not going to be in my head. And I know I shouldn't make time for you as well when I already can't find enough time but I just need to vent because when I get like this it's unfair for me to be even more distant to Clove on the rare occasions we are together," Mighty groaned, the weight of his heavy heart causing him pain.

"Don't worry, I'm always here if you need a chat," Tikal smiled.

"I know, Tikal. Sometimes I think you're the only person keeping me sane at the moment," Mighty replied as he leant over the table and held her in a tight embrace. Tikal hugged back, more than happy to help him out.

However, over on a separate table, watching the two teenagers hug for a long period of time was an envious darkling. He felt his blood boil from jealousy as Mighty and Tikal remained in a hug.

'This is the third time this week I've seen them hugging. She wouldn't be cheating on me… would she?' Eclipse asked himself silently, unable to take his gaze away from his girlfriend and one of his best friends.

"Mighty… I think I might have a solution but… you're not going to like it," Tikal said finally after taking a moment's pause to mull things over inside of her head, breaking the hug.

"Anything. I'm up for anything to help me out without hurting them both more than I already have," Mighty begged.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Mighty, you're going to have to make a hard decision, but I think it's the only thing that will eventually help both of them and also save yourself because you are getting worse for wear each day."

"What do you mean?"

"You are going to either have to stop helping Ray out as much and let him deal with his problems without you or break up with Clove. The choice is yours…"

…

Scourge grumbled to himself as he stormed through the hallways, descended the steps and emerged into the general lounging area. He needed to get rid of some of this anger and quickly. He could feel it coursing through his veins, the thought of that guy's smug face as he lay next to Fiona.

Scourge eyed the few people sitting and talking in groups on the couch, each one frozen from his abrupt and distracting entrance. That's when he saw just the person he needed to find. Storm clenched his fists and strode up to one of the couches, grabbing a boy's shirt and hauling him up off the couch.

"You need to come with me," he growled, hate in his eyes and small droplets of spittle flung out of his mouth and stained the petrified boy's face.

"Why do you need me?" Tails asked, trying his hardest not to look directly into Scourge's eyes.

"You're a big nerd with computers and stuff, right?"

"I mean I'm good with computers but I wouldn't call myself a-"

"Whatever," Scourge growled as he sat Tails down, interrupting his sentence. "I need you to do some digging for me on somebody."

"And why would I help you?"

"Because if you don't, I'll make you my personal designated punching bag for whenever I need to relieve stress for the entire next term," Scourge smirked, fire dancing in his eyes, almost daring Tails to refuse.

"O-okay, sure," Tails stuttered. "Wh-who do you need me to research?"

"I need you to find everything you can on Void. Start by looking at Central Penitentiary prison records."

…

"So, it's been a week. Your time on that project is ticking down," Mina mentioned casually as she played with her hair while sitting on the vacant seat at one of the tables in the empty café. The sun had already set and everybody had already gone to the cafeteria for dinner. All but Breezie, who was tasked to do final checkup and lockup for the café and Mina who decided to stick around and keep her friend company in her duties.

"You know this would take a lot less time if you stopped gossiping and actually helped me," Breezie grunted as she tallied up the last of the money in the register and made a note of the total.

"Yeah… but it would be a lot less fun," Mina replied before a devious smile crossed her lips. "So, you talked to him about the project yet?"

"Mina, c'mon you know I can't do that to him," Breezie sighed as she grabbed the keys and locked the register for the night.

"And why's that? Because you don't want to spend time with him, which he totally wants, or maybe because you want to fail, which you totally don't want or… or… Oh. My. Chaos," Mina stopped, trying to contain her laughter.

"What? Or what?"

"You don't wanna do it because you're afraid that spending all that time alone with him might make you start liking him!"

"No! What? That's not it at all. As if. Him and I are just best friends and that's all," Breezie argued.

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that. Everything between you two have been different since you finally saw the truth. Have you guys even seen each other since then?" Mina pried further.

"Well… I've just been busy and-"

"So, no?" Mina asked, receiving only a saddening nod from her friend. "So why not ask him to do the project for you. You get an easy A and he gets to spend time with you like he wants. It's a win, win if you ask me."

"Well nobody asked you!" Breezie snapped, slamming her hand down on the table.

"Oh… Mina… I'm so sorry I didn't mean to snap at you like that," Breezie immediately apologized after realizing her sudden outburst. Mina wiped the smile off her face, but didn't move.

"You know what? Maybe next time, when you have some issues you can go to somebody else for advice 'cuz I'm done being the one you run to for help just to get abused," Mina replied bitterly before exiting the café. Breezie slumped down on a desk, groaning aloud as she slapped her forehead with her palm.

"I could've handled that better," she lamented aloud. "But… maybe Mina is right…" Breezie mulled it over in her head. She felt bad about using the knowledge of Spike liking her to her advantage to get him to do her work but she feared getting kicked out more. She didn't want to purposely give off mixed signals to him but she needed this done, and she needed it done quickly while also being able to continue her job at the café.

'Fine then,' she decided. 'It's time to speak to Spike!'

…

Shadow glanced over the pristine, still lake with no ripples other than the small breaks in the smooth surface caused by the easterly winds. He zipped up his black leather jacket tighter, shielding himself from the winds as he bent over and picked up a pebble and chucked it across the lake. It skipped along the surface, not sinking until a few hops.

"Not bad, but I bet I could do better," a voice spoke up from behind Shadow. His instincts kicked in as he quickly turned, shooting out his arm and grabbing the forearm of the person behind him, twisting it behind the intruder's back.

"Ouch, dude what the fuck?" Knuckles cried out in anguish, trying to wrench his arm free from Shadow's grasp. He immediately stepped back, apologizing profusely for his actions.

"Sorry… sometimes my training just takes over… maybe don't sneak up on me when I'm out on my own next time," Shadow replied dully, hiding his embarrassment from the frustrated echidna.

"Whatever," Knuckles snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Well, I kinda wanted to see you," Knuckles admitted. Shadow raised a curious eyebrow.

"You want to see me?" He asked, skepticism lacing his voice.

"You're like a spy for that secret organization thing, right?"

"Yeah," Shadow replied with a weary tone.

"So, you can get access to like super government computers to find things normal people can, right?"

"I guess so…"

"So, can you do me a huge favour?"

"Just spit it out," Shadow sighed, fed up with Knuckles' dodging the crux of the matter.

"Can you help me find out who my brother is?" Knuckles blurted it out, taking Shadow completely by surprise. He didn't know what to say, how to respond.

"You have a brother?" Shadow repeated, not believing the words. "Since when? You were always an only child. Always."

"Yeah well… about that…" Knuckles began, explaining his conversation with his father the week prior and how he had become aware of the night his father cheated on his mother and apparently help conceive another child who is now attending the same campus.

"Let me get this straight. You have a half-brother who you've never met and only just learnt about and apparently he is attending this school, also probably either in this year or the one below us," Shadow repeated aloud, trying to make sure he had all the facts.

"Pretty much."

"Well… that's very convenient," Shadow chuckled, earning a scowl from Knuckles.

"Are you going to help me or not?" He asked again, more forcefully this time.

"Sure, why not. I know what it's like to lose a sibling. I'll be able to take a look over the break and I'll get back to you when we come back next term. Cool?"

"Cool," Knuckles nodded. "Oh, and Shadow…" Knuckles called out as he turned to walk away, giving the hedgehog the solitude that he loved. "Thanks. This means a lot."

"Don't go getting used to it," Shadow responded and turned his head back to the lake, letting a small smile cross his lips as he did.

…

"Are you sure that's what you saw?" Clove asked, trying to stay the responsible one and not get carried away like her other roommates were.

"Yeah, I saw her get some money from her parents," Blaze nodded in response, sitting on the bottom bed next to Clove.

"Well that's crap because that girl has been using me for money saying her parents have been cut off and that she has been getting robbed and shit like that," Amy piped up from the bed opposite them, clearly getting worked up over the affair.

"I know, she did the same to me," Clove breathed, just trying to understand what was going on.

"So we're all agreed then?" Blaze asked.

"When she walks in we get her to tell us what is really going on," Amy yelled, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, but in a nice way," Clove added. "We think she might be taking advantage of us but what if she is in some serious trouble? We can't rule out all the possibilities until we get her side of the story."

"Fine. When she walks in that door we-" Amy continued until she was cut off but the sound of a set of jingly keys being inserted into the stubborn lock. The sound of a lock clicking filled the air before the door creaked open and Cosmo stepped daintily inside.

"Oh, hey girls. What are you all doing here? I didn't miss out on another gossip sesh, did I?" She asked obliviously.

"Cosmo, come sit down," Clove began in a controlled manor, not letting any anger escape her mouth and sully her words.

"O-Okay," Cosmo replied, slightly cautious as she dropped her bags and sat down on the bed next to Amy, who skidded a few centimeters away from her. Cosmo frowned, the movement not lost on her. "So, what's this all about. Is this like an intervention or something?" She laughed, trying to lighten the mood with a joke but suddenly her heart sank in her stomach when she noticed Clove and Blaze give tentative glances at each other.

"Well…" Clove said.

"Are you kidding me? What for? You know I don't drink or smoke or-" Cosmo complained.

"It's about you stealing money from us and lying to us about your parents and the robbing and all that shit," Amy exploded, interrupting her as she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"What do you mean? I told you that I had my things stolen and that my mum had cut me off," Cosmo shot back defensively.

"Cosmo… we know that isn't true," Blaze finally spoke. She was never one for confrontation but knew this behaviour from her friend couldn't continue any longer. "I saw you and your mother on Parent's day. She handed you some money and hugged you. This lie needs to stop."

"If anything is happening then let us help you," Clove added.

"Yeah, and we can all be friends again as long as you stop thinking we are suckers," Amy concluded. Cosmo looked between the three girls, who exchanged hopeful glances before she stood up.

"Are you fucking kidding!" Cosmo bellowed. Blaze frowned, hoping beyond hope that this wouldn't be the reaction.

"No, we are not," Amy stood up to challenge the seedrian, having been swindled out of the most money by Cosmo. Clove frowned too, scared that this would have been the outcome.

"I never lied. My mum did cut me off and my stuff did get stolen," she stared daggers at Amy, their faces barely apart.

"Well then why did Blaze see your mother give you money?"

"She must have lied!"

"Why?"

"I don't know why!"

"Cosmo… I did see you and you-" Blaze tried to explain calmly but was interrupted again by the seedrian.

"No, save it Blaze. I don't need to hear it. I don't need this. I thought we were friends, I thought friends helped each other out but I guess not. I'm outta here," Cosmo growled before storming out of the room, grabbing her bag off the ground before leaving.

The room grew silent after the loud slam of the door as Amy sat back down, gathering her lost composure and shooting an apologetic glance at the two girls opposite her.

"Well… that could have gone better," Clove concluded facetiously as silence descended the room.

…

Sonic and Sally sat out on top of a picnic blanket, lying on their backs and staring up at the many shimmering constellations that dotted the night sky.

"And if you follow along from that one and go up a bit, you can see Orion's belt," Sonic explained as he raised his arm up and traced the sky to aid Sally.

"Wow, since when do you know so much about stars and constellations and stuff?" Sally asked, surprised to learn more about her long time friend.

"Ever wondered why I was so late to the dance last semester?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah but I remember you telling me why before," Sally replied.

"True, but I left out a crucial part. Normally I go for a jog to clear my head or to think things over but that's not entirely true. You see, halfway through I like to take a break and just lie back and stare up at the sky."

"Why?"

"Well it helps put my problems into perspective," Sonic began. "Think about it. I have these stupid dating problems and then I look up and see these tiny dots in the sky. Each one of them, no more than about ten thousand that we can see, is basically an incandescent body millions of miles away that was an exploding ball of gas. Most of them much, much bigger than our sun. It just shows how small our sun is compared to the universe, and our sun is still so much bigger than our planet, which is so much bigger than us. It really dwarfs my problems and puts my mind at ease when I think about it," Sonic concluded.

"Wow… I always knew you were such a dork," Sally giggled.

"Hey…"

"No, it's really cool that you are so passionate about this. Chicks dig that, y'know," Sally winked. "What's that one?" Sonic followed her arm upwards until he spotted what she was referring too.

"I think that's Spica, one of the brightest stars that we can see."

"Did you say Sonia?" Sally asked, bewildered that his sister had a star named after her.

"No, Spica," Sonic chuckled until a dreary mood was cast on him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sally asked. "Is this still about her being pregnant? Look I'm sure everything is going to turn out fine," Sally assured him.

"That all depends on Mephiles," Sonic sighed. "Manic and I tried to go give him a piece of our mind, y'know, to make sure that he will support Sonia and be serious about this baby but she made us promise her that we wouldn't do anything until she first broke the news to her."

"She should be the one to tell him this. As much as you might be pissed off with him, he has a right to hear it from her. This will be almost as hard for him as it will be for her, assuming he agrees to help her raise it," Sally tried to defend the absent hedgehog.

"Yeah but you don't understand how hard it is to sleep in the same room as him. Every time I look at him I just think at how he ruined my sister's life, the same one who only just came into my life. It's been a week and still Sonia hasn't told him."

"Well, how about you do something to keep your mind off it?" Sally suggested.

"Like what, Sal? It seems nothing helps me right now. I just feel so bad for her."

"What about Amy?" Sonic sat up, his body rigid as he looked at her. "Oh don't act like that. You think I don't see the way you too look at each other and act when I see you two hanging out."

"You know about that."

"Sonic… if you like her then you should ask her out," Sally encouraged him.

"But she is your ex… and also my ex I guess… wouldn't it just cause a rift between us. I don't want to lose you again," Sonic sighed, deep in thought.

"Sonic… look at me," Sally urged, placing a soft hand on his cheek and spinning his head so that his shimmering emerald eyes stared deep into hers. "I know things have been a bit complicated between us recently and that's my fault but you are my best friend. Always have been and always will be. We only grew apart because of things out of our control but now that we are back together, I won't let anything tear us apart again. If you like her, go ask her out and be happy, for the both of us," Sally smiled.

"You really are the best, aren't you," Sonic returned the smile as he pulled her in for a long, tight hug.

"And you really are a dork, aren't you," Sally laughed, punching his arm lightly.

"But I'm your dork."

"My dork who should go be with Amy now."

"But what about our stargazing?"

"The stars will be here another night, and so will I. Now go be a man for once," Sally laughed. Sonic gave her one last hug, thanking her over and over as he jumped up and bounded away at the speeds he was known for.

'You're doing the right thing Sally…' she thought to herself as she stared up at the sky, taking Sonic's advice and trying to make her problems seem insignificant as a stray tear began to roll down her cheek. 'If they are happy, you will be too…'

…

"It's been far too long," Julie-Su smiled to her companion as she cut into her steak, the bustling sounds of the cafeteria drowning out most of what she said.

"Yeah, it has. I feel like we haven't hung out at all since that time we ran into each other. Not like last semester when we saw each other three times a week," Spike laughed, trying hard to not let the conversation with Julie have any awkward pauses.

"I miss my little Chem buddy," Julie laughed as she stuck another forkful of food down her gullet, her appetite taking control of her actions as her stomach gurgled, begging for more food.

"Somebody is hungry," Spike chuckled, noticing that she had almost finished her whole meal before he was even half way through. "Normally I'm the fast eater in the group.

"Oh my Chaos, I didn't even realize," Julie gasped, a shade of crimson flushing her cheeks as her embarrassment took over. "I haven't eaten all day and I guess I'm just really hungry.

"No, it's cool. I don't mind at all. It's nice not to finish first for once," Spike let out another laugh, just relieved that he was finally spending some time with Julie again after what had felt like forever. "So, where's Knuckles. I was half expecting you to show up with him."

"Really? You didn't invite him to so why would I bring him?"

"You clearly don't know Mighty and Clove very well. Although to be honest I think something might be going on between those two," Spike lowered his voice slightly as he glanced around the room, scanning the faces to make sure his close friends couldn't hear him.

"Well I'm not like them, you should know that. And besides, Knuckles is off sorting out his own things. He's been a bit weird lately, ever since his dad came and told him… well never mind that, what do you mean Mighty and Clove? Is there trouble in paradise?" Julie smirked, not normally one for gossip but when it was about the, as their friends often referred to the two as, the power couple, she couldn't resist.

"Yeah, apparently Clove was complaining about it to Tikal who told Eclipse who told Silver who told Blaze who told Amy who told who told Sonic who told Sonia who told Manic who told Mina who told Breezie who told me," Spike spewed out his words, listing the names off his finger.

"Spike, all you needed to say was Love complained and it got around. I know how gossip works," she stifled a laugh. "But that's kinda concerning. I always bet on those two to last until university."

"Yeah, but sometimes the people who think they love somebody just turn out to be wrong and actually like other people instead," Spike lamented as his eyes trained on a certain girl who had just walked into the cafeteria. His eyes followed her over to the end of the line when Julie snapped her fingers, bringing him back into reality.

"You alright there, Spike? You left me for a second. Is this about Breezie again?" Julie sighed as she followed his gaze over until she spotted the girl in question receiving her food.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I still love her but all she ever sees me as is her best friend. I'm like a brother to her," he frowned.

"I'm sure you'll get her eventually."

"You really think?" Julie nodded. "Well she did ask me to help her do this big project with her today. We are meeting in a couple days to get started. Think about it. Just me and her, alone for hours upon hours."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Julie rose an eyebrow skeptically as she glanced back at the hedgehog. "She could just be using you because you have a high grade or something."

"C'mon Julie, Breezie isn't like that. Besides, she doesn't even know that I love her."

"Really? No girl is that clueless."

"Well apparently she is," Spike sighed again for what felt like the third time in the same number of minutes.

"Well, just don't let her take advantage of you, okay? I don't want anything bad to happen to my little Spikey," Julie giggled as she ruffled her hand through his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, okay mother," he smirked back playfully before the two returned to their meals, changing the topic of conversation entirely.

…

Silver walked over and grabbed the metal chain that sat on the left side of the window and began to pull it downwards, watching as the blinds fell from their roll above to window to cover it.

"What are you doing? I thought we all agreed that we liked the natural light to wake us up?" Eclipse complained as he pulled off his top and removed his trousers, standing in the middle of the room with only his boxers on.

"Yeah but none of us have to be anywhere tomorrow morning so I thought that maybe we could enjoy a sleep in for once," Silver shot back.

"I don't care what we do but can you guys please be quiet. I'm so tired," Espio moaned from the top bunk, grabbing his pillow and flinging it over his head to block out the noise.

"Maybe we should keep it down a bit," Eclipse whispered.

"Yeah whatever, like he deserves anything from me," Silver glared back at the motionless chameleon who was trying his hardest to get some shut eye.

"I really think you are holding onto this grudge for far too long. It's been three months, maybe you should give the guy a break. He made a mistake but he's paid for it in spades," Eclipse spoke softly, keeping his voice down as he dived under the covers, wrapping himself up in their comfortable warmth.

"Yeah but Blaze hasn't forgiven him either, so why should I?" Silver replied as he too removed his tracksuit pants and vermillion shirt before slipping on his more comfortable, black space-themed shirt.

"Because he's your roommate," Eclipse offered as he watched Silver hop into his own bed and pull up his covers.

"Yeah but still…" Silver grumbled.

"But…" Eclipse began, glancing up to make sure Espio was asleep and only continued once he heard the purple chameleon's rhythmic breathing. "Speaking of Blaze, how is the whole you and her going?"

"I wish I had a good answer," Silver let out a long, drawn out sigh as the feelings of guilt and love flooded him.

"Is this still about Breezie," Eclipse rolled his eyes, honestly a little fed up with having the same conversation week after week but indulged his stressed friend.

"I just… I don't know. I love Blaze, I have for a long time before she asked me out and ever since she returned we have had a lot of fun together but… something doesn't feel right. Ever since Breezie came back into my life something has felt off with me and Blaze," he lamented.

"Well, let me solve this for you once and for all," Eclipse decided, sitting up to rest his back against the wall.

"How to you plan to do that when I don't even know myself?"

"Well, who is the last person you talk to when you go to bed?"

"You," Silver smirked.

"Okay I don't need these snide remarks. I mean like text."

"Blaze."

"And who is the last person you think of before you drift off to sleep?"

"…"

"Silver, I need you to say it out loud for this exercise to work. Have a little faith in me and just trust me. I promise I won't tell anybody."

"Okay, okay… Breezie," Silver admitted.

"Good. Now, when you wake up, apart from me, who is the first person you talk to?"

"Blaze."

"Now who is the first person you go see?"

"Well, technically that's an unfair question because I always go and get my morning coffee at the café and Breezie works there," Silver complained.

"True, but when I first met you, you weren't a coffee drinker. You've only become one recently. Why's that?" Silver said nothing, remaining silent until Eclipse pressed further.

"Fine, I admit it. I only started going to the café because Breezie works there and I want to see her more but she has been avoiding me ever since I chose Blaze. Are you happy now?" Silver exploded.

"Yes, because don't you see? You answered Blaze all the time, but in reality, Breezie was what your heart was trying to tell you." Silver froze, only just realizing the truth.

"But I still love Blaze. With all my heart," Silver complained, not wanting to believe what his own subconscious was telling him.

"But you've fallen in love with Breezie all over again, haven't you?"

"…yes, yes I did. I don't know what to do. I don't think I can find it in my heart to leave Blaze."

"But you can't be with Breezie unless you do. Maybe you and Blaze were just meant to be best friends while you and Breezie were meant to be more?"

"I… I… I…" Silver mumbled, trying to break through the fog surrounding his mind to think clearly when the answer suddenly flew out of his heart, emanating from his throat before he even realized what he was saying. "I love Breezie."

"Well, there you go."

"So, I should ask her out and go back to being best friends with Blaze… shouldn't I?"

"That's your choice buddy, only you can make that," Eclipse yawned as he lay back down, pleased with himself for helping his friend finally get to the same conclusion that Eclipse had made weeks ago.

"Blaze is going to be so mad when I tell her," Silver sighed.

"Well it'll all be okay. Well… I guess Spike is your one problem."

"What do you mean Spike?" Silver cocked his head, confused. "Sure, he loves Breezie but she only sees him as a best friend so he will be no competition.

"Spike knows that you had sex with Breezie while still dating Blaze."

"Well… I guess I just have to make sure that Spike never finds out after I ask Breezie out…"

…

Sonic didn't stop until he reached the dorm. He felt the cool, evening breeze whip through his quills but didn't care. He didn't want to miss his opportunity, ore more importantly, didn't want to let the calculating part of his mind try to convince him that this was a bad idea.

He rushed up the stairs, not bothering to weight for the elevator taking two steps at a time until he emerged on her floor. He acted slightly more cautious, noting that it was past the time where boys were allowed in the girl's part of the dormitory but he knew he couldn't wait until morning. He knew he would have talked himself out of it by then. He tiptoed down the hall until he came to the familiar door and wracked his knuckles against it.

"What do you want?" A tired, yawning violet feline answered the door, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Whoever it is can you tell them to come back later. It is way passed curfew and I need to get up really early tomorrow," an annoyed pronghorn sounded from her bed.

"Sorry Clove," Sonic called from the door. Amy suddenly froze in her bed, sitting up in a flash as she looked towards the door, wondering if it was just her mind playing tricks on her or if she really did hear _his_ voice.

"Oh, Sonic, what are you doing here?" Blaze asked. Before Sonic had time to open her mouth, Amy was already at the door, shoving Blaze out of the way.

"Don't worry, I got this. You guys go back to sleep I'll make sure we're quiet," Amy called back to her roommates, as she slipped out into the hall, still in her pajamas and closed the door with her foot.

"She could have done that nicer," Blaze complained angrily as she trotted back to bed.

"Why don't you take your own advice next time you try to accuse me of something," Cosmo piped up from her bed, still having not forgiven them for their accusations earlier, however true they might have been.

"Guys come on, I'm so tired can we do this later," Clove whined. Cosmo and Blaze both grunted before letting themselves fall back asleep. Meanwhile, Sonic and Amy began to chat quietly out in the hallway.

"So why are you here?" Amy began curiously.

"I just needed to ask you something?" Sonic replied, slightly flustered as he tried to catch his breath from sprinting all the way over to her dorm.

"You know you can ask or tell me anything, Sonic," Amy assured him, smiling up at her with her glistening eyes. Sonic felt his chest go tight and his knees grow slightly weaker, surprised that she still had that effect on him at all after all this time.

"I-I-I was just wondering if… y'know, since we have gotten so close recently and you've shown that you have become such a different person. You have changed for the better and Sally told me what you said to her and after the whole Tails incident thing… maybe, sorta, kinda, possibly… you might like to go-"

"Yes," Amy interrupted him eagerly as she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she closed her eyes and closed the gap between the two. Sonic's eyes flew open, surprised by the sudden response but gradually let himself give in to the passionate kiss as he pushed back against her, letting his hands fall on her hips. After a few moments, the two finally pulled apart.

"So, does this mean we are official… again?" Sonic asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Only if you want us to be."

"Yes. Yes, I do," Sonic replied confidently.

"Then we are official," Amy cheered as once again she closed the gap between them and crashed her lips against his relishing in every moment.

…

Under the cover of darkness, Tails had snuck into Gold's office after she had left for the evening and logged onto her computer. After what felt like hours of digging, he finally discovered something. The true reason Void was in jail.

"No way! This can't be true…"

* * *

 _A/N: Amy and Sonic are official! It finally happened. After breaking up back in chapter 1 of story 1, over 30 chapters ago, they are back together. But will it last this time or will Fiona and her vengeance plan rear her ugly head? Also, what did Tails find out about Void? Why did he go to jail and did he really escap ejust to be with Fiona or does he have a secret agenda? Find out soon..._

 _Poor idiotic Mighty, pushing away your girlfriend to help your bestfriend who you are also starting to push away to avoid insanity? If only the one person you are finding sollace in doesn't have a boyfriend who is growing increasingly jealous. With tensions rising and an ultimatum laid out in front of him, will Mighty make a choice or will things explode in his and all those around him's faces._

 _Cosmo, Cosmo, Cosmo... what are you hiding? Is this secret worth losing all your friends over? And now that the truth is finally out there about Sonia and her baby, what will Mephiles do?_

 _Silver has finally accepted that he does still love Breezie. A lot. But can he leave Blaze, and will Spike throw a spanner in the works thanks to his secret knoledge of Silver's mishap back at Elias' party? And speaking of Spike and Breezie, it looks like Breezie is going through with her plan. Will this finally be the thing to break her friendship with Spike or will something else happen?_

 _And finally, Shadow had agreed to help Knuckles find his long lost sibling. But who could it be? Keep those theories coming and if you liked the story, please leave a review. Or let me know if you've been here from the start, it's always nice to hear from you. And until tomorrow, have a great day :)_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Now that Sonia has talked to Mephiles, it's time for Manic and Sonic to act_

 _Razor delivers some horrible news to Tikal_

 _Ray offers help to a desperate Espio_

 _Shadow and Mephiles finally have their first confrontation since the breakup_

 _...And after managing to avoid him since right after the party, Cream has a fated run-in with Jet_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 26: Setting Things Right_


	26. Chapter 26: Setting Things Right

_A/N: Well here is the second part of the back-to-back anniversary celebration. I know, we went from two chapters in two months to two in two days. I will try to speed up the writing but you all need to understand it takes time to juggle all these plot lines and keep continuity and keep it interesting. Anyway I hope you enjoy :)_

* * *

Chapter 26

Setting Things Right

Sonic rushed around the campus grounds, searching high and low for the familiar hedgehog he was looking for. Sweat beaded on his head and fresh blisters began to form on the heels of his feet but he didn't care. He needed to find Manic.

"Hey bro, did you hear?" Sonic puffed, screeching to a half and bending over, hands on his knees to suck in air for his oxygen deprived lungs.

"I'm kinda busy," Manic shot back bitterly as he turned from his seat opposite Mina. He noticed her smile, waving at him and growled underneath his breath. "And I'm still not your bro."

"Whatever, I don't care about your ego right now. I just wanted to make sure you heard the news," Sonic panted. Manic raised a quizzical eyebrow, confused by what he was referring to. "Sonia finally did it. She finally talked to Mephiles."

"But that means we can finally…" Manic trailed off as realization finally took ahold of him.

"What does that mean babe?" mina asked, placing her hand on hers although not taking her glance off Sonic, the sweat on his face causing his skin to gleam in the afternoon sunlight.

"Sorry Mina, can we reschedule. There is something I need to take care of first," Manic quickly said to Mina before he got off and together the two half-brothers rushed off, intent on finding the people that they had been meaning to have a little chat with for the past week.

"What the hell was that all about?" Mina huffed, sighing to herself as she slouched down on the table, alone once again. That was until she noticed a certain chameleon heading her way down the path, his hands shoved into his signature hoodie as he sang along to the words of the song blaring into his ear drums through his headphones.

…

Cream strolled around one of the sporting ovals, lapping up the gorgeous, warming rays of sun. She sighed contently as she made her way over to one of the drinking taps adjacent to the bathroom block.

"The birds are out, the sun is shining and spring is finally here," she chimed out loud in her sing-song voice, pressing her thumb down on the bottom to watch a jet of cooling water shoot out of the small nozzle in a parabolic fashion, landing tantalizingly on her tongue. Cream swished the water around in her mouth, reveling in its cooling majesty as it satiated her thirst before wiping her mouth dry from the remaining droplets. To her, this day couldn't get any better. At least, that's what she thought before she saw a disheveled looking hawk sneak out of the bathroom, rolling down his sleeve.

'Jet…' Cream sighed to herself as she laid eyes on the boy that she had pushed from her mind for the past couple of weeks. She noticed how down trodden and beaten he looked. His eyes had black rings around them and he slouched as he worked, a complete lack of life in his eyes.

'Don't do it Cream. You've moved on. He has his life and you have yours. Don't get involved. Don't. Get. Involved.' Her mind tried to stop her but as she thought, her feet subconsciously began moving over to Jet without any input of her own. Before she could really think about what she was doing, she had already opened her mouth and began calling out his name, her arm raised above her head.

"C-Cream?" Jet asked, bewildered at her sudden presence as she walked over to him. "Wh-what are you doing here? If you're looking for Tails I haven't seen him."

"No, I came here to see you," Cream managed the smallest of smiles.

"Why me? I thought you hated me?"

"Jet I… I…" Cream began but paused, mulling over in her head the best way to approach the situation. She finally exhaled loudly before staring Jet in the eyes. "Jet, I don't hate you. What you did was horrible, unforgivable but no, I don't hate you. I don't think I could ever bring myself to truly hate you."

"So why are you here?" Jet asked, the faintest glimmer of hope in his voice.

"I'm worried about you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she said with the utmost sincerity, almost to a naïve level. Jet couldn't help but feel the slightest hint of warmth deep in his heart that had only been the shelter to pain and suffering since Chaz's big party.

"Thanks…"

"Jet, can you just answer this one question?" Cream said, almost begging him. Jet nodded. "Are you still cutting yourself?"

No answer. Jet didn't move a muscle or even blink. He just kept staring at her.

"Jet please… you can't keep doing this to yourself. I… I can't bear to see you like this anymore," Cream cried out, earnest and worry glued to each word as she tried to keep her composure in front of him.

"Cream I…"

"No, Jet please. I know you screwed up and I know things could have ended better between us but this is no reason to keep doing this. You need to be strong. You need to overcome this. You can't keep relying on others for happiness, Jet. You are a kind hearted, strong and independent person. I know you are, I know you better than most people so please, please stop doing this. If not for yourself, then for me…" Cream begged in a croaky voice, on the verge of tears.

"Cream I…" Jet mumbled again. "I just can't keep going anymore. First Wave, then you and now…"

"And now what?" Cream asked, taking his hand in hers.

"Both my parents were killed, hit by a car about two weeks ago… that's why I started cutting myself again," Jet finally admitted, feeling safe enough with Cream, despite her being the girl that he hurt the most.

"Oh Jet… I'm so, so sorry," she whispered in reply as she took the last step closer and wrapper her arms around him. Jet froze, not expecting to ever receive another hug, or even speak to, Cream again. For the first time in a long time, he let a smile cross his face as he squeezed back.

"Cream…" he mumbled into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

"I… I forgive you…"

…

 _I rushed away from him, not looking back. Embarrassment and sadness washed around inside me, eating me alive until my body screamed for the sweet release of the magical antidote. I wanted to forget that encounter, to erase it from my memory and there was only one way I knew how. Alcohol._

 _From the bartender, I ordered a shot, and then another, and then another after that. I continually downed the burning liquid until I had trouble standing, until the stadium was in perpetual motion around me, dulling my senses. The music from the stage centered in the middle of the stadium that Elias had rented out was blaring, calling my name like the sweet song of a siren on the ocean, waiting to drag me down into the depths and ruin my life._

 _I rushed down, the music controlling my body as I began to move to the beat, bobbing my head, tapping my foot and swaying my hips to the infectious beat. That's when I accidently bumped into her. My siren._

 _She smiled at me, winking. I stared, marveling at the beautiful attire she had. She whispered her name but I didn't catch it. I couldn't quite grasp anything and from the looks of her, she couldn't either. That was when she grabbed my hand and together we stumbled up the stairs towards the room. That was when my whole life took a turn for the worst. That was the night the siren ruined my life. That was the night I had sex with Sonia._

 _"_ _What the hell happened last night?" I asked groggily as I woke up the morning after, holding my aching head as I looked around at my sleeping roommates. I was back in my bed, no recollection of the night before. If only it stayed that way…_

Mephiles skulked down the hallway, his eyes on the lookout for the ebony hedgehog that he had been trying his hardest to avoid ever since their ugly confrontation back on the previous weekend. Mephiles was surprised that Shadow hadn't returned to take him away and face G.U.N but he wasn't going to squander the opportunity he had been given. He was going to use this free time to really reevaluate his life. Specifically, his unborn child.

Mephiles emerged in the main lounging area, intent on finding a spare couch and lounging around for the rest of the day, trying to decipher his problems. Mephiles had always tried to tackle anything presented to him like a puzzle or problem waiting to be solved. Each person was a new variable, each action a new equation. There had to be an answer. An answer to Shadow, and answer to Sonia and an answer to- _wham!_

As Mephiles was deep in thought, a blur in a red hoodie rushed up to him and, with all his might, threw his fist at Mephiles, striking his cheek bone. Mephiles, taken completely off guard, fell to the floor, fumbling around on the ground as stars span around in his head. He shook himself back to his senses, looking up to see exactly who his attacker was when he was greeted with another punch to the jaw.

Mephiles fell backwards, his head colliding with the carpeted ground as somebody leapt on him and began delivering a barrage of jabs into his ribs. Mephiles heard some screams around him but couldn't see anything passed the blurs that clouded his eyes. All he could do was use his arms to block the onslaught of his attacker.

"Manic, what the fuck are you doing?" Mephiles heard somebody scream. Manic looked over just in time to see Mighty and Knuckles reach down and grab one of his hands each, wrenching him off Mephiles.

"Dude, are you okay?" Eclipse leant over Mephiles body, helping him sit up. Mephiles glanced over at Manic who was fuming. The anger and overprotective nature that had been stewing inside of him from the moment he found out what Mephiles did to Sonia up until now took control of his actions. Now, after a week, he was finally allowed to do something about it after it had eaten him up inside.

"Mighty, I got him. Go and get Gold," Knuckles instructed, hooking his other arm underneath Manic's forearms. Manic wrestled furiously, trying his hardest to squirm his way out but Knuckles was too strong. Mighty rushed off and came back a few minutes later with the surprised, and partially frightened secretary.

"Manic, my office right now!" She screamed, her surprising and rare authoritative tone streaming through her words. Manic instantly stopped writhing, a calm descending upon him as he finally realized what he had done. He looked over to Mephiles, blood and bruises covering his body as Eclipse hooked his arm underneath the hedgehog, trying to help him up and over to the school infirmary.

Manic walked over to him and stared daggers into his eyes. Gold tensed, waiting for more but nothing happened. Mephiles didn't flinch, he just stared back, eyes as cold as ice.

"You ruined my sister's life," he hissed, hatred and malice lacing his words like poison. "You better make this right or else." With that, he retreated over to Gold who marched him away and over to Razor's office with the very real threat of detention and possibly even suspension or expulsion.

"What the hell was that about?" Mighty looked to Knuckles as the two watched Eclipse and the struggling Mephiles limp over to the infirmary.

"I wish I knew," Knuckles shook his head. "I wish I knew."

…

Shadow's phone was ablaze with new notifications, several coming through each minute. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling trying to decide what to do. He wasn't sure what to do or who to talk to. Apart from a disheveled Knuckles approaching him about locating a missing sibling, he hadn't had much contact with anybody. The only messages he had been receiving were from Sonic, Tails or Rouge trying to get in contact with him to make sure everything was okay. He assumed it was just them trying to arrange a meeting with him. Except this time, it was different. Messages attacked his phone, the incessant buzzing driving him insane. He eventually gave up, groaning as he rolled over and grabbed his phone, bringing it to his face.

Rouge: _Shadow I heard what happened. I really hope you don't feel to beat up about this. It wasn't anything to do with you. Promise Hun_

Tails: _I just went to see him in the infirmary. Everything seems to be okay_

Sonic: _I need to talk to you. NOW!_

Mighty: _Don't worry. Manic is in Razor's office now. Meph should be okay_

Knuckles: _Sorry about Manic I don't know what came over him. Do you have any idea why he would just attack Mephiles like that? Is it something you did?_

Shadow's eyes widened as he read the multiple texts. He quickly jumped up, slipped on his sneakers before bolting out of the room, wrenching the door closed behind him in a hurry to get to the infirmary. However, his journey was cut short when he smashed into somebody standing in the hallway, collapsing to the floor.

"Ugh, what the-" Shadow groaned as he rubbed his forehead.

"Shadow, we need to talk!" Sonic bellowed, extending a hand to help him back up onto his feet.

"Not now Sonic, I need to go see Mephiles," Shadow grunted, slapping Sonic's hand away and pushing passed him.

"This is about Mephiles and why he is in the infirmary," Sonic called out after him, causing Shadow to stop in his tracks, screeching to a halt. He turned, curiosity taking ahold of him. As much as he wanted to go make sure Mephiles was okay, he was more interested in why this happened in the first place.

"What did he do?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Sonic's expression softened. He had originally planned to give Shadow a piece of his mind about letting this happen but when seeing the pure naivety of the hedgehog in front of him, he couldn't help but feel slightly sympathetic towards his plight.

"Know what? Why is everybody telling me something happened without ever saying what," he whined aloud.

"Shadow, your boyfriend fucked my sister!"

"Wh-what? He couldn't. He's gay…"

"Yeah well why don't you tell his unborn baby that!" Sonic hissed, anger taking ahold of his rationality again. Shadow's mouth dropped and his eyes grew wide, completely overcome by surprise as he shed his blasé façade.

"M-M-Mephiles… he… he…"

"He got Sonia pregnant. And now you are going to go break up with him and convince him to do the right thing and support Sonia right now!" Sonic ordered, his normally laidback attitude completely replaced by one of authority, malice and above all, worry.

…

The two echidnas lay together underneath the leaves of the great expansive tree. The shade provided shielding them from the spring sun's extreme rays. The two laughed together as Julie lay her head down on Knuckles' lap. He wrapped a strong, muscled arm around her middle and stroked her long, flowing pink hair with his other hand, smoothing out her tangled locks. They both shared a happy look on their face.

She viewed from afar, her heart sinking in her stomach as she watched the two completely content to just remain in each other's embrace. She studied Knuckles' face, taking particular interest in his gaze as his eyes fell upon the snoozing figure of Julie. She noticed the glint in his eyes. One she missed being looked upon with. A look of purity, of protectiveness and, most importantly, of love.

Rouge could take it no longer. She needed an escape. She couldn't keep torturing herself like this. To keep watching the two week after week was a tormented agony which she couldn't understand why she kept subjecting herself to. Rouge rose, shaking out her lingering feelings. She couldn't take the stabbing pain she felt, as if multiple small stingers from the bees of jealousy were pricking her, sending her into a envious flurry. She didn't know what came over her but she knew she needed release. Just some feeling of love, anything.

Subconsciously, her legs began to make their way over to the hot, cemented carpark paved in front of the main entry way of the campus and to the familiar car and hedgehog who often spent his days lounging around on the hood.

"I knew you'd come back," he taunted her, his words like the tempting hiss of a snake, daring her to progress further. Rouge didn't want to but in the moment, she felt so hopeless. So weak. She just needed some feeling. But when she wrapped her arms around him and crashed her lips against his, she felt nothing. No love, no lust, no feeling. She grinded her pelvis against his, leather rubbing against skin as she mercilessly attacked his lips with her own, progressively getting more and more aggressive.

He chuckled. "There's that freak I knew you had inside. Glad I can let her out again," he growled as he wrenched open the back door of the car and threw her inside. Rouge smashed her back against the rough, dirty seat coverings but didn't care. She let him forcefully remove her pants and underwear, she dealt with him ripping off her shirt, destroying the fabric permanently and she let all her feelings go numb as she allowed him entrance inside of her. Her eyes grew deadpan and her body limp as she let him thrust into her, slamming her back against the car door again and again in rhythmic timing until he was satisfied. He stepped away, hopping back on the hood of his car like nothing had happened after finishing, leaving her alone once again. She knew it wouldn't help. It didn't help. But she just needed love and since she couldn't get it in the conventional way, the purely physical was the next best thing.

Rouge felt dirty as she threw her clothes back on, unable to look the smirking hedgehog in the eyes as he grinned maliciously at her, bringing a newly lit cigarette to his lips. He blew the toxic smoke into her face, slapping her ass as she stepped back out of the car.

"Same time next week?" he sneered, his eyes glued to her swaying hips as she hastened away from him. Rouge had never felt so weak before. So vulnerable. However, the boy she thought she loved had taken something from her, something she couldn't get back and left a void that couldn't be satiated. Couldn't be filled. She had always been in control of her emotions. Always confident in her sexual prowess but, for once, she felt completely unsure of herself. Completely alone. Completely destroyed.

Scourge watched until Rouge became a fainting dot in the distance before he removed his phone from his pocket, ignoring the vibration during sex but now that he was done with Rouge, he decided to investigate the source. A large smirk crossed his face as he opened a message from Tails and read the contents, finally learning of what Tails had discovered about Void's troubled past…

…

Shadow flew past Gold's desk, ignoring her angry yells about how he can't just rush into the infirmary without asking her but he was overcome with a need to see Mephiles. To make sure he was okay. Shadow pounded on the door with his fist, not bothering to wait for a response before barging in.

"Sh-Shadow? What… what are you doing here?" Mephiles asked in a perplexed manor. Shadow knelt down at the bedside and grabbed Mephiles hand, not caring about their fight the week prior or the fact that the two had ignored each other ever since.

"I needed to make sure you were okay," Shadow breathed, his eyes scanning over all of the boy, from head to toe, inspecting him to make sure nothing was too serious. Mephiles couldn't help it. He let out a small chuckled but immediately sucked air in through his teeth, wincing as immense pain shot through his nerves.

"Are you okay?" Shadow almost yelled, concern taking over him.

"Yeah, yeah it just hurts when I laugh," Mephiles assure him as the hedgehog tried to sit up, groaning in pain as even slight movements caused him discomfort. "Just a few bruised ribs and some sore muscles. Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix."

"We both know you need more than a night but I'm glad to see you're okay," Shadow let a calming smile cross his face as he stared back at Mephiles, all the constant confusion and angst that had been building up inside of him over the last week completely dissipating from his being in the current moment. All he was filled with was relief.

"Shadow I-"

"No. No please let me speak first," Shadow interrupted, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry. I should have trusted you. I should have come to ask you and gathered all the facts before I accused you. It's just…" Shadow paused, small tears hazing his eyes and clouding his vision. A shaky hand lifted off from the bed and with his thumb, Mephiles brushed the tear out of Shadow's eye.

"You just what?"

"Your father he… he killed my dad. He made me lose my memory. He ruined my life, Meph…" Shadow called him by his pet name. Something Shadow rarely ever did except at moments at extreme weakness, vulnerability or at climax. Mephiles took note of this as the reality of their situation sunk in.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't know. But Shadow," Mephiles turned to look Shadow deep in the eyes. "I don't approve. When I was still little, only a freshman at high school did I learn of what my father truly was. When G.U.N came searching for him I discovered the truth. He tried to explain it to me… tell me what he was doing was for a greater cause but I just couldn't stomach all the death that floated around him. I denounced my father, came to this campus so that I could board and never saw him again. That is… until I later discovered that he had been killed. Blew himself up. I was devastated, yes, but I just couldn't support what he did. I knew he believed what he was doing was pure but death is never the answer. No matter what. I'm not like him Shadow. I might not know why he did what he did, or why I am who I am today but I do know one thing. I know that I love you."

Shadow just sat there, watching Mephiles talk, watching his lips moved and his stomach rise and fall methodically with his breathing. He wanted to love Mephiles back, he truly did but one thing was standing in the way of happiness.

"Meph… I believe you…" Shadow began as a smile crept its way onto Mephiles' face but Shadow's next words wiped it off completely. "But I can't help it. Every time I look at you, I see the face of the man that killed my father."

"But I didn't!"

"I know but I can't help it. He ruined my life, Mephiles."

"Shadow. I… I…" Mephiles knew he couldn't be mad. He knew his father ruined Shadow's life, stole the last remaining member of his family and also stole his memory, all the memories he had of his father but Shadow's words hurt him too much. Much more than any punch from Manic ever could. "Please leave."

"What?"

"Please… please just leave."

"Mephiles I-"

"Now." Shadow nodded, closing his eyes as he rose and slowly made his way to the door, sliding his feet along the carpet. As Shadow reached for the door handle, he froze. He knew he needed one more answer and he couldn't leave without hearing the truth from Mephiles himself.

"Is it true that you are the father on Sonia's unborn baby?"

"Yes." That one word. One simple word that turned out to be the most complex and complicated thing in either of the young boy's lives. With that, Shadow felt his heart sink as he opened the door and stepped out of the infirmary and out of Mephiles' presence.

Just as the door closed and the door clicked shut, Mephiles' heard his phone chime from the bedside table behind him. With much effort, he managed to reach over and push through the pain to retrieve the device. He noticed a message from Sonia.

Sonia: _I'm sorry for what Manic did_

Mephiles: _Don't worry. I've been through worse_

Sonia: _So, have you had time to think about what we talked about the other day?_

Mephiles: _Yes, but I need more time. Things are complicated with Shadow still_

Sonia: _I'll give you until the break but then we really need to talk about this_

Mephiles: _That sounds fair. Thanks for being so understanding. You're something else Sonia._

Sonia: _Thanks. Feel better soon_

Mephiles sighed as he let the phone slip from his grasp and fall haphazardly onto the bedsheets next to him. For the rest of the afternoon he just sat there, like a statue, staring at the closed doorway thinking about his future. His future with Sonia and his future with Shadow.

…

Sweat beaded down her brow. Her stomach knotted up and her hands grew clammy and cold as she made her way towards principle Razor's office. She spread her palms open like pale starfish and tried to wipe the sweat off but to no avail. She began gnawing at the inside of her cheek as her heartrate began to race.

'It seemed so serious,' she thought silently to herself. 'Gold's face was almost pale. I could tell she felt bad for me, but why? What did I do? Am I getting suspended, expelled? How? Why?' The questions ate away at her until she finally worked up the nerve to rattle her bare knuckles against the wooden door, waiting patiently outside until Razor's gruff, demanding voice broke through the silence and ordered her to enter.

"Ah, miss Echidna. Please take a seat," he gestured to the chair positioned in front of his desk. His words seemed warm and inviting but something was off about them. They held some secret buried just below soil.

"What did I do?" Tikal asked nervously. Razor chuckled before hardening again.

"You did nothing wrong. But, I just want to make sure you are prepared for the news I'm about to deliver. Gold has warned me about some past issues and I don't want to add any necessary stress to your life." Razor seemed genuine and Tikal allowed her features to soften a bit and her heart to take a rest as she calmed down slightly.

"So why did you call me here?" Tikal enquired.

"Your mother called me today and-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I already spoke to her. She physically abused me and she has no right to go through you to talk to me," Tikal held steadfast, showing no weakness at the mention of her adoptive mother that she showed no interest in caring about further.

"Sorry but you must have me mistaken. I meant your other mother reached out to me. Your birth mother." Tikal froze, her body shooting up as stiff as a board. She couldn't even blink, she stood petrified like a statue. All sounds and smells were drowned out and the world began spinning around her. Eventually the muffled words of Razor finally penetrated their way through to her.

"I've been told about the… troubled past you two share but she has assured me that-"

"No." One word was all Tikal uttered.

"Miss Echidna, it is quite rude of you to constantly interrupt me. Please let me finish my sentence before you make up your mind. You see, your mother-"

"No," Tikal interrupted again, rising from her seat without a second word and storming over to the door. She gripped the knob, twisting it before swinging open the door and exiting Razor's office. Before she completely disappeared, she peered her head back in to satiate the angered calls of Razor and said one final statement. "She isn't my mother and I never want to see her."

…

Espio lay on his stomach chewing the tip of the pen that he held in his hand. He spun it around between his dangling fingers and kicked his legs back and forth behind him as he stared, memorized by the blank paper filled with tormenting lines. They taunted him, tantalizing him to write out poetic similes and colourful metaphors to later be synched up with melodious notes coupled together with infectious beats to create his newest song but he was at a complete loss.

"This is impossible!" He growled aloud as he scrunched up yet another piece of paper with messily written lyrics and tossed it into the wire-framed trash can in the corner of the room. Ever since the produce Gold procured for him released his little album he had been granted mediocre success. Although receiving mixed to positive reviews from critics, he had steadily been growing a fan base who adored not only him but his music too. He was ever given the opportunity to play at one of the local Central City stadiums during his break and the event had already sold out. He felt the immense pressure fall on his shoulders and he didn't want to disappoint anybody. Not his fans, nor himself but most importantly, not the one person who helped him achieve his dreams. Gold.

"This second album needs to blow everybody away," he growled at himself. He ran his fingers through his messy hair, trying to rattle around the brain in his head to come up with something but just as he was bordering on the ever ebbing insanity a knock at the door brought him out of his fever.

"Doors open," he called out as he closed his notebook and sat up on his bed, looking towards the door expecting to see either Eclipse or Silver. However, he didn't expect to see the little yellow squirrel. He wore a blue over shirt draped over a plain white tee.

"Ray, what an unexpected pleasure. How can I help you?" Espio asked, surprised to see the boy in his room. Espio and Ray hadn't known each other for long and hadn't really interacted apart from a couple introductory conversations during classes or hearing about each other from mutual friends.

"I-I listened to your song on the radio the other day," Ray began. "Actually, I always love it when I hear your music being played, even though you've only released two of the singles from your album."

"Wow, that actually means a lot," Espio smiled, the frustration leaving him and being replaced with a warming prideful feeling the smoothed over his chest.

"They really helped me put some things into perspective when I was really down in the dumps," Ray admitted, not bothering to keep his feelings bottled in front of somebody who he couldn't help but admire. "I asked around and learnt about where the anguish from the songs you wrote came from."

"Yeah… I was in a pretty bad place during the middle of this year. You can thank one Fiona Fox for that one," he chuckled, trying to play it off as a joke despite still feeling rather alone often.

"I've been going through some of those feelings recently and… well your music speaks to me like nothing else has really been able to in the past," Ray divulged, letting a small frown cross his face.

"Well, don't worry Ray things do get better eventually. I promise. And hey, for what it's worth I think you're not a bad guy. Maybe we could hang out sometime?"

"I'd like that. But that's not why I'm here," Ray jumped to the point.

"Oh, how come you're here then?" Espio asked, his curiosity peaking by this sudden tonal change by the blonde boy.

"Well… you see in my spare time I like to fiddle around with phones. More importantly phone apps and I've been really good at figuring out how they all work and how everything is often always connected to one source and with a little bit of sleuthing and a lot of research information that is seemingly lost can be discovered," Ray began, his smarter side taking over as he continued to confuse Espio.

"Okay, okay slow down there. I'm confused, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that, if you'll let me help you and give me access to your accounts… I can help you find out who really spread around that nude picture of you." Espio paused, considering Ray's proposal. Despite still being ridiculed by the picture months afterwards, it had started to die down and he had finally been able to put the whole ordeal behind him. However, the idea of being able to discover just who was the person that made his life even more miserable than the initial loss of Tikal was too tantalizing to ignore.

"Okay, deal. I'll owe you big time for this," Espio smiled, holding out his hand.

"Your music helped me out so this is the least I can do," Ray returned the smile with one of his own, placing his hand in Espio's and shaking it. "Now, let's find out just who tried to ruin your life."

…

Cream sighed as she watched Jet leave. She knew she couldn't truly ever let him back in. Not after he hurt her the way he did. Not after what Wave and he did. Yet, he would always keep the piece of her heart that he captured, carrying it around with him. Cream didn't mind, as long as he became happy again.

After waiting, remaining as stationary as a tree until Jet was nothing more than a mere dot in the distance climbing the stairs into the dormitory did Cream finally allow herself to move. She felt the original urge that she had before seeing her to use the washroom and casually entered the girls side of the small little outdoor, brick-layered building.

However, as Cream entered the small set of cubicles she began to hear some soft, murmured sobs coming from one of the stalls. Curiosity took over as Cream began to walk down the stalls, knocking on each door and checking underneath for any sign of shoes to see who was in there.

"Hello?" Cream called out, knocking on the final cubicle door furthest from the entrance. She heard somebody take a swift breath in before the room became eerily quiet. Cream noticed a pair of black boots raise off the ground and out of her field of vision.

"Whoever is in there it's going to be okay. What's wrong? Maybe I can help you?" Cream asked, her more compassionate side resonating through as she wracked her knuckles on the door for the second time. After what felt like an eternity, the door slowly stood open and Cream's eyes suddenly bulged open.

"Yeah, I guess you don't want to help me anymore," a disheveled Wave responded, her sleeve rolled up her arm and a small, silver blade clutched in her right hand, blood dripping from the serrated edge.

"W-Wave…"

"Yeah, me. The girl who ruined your relationship with Jet, your friendship with Rouge and pretty much your entire year. So just leave me here," Wave wallowed in her own pity as she began to close the door with the heel of her boot. Cream just stood there, not knowing what to do. She couldn't help but feel bad for Wave but the overwhelming hate was too much for the smaller girl to handle.

Cream sighed, hating herself for her actions but as the cubicle closed she turned and began to walk out of the bathroom. She knew Wave needed help and she could see from past experiences with Jet that this could end badly if she didn't do something but how could she? How could Cream help the one person who seemed to have made it her mission to ruin her life since Cream first stepped foot on the campus. Wave became her roommate too, just to add insult to injury. It was like the universe was trying to punish Cream, but what for. Cream always tried to put others before herself. She always tried to see the best in people. That's when it hit her.

'I can't just leave her here. Despite everything, she needs help and I'm the only one with enough experience at the moment to help her,' Cream decided. She might be being punished by something she did in the past. Being a strong believer in karma, Cream attributed this poor fortune on ruining not only Tails' but the whole school's championship back earlier last semester but she decided this was her time to turn it all around.

Cream hastened back to the cubicle and pushed it open and wrenched control of the blade out of Wave's hand before she could retaliate.

"Wave, don't do this to yourself," Cream pleaded. "Despite how much you think you deserve the pain, you don't."

"But I'm ugly. I'm ugly inside and I'm ugly on the outside too. I need to purge and I need to cut. I need others to see the true me," she growled, more at herself than at Cream as all of her pent-up depression began to seep out of her pours like air, all buffeting Cream. Her face drooped as she felt all the empathy fall onto Wave.

"No, Wave, you're not," Cream responded calmly, despite the fear inside her growing. "Now come on, why don't we go get some lunch together and we can talk about this."

"You… you wanna go have lunch… with me?" Wave asked, rubbing her eyes in case she was just seeing a mirage in front of her. However, as she tried to blink away the image in front of her, Cream remained standing there, an arm outstretched.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, right?" she smiled as Wave placed her hand in Creams.

"You're far too forgiving, Cream," Wave replied, still not thinking herself worthy but accepting the offer anyway.

"Sometimes I think I just might be…" Cream replied, more telling herself that than Wave as the two exited the bathroom and headed over to get something to eat and talk to one another at Emerald Café.

…

Mighty began punching his pillow, trying to relieve the stress. He couldn't think straight. He was exhausted, red rings around his eyes and black bags upon bags dragging his eyelids down. He didn't sleep a wink the night before, his mind and heart constantly in a battle, but not against each other but against Mighty's own indecision.

He was so confused, unable to tell reality from fantasy in his mind as images of Clove and Ray continued to appear around him, both begging him to choose them. He couldn't decide. He didn't want to decide.

"This is all so unfair!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, not caring that he probably alerted half the building to his frustrations.

"The choice is easy, isn't it?" a small, high pitched voice spoke up. Mighty jumped with a start. The voice seemed like it was on his shoulder. He craned his neck and lowered his gaze to make out a misty, half transparent figure of one of his oldest city friends sitting on his shoulder.

"Yeah, if you ask me there is only one option," another voice, this one more gruff, deep and less refined than the other made its presence known. Mighty glanced to his other shoulder and almost fainted, unable to believe his eyes when another hazy silhouette of a friend from his past stood atop his opposing shoulder. There, on either shoulder, were both Vector and Charmy.

"H-how are you guys…" Mighty trailed off, unable to believe what he was seeing as he wiped his eyes. They didn't fade away. He moved over to the mirror to look at himself but as his reflection stared back at him, his shoulders were bear. Yet, when Mighty looked to either side of him the tiny aparitions of his friends remained. "This can't be real…"

"Of course, we aren't real you idiot," Vector scoffed. "You never were the brightest, were you," the figment chuckled.

"Mighty, we are just manifestations of your psyche. Your mind created images of people you recognize who have no sway or relevance in anything that is currently going on in your life to help understand your situation," Charmy carefully explained.

"So why did my mind imagine you two?" he asked, still dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I'm here to help you realize that you need to be with Clove. Ray can deal with his problems himself," Vector barked.

"Actually, you should choose Ray. He needs you more right now and you two are best friends," Charmy argued. The two miniature apparitions of Mighty's oldest friends continued to argue back and forth, whispering into his ears to try to convince him to choose one or the other until Mighty felt an overwhelming urge to run.

"I can't take this. Both of you need to shut up!" Mighty screamed as he took his hands and swatted the two beings off his shoulders. They both swirled around like haze before dissipating into the air.

"I… um… can come back a later time if your busy…" a confused and concerned voice piped up from the doorway. Mighty spun around on his heels and stared into the perplexed eyes of Tails.

"Oh… hey…"

"You do know that there is nobody here… right?" Tails mentioned, slightly scared of the deranged look alight in Mighty's eyes.

"Yeah I just need to go. I'll see you around," he dismissed Tails' worried glances as he brushed past him and out into the corridor, flicking out his phone.

Mighty: _I really need to talk like now_

Tikal: _I'm busy_

Mighty: _Please I need you_

Tikal: _You know what Mighty. We all have our own shit going on at the moment so show a little fucking respect and give me some time to work this out_

Mighty: _Sorry_

Mighty shuddered, surprised by the uncharacteristically angry response from the disgruntled echidna but decided to bury in in his memory banks for now. He just needed to talk to somebody, somebody he could rely on. That's when he saw her lounging on one of the couches, her phone raised above her head and her thumbs rapidly moving from button to button.

"Blaze, please I really need your help I think I'm going insane," Mighty babbled as he rushed up to Blaze. She yawned, sitting up slowly but upon seeing the torment on Mighty's face she immediately grew concerned.

"Sure thing Mighty, what else are good friends for? How can I help?" She asked in the motherly tone that she was often known for.

"I just need some advice," he admitted.

"What about?"

"Who to choose. Ray or Clove?"

"What do you mean, why do you have to choose?" she asked, clearly confused.

"It's just… I need to either break up with Clove or push Ray out of my life a bit and I'm losing my mind and I don't know what to do."

"Why would you think they are your only two options? I can't see how they are related."

"I was talking with Tikal and we came to the realization that it was either one or the other."

"But why? Mighty, I can't help if you don't tell me why this decision needs to be made," Blaze pushed further.

"I just… I can't tell you, Blaze. I'm sorry but I promised. I just need you to trust me," Mighty begged.

"How do you expect me to help if I don't have all the facts to make a decision. You need to trust me, Mighty. Aren't we friends?"

"We are but I just… it's not that I don't trust you to keep a secret but I can't tell you… I just can't."

"Mighty, unless you tell me why this decision needs to be made, there is nothing I can do to help you," Blaze finalized, not budging. Mighty knew she was right but he couldn't tell her the truth. He promised he wouldn't.

"I… I just can't. Sorry for bothering you Blaze," he concluded in a defeated tone. He stood up and slumped over, dragging his heels across the carpet and over to the exit. He just needed to be alone. He just needed to think. He needed to go back to the cliff overlooking the lake and assess the situation. One way or another, he needed to decide. Soon.

…

Spike whistled as he walked down the hall. He held the strap of his backpack which was slung lazily over his shoulder, completely content. His grades were up. His friendship with Sonic had taken a rocky start but things were starting to look up and the hedgehog had even started to agree to hang out with Spike when Spike texted him. Breezie had even reached out to him for help on a project, a project that he was so excited for given the possibility of spending more time with the girl of his dreams. Silver was back with Blaze, happily for all Spike knew so he assumed his competition with the silver-haired hedgehog could finally be put to rest. His year finally seemed to be looking up and with the break right around the corner, nothing could shatter his spirits.

"Hey, Spike, was it?" a seductive, manipulative voice called out from behind him. He felt a cold hand placed on his shoulder. Spike spun around and came face to face with the one girl whom all of his friends constantly warned him about. Fiona Fox.

"What do _you_ want?" He hissed back, not wanting the person who he saw as a demon to ruin his week.

"Wow, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Fiona giggled flirtatiously, ignoring the acidic animosity that Spike's words were drenched in.

"If you don't have an answer then I'll just be off," he disregarded her, stepping around her after she stepped in front of him and continued walking. Fiona grunted, snorting as she felt her blood boiled. She hated being ignored, especially by a nobody like Spike, she thought.

"No, look," she began, racing to stop him from walking away from her again. "I don't know what people have said about me but-"

"They told me how horrible you are and that you'll try to trick me."

"I would never do something so horrid," she gasped, adopting an insulted façade as she tried her best to act innocent. "I'm your friend and I just want to help."

"Is that the same thing you said to Sonia?" He asked, causing Fiona's charade to falter. "Just before you spike her drink, get her pregnant and then stop the masquerade and ditch her? Yeah, I know about that so just cut the crap and get out of my way," Spike growled as he pushed her aside and kept walking.

"Okay… but if you don't do this for me then why don't you do it for Sonic!" she called out, causing Spike to freeze in his tracks.

"What do you mean?" Fiona grinned, knowing that she had finally captured the fly in the web that she continued to carefully spin.

"I heard about why him and his brother hate each other. It's just awful."

"Like you care."

"I really do." Spike scoffed at her, almost laughing. "No, because I only like it when I'm tormenting him and when somebody else is ruining his life I won't stand for it."

"You… you… you actually want to help him?" Spike asked. Despite how horrible he found her reasoning, it made sense. And maybe a temporary alliance with Fiona could be the thing he needed to help Sonic out and then their friendship would only strengthen.

"Of course. And I need your help, but obviously it's only until we fix his brother and his relationship," she added.

"Well how are we going to stop Mina. The bitch is almost as manipulative as you," Spike thought aloud.

'Mina… interesting," Fiona thought but showed no sign of surprise on her face.

"Manic's girlfriend is a worry, isn't she," Fiona added. "I can't believe she is doing what she is doing!"

"I know, right? How could she pretend she loves Manic but secretly keep trying to fuck Sonic behind his back? The worst part is Manic thinks Sonic is sexually harassing her and not the other way around! Just because she flicks her pretty lashes at him. It's disgusting," Spike complained.

"I know! But how do we stop it?"

"I think I have a plan to solve all our problems," Fiona smirked.

"I'm listening…"

* * *

 _A/N: Well Sonia finally approached Mephiles last chapter so Manic and Sonic's promises to her about leaving the subject alone were fulfilled. However Manic went a little further than Sonic. Sonic simply gave an ultimatum to Shadow to try to mentally force Mephiles to help his sister where Manic went more violent, physically trying to force him. With his mind and body now both in pain, what will Mephiles do?_

 _Fiona is a tricky one, sneakily gathering the information she needed from the naive Spike. But what could her plan be that involves Sonic and Manic?_

 _Mighty has officially done it. He's broken down. When he is seeing his old primary school pals on his shoulders then something must be wrong. If only Tikal wasn't facing a family crisis of her own. Poor Blaze, how can she help if he doesn't open up?_

 _Poor Rouge. She just hasn't been having a good run of it lately. First she loses Knuckles to Julie, then loses Cream because of her new friend Wave and now she's at the mercy of Scourge. Can anything help our girl out of her slump?_

 _Not all looks bad however. Ray has promised Espio that he'd find out who sent that pesky photo around over 24 chapters ago and Cream has managed to (sorta) reconcile with not one but both of the birds that ruined her life. But can she truly forgive them or will this all only lead to more disaster? Either way, if you liked this chapter don't forget to leave a review, it means a lot :P_

 _Also I've been thinking of an idea for a new story. It's a thriller/mystery where the basic premise is that one night Sonic wakes and realises that Tails has been kidnapped and he has until the sun rises to save his best friend. He'll have to get help from his friends and enemies but it seems that a bunch of them have their own secrets. What are your thoughts about that? And, as always, see you next time and hopefully next time is before Christmas :P_

 _QotD: Sorry I forgot to ask one yesterday but since it was a back to back I didn't think it was necessary. Either way, today's question is simple. Who should Mighty pick. Ray or Clove?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Mina reveals a deep secret to Tails_

 _Breezie begins her conniving plan but it starts to make Julie-Su suspicious_

Void returns, but Scourge is there to ruin everything

Manic and Sonic have a brotherly heart-to-heart

...and Rouge finally discovers the reason why Cosmo has been acting so strange lately

All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 27: Smashed Secrets


	27. Chapter 27: Smashed Secrets

_A/N: Hey everybody, I'm getting slightly faster at these updates. It might take a bit longer from now to get out these chapters since, if you hadn't seen, I released a brand new story. That means I am now juggling three different stories. I know, I know, I promised myself I would never juggle three stories again but, well both this and WoF are not even half way through and I had a fun idea so I decided to write it. I'm still most passionate about this story than the others, so this does get the majority of my time when I write althoguh I try to cycle through the three in a pattern. It makes sense though, since this takes at least three times longer to write. I mean take this chapter, it's my lognest yet with over 10,000 words when most of WoF dont even break 4000 and my new story, missing, will have majority of chapters about 2000 words. Anyway, I'm rambling so enough from me, enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 27

Smashed Secrets

Mina removed the scrunchie from her hair, letting her silky indigo locks fall down her shoulders like waterfalls draping down her back. She smiled as she jumped down on her bed, craning her back in a stretch as she leant against the back wall. She glanced over to the doorway where she saw Tails remove his shoes and close the door.

"That was surprisingly fun," Mina giggled as she pat the mattress beside her, indicating for Tails to come join her. He sighed, unable to break his smile as he quickly kicked off his other shoe and slid over to the bed.

"Yeah, I told you after dark picnics by the lake were fun," Tails smirked, bouncing down on the comfortable mattress next to her.

"How on Mobius did you ever find that spot?" Mina asked curiously.

"I… A friend showed it to me…" Tails trailed off. He quickly felt the sadness of silence descend on the two and decided to change the topic of conversation to brighten the mood. "So where are Breezie and Tikal? Aren't you girls roomies?"

"Oh yeah. Breezie got stuck with this massively long project and she has her first meeting with Spike to help finish it and knowing Tikal she is probably helping Mighty deal with his issues."

"Mighty has issues? He's seemed perfectly fine in the room," Tails pondered.

"Yeah Tikal was telling us about it but… well she made me promise I couldn't tell anybody and I never break a promise," Mina sighed but stayed true to her word.

"That's okay, I respect that," Tails smiled, showing her that it really didn't bother him although he did make a mental note to go talk to Mighty to make sure everything was okay. "And… speaking of respect…" Tails began to speak up but swallowed the words back down.

"Tails… is everything okay?" Mina asked worriedly as she noticed his surprising tonal shift. "If something is bothering you, you know you can always tell me. I promise I won't tell anybody and I'll always be here for you," she smiled. Tails looked back at her, his eyes peering deep into hers.

"Mina I… I'm really, really sorry about Elias' big party," he sighed. Mina cocked an eyebrow, confused. Tails continued. "I mean, like about you… and me… together."

"Oh," Mina drew the word out as she realized what he was eluding to. "No, Tails c'mon it's totally okay. You were drunk and I was drunk… it was just a stupid mistake… right?" she gave him a sidelong glance out the corner of her eyes, not quite sure what she was hoping his response would be.

"Yeah… yeah just a stupid mistake," he repeated her words in a less than heartfelt manor that wasn't convincing at all as the room descended back into an awkward silence again. Mina sat there, twiddling her thumbs as she tried to find the right words to say.

"Mina."

"Tails," they both said simultaneously. They both let out a small chuckle. "You go first."

"No, no you go first," Tails insisted.

"Well… I just wanted you to know that… well you know how I like to act really flirtaceous and confident and in control all the time?"

"Yeah Mina. I know it's been a while but I still know you very well."

"Okay… well this might come as a shock to you then but… I don't really know how to put this but, um, the truth is, you were kinda my first," she breathed.

"Your first what?"

"You know… when we got drunk and had sex…" Tails' eyes grew large as the idea clicked in his head.

"I feel honored," Tails finally said after a few moments of silence.

"Was I yours?"

"No," Tails replied almost immediately yet in a way that felt almost shameful to him. "No, my ex was my first."

"Okay, that's cool. So… what did you wanna tell me?"

"I was just going to ask if you remember our promise to each other," Tails smiled, trying to alleviate the tension caused by Mina's revelation.

"You mean the one we made back in primary school?" Mina asked. Tails nodded. "Yeah, I remember… back when you and I were almost inseparable."

"We really were two peas in a pod, so to speak," Tails chuckled as he stared up at the ceiling, recalling the day in his head vividly like it was only the day before.

"The day we turned twenty-five we were going to get married," Mina laughed, reminiscing the moment along with Tails, enjoying just how innocent they both were as children.

"We thought that was so old back then."

"And now it's only seven years away…"

"Hey Mina," Tails piped up again.

"Yeah?" She replied, getting lost in his azure eyes as he held out her hand to her. She gently slipped her dainty fingers into his soft hands.

"I'm so glad we were able to reconnect," he said as he brought her closer and wrapped his arms around her neck, clutching her in a hug and hiding the blush that slowly began ebbing its way onto his face. She embraced him back, filling with warmth as she buried her face in the crux of his neck.

"Yeah… me too."

…

Gold combed her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle her locks from the stress. She hadn't had a break all year. She went from the arson case to Shadow's background case to helping Espio with his musical career to having to break the news to one of her own students about their parent's death. Above all, she had to break up fights and continually roam the dormitories for those trying to break curfew which happened way too often.

She breathed out a low, long sigh as she laid her head down over her folded arms on her desk. All her energy had been drained and she was counting down the days until the two-week break that she so desperately needed.

"Knock, knock," a deeper voice called out from the outside of her office, accompanying wracking knuckles on the door.

"Oh, Mr. Principal what can I do for you today?" Gold asked, snapping to attention.

"Gold please, I've told you a hundred times that Razor is fine," he grinned. He ran a hand over his head as he took a step forward, closing the door with his back leg as he leaned suavely against her desk.

"Okay, Razor… what can I do for you today?" She repeated politely.

"I couldn't help but notice that you have seemed a little stressed recently," he said sympathetically.

"No, I'm fine. Really it is nothing you should worry about," Gold tried to wave away his concerns but Razor didn't give up.

"Gold, come on. You have had to take up so much responsibility. You've had to deal with many students' issues, multiple bigger cases as well as keeping up your duties as my secretary and the girls dormitory supervisor."

"It's nothing I can't handle," she protested.

"I never said you couldn't handle it. I wouldn't dream of saying you couldn't. You're a remarkable woman, Gold," Razor smiled as he placed a hand on her own shaky forearm. She glanced up at him, concealing her eyes behind her long lashes.

"Th-thanks."

"I mean it. But, that doesn't mean you have to do everything for everybody. You still need to find the time for yourself. You still need to relax," he soothed.

"That's exactly what this break is all about. Enjoying some time to myself."

"Well I hope you do find some of that time. If you ever need anything, just remember my office is right there," he concluded finally as he removed his arm and smiled at her, his eyes alight and alive.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Razor," Gold thanked him as he took his leave.

"Anytime." Gold sighed as she heard the sound of her door closing behind her and she let her head slip back onto her desk, her draining schedule finally catching up to her when she heard another knock at the door.

"Razor, did you forget something?" She asked but instead was greeted by the familiar indigo chameleon. "Oh, Espio, what's with the unexpected pleasure?"

"Are you doing anything over the school break?"

"Nothing planned yet," she assured him, causing the corners of his lips to curve up into a smile.

"Good, because I'd like you to come join me instead."

…

"Okay… so I've already borrowed some books from the library and I've bookmarked a couple of useful websites that I used a lot throughout the year," Spike began as he dumped a large pile of leather bound books on the small desk. "I also prepared this to help," he smiled proudly as he whipped out a small sheet of lined paper with what appeared to be a study itinerary on it.

Breezie sighed inwardly, trying to take in just how much preparation Spike had done. The two sat alone in the library, after hours. Spike was good friends with the librarian and she agreed to let him stay past curfew to get some late-night studying done. Breezie had to take a moment to take everything in. She was far too overwhelmed. She had never seen this many study tools in one place in her life. It's not that she wasn't smart, it's just that she never cared as deeply for her academia as her best friend did. He would always go on and on about his high grades and she always found it somewhat endearing but this time it just caused her more anguish as she came to terms with what she originally came here to do. She had to work the morning shift at the café tomorrow meaning she couldn't stay up late doing this project with Spike. She needed to move quicker. She was coming to the break, meaning she only had about five weeks left to hand in the report.

"Wow, this is a lot of work…" she breathed out as she took a seat next to Spike.

"I know it might seem like a lot but I've broke it down into digestible bites for you," he gave her an adorable, nerdy smile that only made her feel worse. "Don't worry, I'm always here to help you Breezie. So, what I was thinking is you should start reading the bookmarked pages in these books while I come up with some suggestions of what specific topic you could right about," he continued absentmindedly. Breezie sucked in air, mentally scolding herself for what she was about to do before she put on her prettiest, fakest smile.

"You're such a big help," she fluttered her eyelashes at him, placing a dainty hand on his thigh, looking up at him through her beautiful indigo eyes. "I don't know what I would ever do without you.

"I…" Spike gulped, trying to steady his heartrate as he looked back at her. "I'm just g-glad I can help," he replied, completely flustered. Breezie rose a hand to her mouth and giggled in the cutest way she could before she leant a little closer to him.

"You know I never knew how smart you were," she purred.

"I-I-I never really show it…"

"It's kinda… sexy," she winked, giggling again as a shade of crimson crept onto his face. She lounged back in her chair and opened the thick cover of one of the text books he had chosen for her, pretending to scan it with her eyes.

"It is?" he coughed. "I mean, yeah, there's actually a lot you don't know about me."

"I bet I could learn a lot from you," she smirked before her eyes darted back to the book. Spike tried to calm himself, his mind a flurry.

'Is she… flirting… with me?' he thought as he opened his laptop and opened a fresh page to start jotting down some ideas. 'No, she wouldn't. I've always been invisible to her… unless,' Spike grinned, an idea popping into his head.

"Phooey," Breezie huffed playfully as she leant back and folded her arms over her chest, pressing out her breasts slightly in the process.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"This is just so… hard. Like I don't understand who any of these people are," she continued her façade, delving further into her idiot persona that used to always work on guys back in the clubs of Central City.

"Oh, that's okay I can help you with this," he smiled as he took the book from her and began to read it to himself, re-writing the important passages on a separate page to make it easier for her. Breezie watched the clock, wishing desperately that she could be in bed sleeping for her long day tomorrow but her humanity and real care for her best friend was keeping her there for longer.

"Thanks Spike… I don't know what I would do without you," she sighed, giving into her own demons as she quickly gave him a peck on the cheek and resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. Spike felt a live, a buzz rushing through him. He felt ecstatic. Despite doing history work, he had the girl of his dreams nestling into him. Finally. Spike continued reading and jotting down notes as Breezie let her heavy eyelids slowly fall closed over her eyes and selfishly welcomed the warm embrace of sleep.

…

Sally grabbed her coat from the bed and quickly wrapped around the scarf that had been lazily tossed in the bottom of her suitcase, not having needed it since winter. She was careful not to wake the sleeping Fiona, Sonia or Wave who was still taking up residence in their room after the whole ordeal with her, Jet and Cream.

Her head was filled with voices, praising or tormenting her but all together just created more anguish than she had felt in a long time. She had been doing a good job keeping her cravings under control. Sonic had provided a nice escape from the constant whisperings that plagued her at all hours of the day.

 _Smoke. Smoke. Smoke_

They continued, never faulting and never ceasing. She thought she had been beating the cravings but ever since she tried to make out with Sonic, the two hadn't been hanging out together, apart from the one time when he admitted to her that he had fallen for Amy again. She knew she screwed up, but she was so confused. She thought she liked girls. She knew she did, but why did she try to kiss Sonic. He was just her best friend, or she thought he was until more recently.

Her inner turmoil was proving too much for her and she constantly found herself reaching for a pack of cigarettes. Fiona left them all over the room, almost taunting Sally to reach out and grab one.

 _Just one. It's just one_

"No," she screamed as her feet pounded against the gravel. She breathed out a long and drawn out sigh, watching her breath dance in the moonlight due to the chilly night. The fresh air normally helped, but that specific night it only proved to fuel her needs.

"I won't give in. I can't give in. I promised Sonic, I promised Amy, I promised… myself," she growled aloud, running her hands through her silky, auburn locks. She turned a corner, passing by one of the many buildings when she saw it. Like a neon sign sent from Chaos. There, positioned against the brick back wall was a vending machine.

Sally rushed over, eagerly wrenching out her wallet and inserting the cash into the slot, slamming any buttons that she could. Her tongue salivated as she watched a pack of potato chips fall. Sally reached inside the machine and fished out the bag, greedily pulling it open and shoveling handfuls of the savory treat into her mouth. Food. It's what she needed. The only thing that she had discovered that could satiate the desire for smoking. The one thing that kept her mind sane and focused. She devoured the bag in a matter of seconds and reached into her wallet for a second time to purchase another bag. And another, and another, and another…

…

Julie jogged around the campus, keeping up her fitness with one of her late night runs that she often took after everybody had gone to bed. She knew it was dangerous to be out after curfew in case she got caught but the peaceful serentity of the night, the fresh, cooling air entering her lungs and the gorgeous twinkling stars that danced in the night sky above her head made it all worth the risk. There was just something about running at night that helped clear her head.

She jogged passed a disheveled and disgruntled looking teenager, her auburn locks flowing over her head but Julie paid no further attention, rounding the corner. That's when she noticed the lights still blaring in the library.

'That's strange,' she pondered, never seeing the Library open past six at night. She shrugged, smiling as she slowed to a walk as she neared the familiar building. 'This must be my lucky break. I really need to borrow a book for Chemistry tomorrow.'

"Hello," she called out but got no response. She dismissed it, assuming the librarian must have been deep in the catacombs of books in the basement and climbed the stairs to the second floor, searching for the book she desired. Julie noticed that one of the many pods that lined the walls had the lights on. Curiosity took over her as she skulked over to it and peered through the windows.

"Spike?" She questioned aloud as she saw the boy scan the pages of an old, worn out history book and feverishly scribble notes on a separate paper. Spike almost jumped at his name being called, whipping his head upwards to end up staring into the judgmental eyes of Julie-Su. He raised a finger to his lips and tried to shush her before carefully standing up. He made sure not to wake Breezie, letting her head fall gently to the table. She stirred cutely, small streams of dribble trickling out of her lips. He chuckled lightly to himself as he opened the door and slipped out into the corridor.

"Julie, what are you doing here?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Why was she sleeping on you…" Julie trailed off when her eyes lit up with happiness. "No way… are you guys an item now?!"

"No, no it's nothing like that," Spike raised his palms and shook them in front of his body to dismiss her claims. "I'm just helping her with her history project. It's due soon and if she doesn't do well she will fail history," he explained as a frown crossed Julie's face.

"Spike, I thought we talked about you and her and letting her use you and walk all over you," she shook her head in an unapproving manor.

"But it's not what you think, she was helping too."

"She was sleeping on you…"

"She just got tired but I know after a small nap she will be ready to help again," he replied confidently. Julie opened her mouth to complain further when the sound of the pods glass door opening startled them both. Breezie yawned, stretching her body as she walked out, backpack straddled over her left shoulder.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you Spike, I've just been pretty full on recently."

"It's no worries. Here," he began as he quickly shuffled back into the pod and grabbed his paper of notes and handed it to her. "Here are all the notes I took."

"Thanks, you're the best," she smiled as she kissed his cheek again, making a tingle run down his spine. "If you could do some more tonight, that would be great and we can meet up again tomorrow night to work on it more… just the two of us," she purred into his ear before leaving with a nod to Julie-Su.

"Yeah… that'd be cool," he sighed, his shoulders sagging as he watched her leave with a stupid grin like a love-struck puppy dog.

"Seriously," Julie rolled her eyes.

"What?" he turned to her defensively. "She really is helping."

"A really great help," Julie rolled her eyes sarcastically. "She is just using you, you know that right?"

"No, Breezie wouldn't do that to me. I think… I think she might be falling for me. You wouldn't understand but… well if I keep helping her then I might be able to eventually ask her out."

"Spike, this isn't a dream or fairy tale. Don't be an idiot."

"Oh, so I'm an idiot to think that she might actually start liking me. Well thanks for having faith in me," he growled angrily, his hands shooting to his hips.

"No, no Spike I didn't mean it like that I just-"

"No I think you made it perfectly clear what you meant. You think I don't have a shot with her. You think I'm such a loser that I'd never get a girl like that. Or maybe you're jealous that we do start dating and our relationship will be so much better than yours with Knuckles."

"Seriously… you know that's not it at all," she shot back, not believing that he was really saying this.

"Whatever," he said, giving her the cold shoulder. "I think you should leave… I have some work I need to do."

"Fine! Be that way, see if I care when she passes and ditches you. I won't be there to pick up the pieces like I was all of last semester," Julie snapped back.

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"GOOD!" Spike concluded as he slammed the pod door closed. Julie huffed before storming off, completely forgetting why she came to the library in the first place and leaving Spike alone in the library to lay out more foundation work for Breezie's project all by himself.

…

Rouge glanced around her room, checking to make sure all her roommates were fast asleep. When she was greeted by the quiet, rhythmic breathing from Cream and Julie who had just returned from her late-night jog she threw the blankets off her. She tiptoed out of the room, already dressed for the occasion and slipped down the hallway. She fished out her ruby red lipstick from her purse and applied a fresh coat to her lips.

She checked her phone again, re-reading the text that she had received earlier in the week to make sure she had the right location as she rushed down the steps carefully in her high heels. She took a sharp left and kept walking over to one of the smaller buildings in the far corners of the school grounds, adjacent to the sprawling woods. She knocked on the door twice and waited for a reply.

"Were you followed?" The voice asked cautiously.

"This isn't a secret club just open the bloody door," Rouge snapped impatiently, the blistering winds chilling her slim figure down to the bone. The teenager on the other side of the door grumbled inaudibly to himself before he wrenched open the door and Rouge waltzed inside. She let her jacket slip from her shoulders and the teenager at the door flashed out his hand to catch it before it hit the floor. "That was close," Rouge smirked as she walked away, leaving him at his post.

She emerged into a smaller room with one large circular table in the middle. The air around was hazy and thick with smoke. Chairs were lined around the circumference of the table with a couple decks of cards and a bunch of loose change and notes sprawled across the table. Rouge scanned the room, noticing a bunch of familiar faces at the table.

"Glad you could make it to one of these finally," Honey smiled as she stood up and threw her hands around Rouge's neck. "Here," she offered, grabbing a cigarette from the packet in her pocket and handed it to her.

"Anybody got a lighter?" Rouge asked as she eyed a familiar albatross sitting at the other end of the table. He grinned as he stood and flicked the lighter in front of her. Rouge cupped her hand around the flame, making sure the end of her cigarette was lit before kissing Storm's cheek. "Thanks boo," she winked.

"Glad you could finally make it to one of our gatherings," he replied as he took his seat back at the other end of the table. Rouge sat and reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet.

"So, how much to start?"

"It's five dollars to play," Honey replied as she tossed a rolled-up note into the middle pile. Rouge grinned as she got dealt her first round and immediately had a winning hand. She hid her pleasure well, already making fifty dollars early. The group continued through the night, playing round after round as slowly Rouge began to lose more money and the cramped, secluded room grew more cramped and filled with more smoke. Eventually, the rest of the players either got frustrated or tired and left, leaving only Storm, Honey and Rouge remaining.

Rouge sighed as the clock struck three in the morning, deciding she had lost enough money for the night to Storm and was about to excuse herself when she heard another knock at the door.

"Who's just showing up now?" She cast a curious glance to Storm.

"Looks like she is coming after all. Must have scammed more money off her friends," Storm chuckled.

"Yay, I love her. I always double my money whenever she plays," Honey added. Rouge craned her neck, turning it around to spot a familiar bright shade of green enter the room. She hid her surprise as the familiar teenager, Cosmo, took a seat at the table.

"Cosmo…" she mouthed, unable to believe her eyes at seeing the seemingly innocent girl in a place like this. She just waved absentmindedly as she pulled out a concealed white envelope from her dress and opened it, tossing the contents on the table. A fistful of notes fell out, nearly one hundred dollars' worth.

"Are we here to talk or are we here to play?" She commanded in a tone Rouge was unfamiliar with ever hearing come from her. Storm smiled as he threw one of his many winnings into the middle of the table. Rouge shook her head, leaning back in her chair to watch the events play out and Honey shrugged as she also added her money to the pot.

Rouge looked on as Cosmo slowly became more and more flustered, losing all the money that she brought in with her to the two other gamblers.

"Come on," she combed her fingers through her messy hair. "Just gimme one more round."

"Sorry but you don't have any more money to put into the pot," Honey grinned maliciously, always enjoying this part of the evening whenever she gambled with Cosmo. The helplessness of Cosmo's voice, desperate actions and regretful accusations offering more entertainment than the dramas Honey indulged herself with throughout the week.

"Rouge, help me out here. I'll owe you a favor later," she pressured the black and white beauty but Rouge just shook her head, not so easily swayed.

"I don't need anything from you, Hun. Maybe you should just call it quits," she offered but Cosmo disregarded her, turning back to Honey and Storm.

"Okay, okay… what about my bus pass. It still has some money on it and it's almost the break so you can use it, like, next week," she offered, haphazardly discarding the piece of plastic into the middle of the table.

"Sure, why not," Storm shrugged as he took a ten from his pile and placed it on top of the card. They both turned to Honey who shook her head, deciding she, too, had lost enough money to the victorious albatross that night. Storm narrowed his eyes, smiling viciously as he dealt the two of them their hands. However, just like it was most nights, Cosmo lost and Storm took her card.

"I'll put this to good use."

"No, I have more… what about…" Cosmo stalled as she feverishly looked through her wallet, pulling out useless cards and tossing them to the sides, desperate to keep playing and win back her money. "I have a two for one juice card… an emerald café customer card with seven of ten stamps already… I have-"

"Cosmo," Rouge interjected, placing a hand on her shoulder and staring her in the eyes. "That's enough… you should just go back to your dorm and get some sleep."

"But I need to get that money back. I promised Blaze I'd be able to return the money this week that I took from her," she replied worriedly.

"Why did you take her money?"

"I needed to win back more money."

"Just go home… I'll handle this," Rouge sighed, annoyed at herself for letting the small amount of compassion that she had control her actions. Despite how much she wanted to ignore the sorry display she was witnessing in front of her, she couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Cosmo.

"But-"

"You heard her. Come back when you can get more cash," Honey purred, sticking out her tongue as she called the freshman who was stationed on door duty to escort her out of the room. Cosmo thrashed and screamed, begging constantly for just one more game but both Honey and Storm ignored her pleas, used to this kind of behaviour from her. Rouge waited until the yelling subsided and the clash of wood against metal echoed throughout the room before piping up.

"What was that all about?" Rouge asked.

"That's just Cosmo being Cosmo," Honey giggled. "That girl has no restraint."

"Yeah, I heard that she owed this guy from her old school in Melbourne, Nack, some money and he taught he took her to a casino to get it back and she developed quite the problem," Storm added.

"Nack… where have I heard that name before?" Rouge pondered, turning to Honey.

"Don't you remember, when I took you to the casino for your eighteenth birthday he was that creep that came up to us and tried to scam us."

"Oh yeah, that guy really needed a mint," Rouge scoffed. "Thought he was suave. What a loser."

"Well whatever her problem is," Storm cut in. "I'm glad she has it because I haven't had to work a day all year since coming to this campus and meeting her. I've made more than a grand off her. Once an addict, always an addict." Rouge frowned as the three of them continued to talk and laugh into the early hours of the morning, worrying about the smaller girl and what other problems her addiction might have gotten her into.

…

"Yes, Gold did tell me about what you have told her about the incident," Razor continued, mid-way through yet another lecture to Manic.

"So, you understand why I lashed out?" Manic asked, throwing courtesy to the wind as desperation took over. This wasn't his first meeting with the principle about his fight with Mephiles and the topic of possible suspension or even expulsion had been brought up, chilling him to the bone but he continued to speak with a brave face.

"Understand… yes," he remarked finally but continued, wiping the brief smile off Manic's face. "But that is hardly an excuse to put one of your fellow students in our infirmary. I shudder to think about how far you might have gone if my wonderful secretary hadn't arrived when she did."

"But I wouldn't have hurt him any further. I just wanted him to feel the pain he inflicted on my sister. He ruined her life," Manic complained further but was silenced by a low growl from the principle.

"Enough! I've heard this all before. I know what he did was an unfortunate circumstance but-"

"Unfortunate circumstance?" Manic repeated, flabbergasted by the way Razor was treating this but the angered stare the teenager received caused him to hold his tongue begrudgingly.

"As I was saying, but I won't expel or suspend you," his features softened slightly. "After hearing your recount along with those from some of the bystanders such as Mighty, Knuckles and Eclipse, I have a better grasp of the situation than I had before. I decided to go talk to Mephiles and he isn't pressing any charges or is holding any resentment. He doesn't think you should be punished. You could learn a thing or two from that boy," Razor lifted an eyebrow. Manic mumbled to himself, avoiding eye contact but said nothing. Razor cleared his throat and continued.

"However, I've decided that you will continue to have detention until the break and stricter curfew is in order."

"Thank you, sir, I promise it will never happen again," Manic thanked Razor as his eyes lit up.

"Oh, and one last thing," the principle called as Manic turned to leave. "You know you aren't Sonia's only brother. Now I haven't known either of you three for that long but when Sonic found out, he didn't lash out but used his words. Why can't you be more like your brother?" Manic's features stiffened and he wrenched open the door and loudly stomped away without gracing his principle with an audible response.

"Half-brother," Manic mumbled to himself. Razor shook his head as he turned his attention back to his papers.

…

Breezie waved goodbye to Bean as she removed her apron and tossed it in the small cardboard box in the back room of the café labeled 'Laundry'. She gathered her things and left, her muscles tense and tired. She was exhausted, having spent the whole night with Spike and waking up with the sun at dawn.

Breezie glanced down at her phone, the notification on her calendar prompting her that she had a history class in five minutes but her body waned against her. She was far too tired to attend any class at the present time. She gave into her tiredness, deciding instead to find a nice, thick tree to rest up against and have a quick nap. Breezie strolled over to the large tree at the far end of the spacious, grassy knoll between the dormitory and the tallest building adjacent to the sprawling cemented carpark. She sighed, recalling how this was the spot that her and Silver had their first conversation at the start of the semester. It felt like it was years ago. She couldn't help but feel the emptiness he placed inside of her ache.

Breezie sat down, propping her bag up next to her as she lazily closed her eyelids and let the tantalizing smells of blooming flowers enter her nostrils. She began to slowly doze off to sleep when suddenly she the thin rays of soothing sun on her face were blocked out by something, or someone. Breezie slowly fluttered open her eyes, squinting upward to see what was looming over her.

She bolted upright, senses on alert as she looked into the face of the boy who broke her heart after she reached out for him, Silver.

"Wh-what are you doing here? Don't you know it's really creepy to stalk a sleeping girl," She lashed out instinctively, hoping to cause pain to him before his presence could inflict even more pain to her.

"Sorry to disturb you," he began, taking a tentative step back due to her abrasive, standoffish nature that he was not expecting. He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves as he knelt down next to her, forcing her to look deep into his eyes.

"Why are you here?" She repeated.

"I wanted to see you. I… needed to see you," he spoke softly, causing her heart to flutter despite how desperately she tried to block him out.

"Well I'm very late to a history class so speak quickly and then go," she lied, distancing herself further from him in every way except the physical.

"Okay, sorry… I just… I can't get you out of my head, Breezie," he began. She tilted her head, batting her lashes at him, urging him to go on. He cleared his throat and continued. "When I try to go to sleep, you're the person I think of last. When I wake up, it's your voice I hear in my head greeting me in the morning. I roll over, hoping that you're next to me and always get disappointed. I made a huge mistake, Breezie. When you came back into my life I was scared and hurt and I couldn't let you back in and I treated what happened between us at the party as a mistake but it was anything but that."

"What are you trying to say, Silver?"

"I… I'm trying to say that I…" he trailed off, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a folded up piece of lined paper. "Here, read this." Breezie tentatively took the paper from him and unfolded it neatly. She began to read in her mind…

 _Eyes of deep indigo and hair a magnificent Teal  
You make each day exciting, fresh and new.  
I'm often confused but I know one thing is real,  
And that's the way I feel about you._

 _At night, alone, I look up at the sky,  
A million twinkling stars shining down on me.  
I tell myself no, but no matter how hard I try,  
None of them even compare to your beauty, Breezie._

 _You were the reason I faced each new day,  
When we were young, and it was just us two.  
How did a rift form between us this way?  
Now all we do is fight, and cry too._

 _Once you left, my world was shrouded in fear,  
When darkness snuffed out happiness, you were my one wish.  
And when you found your way back to me, all became clear,  
That first kiss we shared, I'll always cherish._

 _I wish I could go back and change the way things were,  
When it was just you and me against the world.  
But it's true, in your absence I did fall for her,  
And yet that's just the way fate unfurled._

 _It took all my strength to pretend love was nonexistent,  
But despite all my claims, you did capture my heart.  
For years the thought of you gone kept me imprisoned,  
But now I've found you again I never want to be apart._

 _Like a roaring rapid or cascading waterfall,  
My feelings for you always stand strong and true.  
When I hear the melodic voice of my siren call,  
I'll always come running back, because I love you_

"Y-you wrote this… for me?" She asked, mouth agape.

"Yeah, I know it isn't very good," he replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I should've probably tried to get Espio's help for the words."

"No it's… it's beautiful," she replied in a hushed whisper, still not able to believe the cute boy from her past had written this for her.

"Really?"

"Yeah I-" she cut herself off mid-sentence, staring back at him a little more skeptical. "Wait… what about Blaze?" Silver knelt there, not moving as he stared back at her, or more through her. Then, suddenly, he responded in a saddened tone.

"I broke up with her."

"Why?"

"Because I… because I love you." That was it. That was all Breezie needed to hear. Before he could explain himself further, she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him in for a long hug. Silver smiled as he placed one hand on the curve of her lower back and one in her teal hair, embracing her back.

"Breezie," he said softly as he broke contact and placed a thumb on her chin, pushing it up to face her, their faces barely a feather's width apart.

"Yeah?"

"This is long overdue but… will you go out with me?" Breezie didn't even need a second to answer before she closed the gap and pressed her lips firmly against his. Silver's heart went into overdrive as the enticing taste of her supple lips melted his insides. He gave into the kiss, wishing it would never end as nostalgic memories from their first kiss when they were kids flooded his memory.

"So, is that a yes?" Silver panted when she finally broke the contact. She giggled, punching his arm lightly.

"Of course it's a yes, dummy. I'll go out with you, but seriously, I really should get to my history class," she yawned as he helped her up. She quickly planed another quick kiss on his lips, folded up his poem and stashed it in her back pocket before she set off to one of the larger buildings surrounding them.

Silver let out a sigh before the guilt started to pool up in his stomach. He felt his phone vibrate and his heart sank when he read the message.

Blaze: _We still on for date night tonight?_

Silver: _Yeah… see you tonight_

Blaze: _Cool, love you_

Silver: _You too_

'What am I doing?' Silver mentally scolded himself as he placed the phone back in his pocket and leant against the tree, hoping sleep would wash away his troubles and guilt.

…

"Manic, wait up," Sonic yelled as he watched the angry teenager stomp out of Razor's office, passed Gold's desk and out into the carpark. Sonic jumped up from his seat in the waiting room and chased his half-brother.

"What do you want," Manic swiveled around on his heels, staring down his brother on the sidewalk.

"How'd it go?" he asked, genuinely concerned for his brother.

"I got punished but… I didn't get suspended or expelled," Manic replied in a slightly less harsh tone than before after picking up the tone of Sonic's voice. Sonic let out a sigh of relief, before unexpectedly wrapping his arms around his brother's shoulders and bringing him in for a quick hug. Manic was taken aback and wanted to push Sonic away but part of him really needed a hug, from anybody.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. Mephiles did kinda deserve it," Sonic smirked. Manic smiled, the first smile he'd ever genuinely given his half-brother since he entered his life.

"I guess I did go a little overboard, didn't I?" Manic chuckled lightly, joined by Sonic.

"Yeah. Like seriously, bro, what came over you?"

"I just… I don't know something just came over me. You must have felt the same. Technically she is partly your sister too."

"I know but all I did was yell at Shadow to fix his shit. I assumed you were just going to yell at Mephiles too like we planned but you went way too far," Sonic laughed, trying to be funny but Manic took it as anything but, his rage welling inside of him again.

"Oh yeah, because Chaos help me if I was any less than the amazing Sonic," he growled enviously.

"Bro… what's gotten into you?"

"Don't 'bro' me," Manic slapped his brother's hand away. "You don't even get how great you've got it, do you?" Sonic looked at him, shooting him a confused glance. Manic sighed aloud in an exasperated tone. "You really don't get it, huh?"

"What are you on about? I'm just trying to help."

"There it is. Oh, my name is Sonic and I'm so caring. I can do no wrong and I'm only trying to help other people because I'm so great," Manic rolled his eyes sarcastically, mimicking Sonic's tone of voice.

"Bro, stop it!"

"Bro, stop it," Manic taunted.

"What did I ever do to you? Why are you being such a… a… a douche-bag?"

"Me? I'm the douche, am I?" Manic squinted his eyes, glaring at Sonic. "Do you understand how hard it is to be me when your around?"

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked, trying his hardest to sooth his raging brother.

"That's just it. You really don't know. Have you ever tried to put yourself in my shoes? When my mother found out about you, she didn't hesitate to make us meet you. She sent us to another state and another school just so we could get to know our magnificent half-brother and get away from our father. In the middle of our final year of school! Do you know how hard that is?"

"Manic I… I never thought-" Sonic said quietly, suddenly understanding where Manic was coming from but he was quickly interrupted.

"No, you didn't think. You never thought of anybody but yourself. It was hard for us, and all we had was each other. Despite the fact that Sonia's boyfriend, Shard, had just broken up with her and both of us were in the biggest fight we had ever been in when mum just expected us to uproot ourselves and move south."

"Manic I… I'm sorry," Sonic sighed as he cast his gaze downwards, allowing the other teenager to let it all out.

"Do you understand how hard it was when Sonia, after always siding with others instead of me, to start siding with you?! She ditched me for you in the blink of an eye. Do you ever get how hard it is to live under Sonic's shadow? Everybody knew you at the old school. You were like the fucking school prince and it hasn't been a term and everybody fucking loves you here too. You've had what, five people try to get with you this year alone? First Amy, then Tails and Shadow and I heard about Sally… She's a fucking lesbian and she still wants you! And even Mina… you couldn't even give me one. One girl and you try to steal her from me too," Manic began seething with anger.

"Manic, I've already told you I'm not-"

"All the teachers compare me to you. All the friends I've made talk about you. All Sonia ever does anymore is compare me to you and even… even my new principle hates me… all because of you…" Manic trailed off, about to explode.

"Manic… I didn't realize you felt this way. Please, if there is anything I can do, just tell me," Sonic pleaded, almost begging with his half-brother as he felt his heart break in his chest. "I'm sorry I've been so oblivious and I was so mad at you earlier but I just want to be your brother. I want us to be a family. You, me, Sonia and our mothers. Please, just give me a chance," Sonic was near tears. Manic looked up into his eyes, the anger stoked fire that had been kindled alight but as he looked into the pleading emerald pools of his half-brother, the rage began to subside and his eyes softened.

"Please Manic… what can I do?"

"You can leave me alone and let me think," Manic said dryly as he turned and walked away, not even glancing back once as he left Sonic slumped over, alone on the footpath.

…

Fiona stretched her arms as she fished around in her bag for her keys. She slowly placed them into the metallic lock and twisted them until she heard a click. She gently pushed on the door as it creaked open, granting her entrance into her dorm room. However, although she was expecting to see an annoyingly hopeful Sonia or the deceptively depressing Sally, she was greeted by the greatest surprise of all.

"Void!" She cheered, dropping her things to her feet as she rushed over to him and flung her arms around her. Void chuckled as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around romantically, pressing his lips against hers.

"Miss me?" He sneered as he lowered her back to the ground. "Never seen you so happy before."

"I don't do happy," she scoffed, combing her fingers through her hair to straighten it, trying to pretend what just happened never did.

"I knew you liked me," he winked before bringing her back into a passionate, lust filled kiss.

"Where did you go?" Fiona asked curiously as she took a step back to examine him. He was still wearing the same clothes that she had seen him in since he showed up at her dorm room window back during parent's week. They seemed worn, tattered and ripped in some spots but she only thought it made him look more handsome and mysterious.

"That's my business," he taunted her with secrecy.

"I noticed you took the duffle bag of money too."

"Look, if you don't want me here I can just leave," he began jokingly, turning around and heading back towards the window when she lashed out and gripped his wrist with her hand. He smiled, hiding it from her as she felt her tug him back towards the bed.

"Now, now. You came all the way here. Why not just stay a little? You must be so tired, maybe you should go to bed," she whispered playfully.

"But I don't want to go to sleep," he toyed with her as she pushed him down on the bed.

"Who said anything about sleep?" Just as Fiona was about to pounce onto Void, right in the middle of Void removing his shirt they heard a voice perk up from the doorway.

"You!"

"Scourge, what the fuck are you doing here?" Fiona cursed as she quickly let the fabric of her black shirt fall back to her waist.

"So, you're the douche-bag that dumped her when she was in prison?" Void added bitterly, standing up from the bed to face him.

"Oh, you think you're top shit now?" Scourge challenged, storming into the room and staring down Void, who stood up to him. Their eyes glaring at each other in an intense staring contest.

"Guys stop this. You don't want to do this, he's not worth it Void," Fiona tried to sedate the issue, fearing that they were making too much noise.

"Yeah, listen to her. She knows I'd beat you too hard so you may as well back down now," Scourge taunted, showing a row of his pointed teeth.

"Bring. It. On," Void let out a guttural growl as he reeled back his fist and punched Scourge in the face. Scourge took a step back, raising a hand to his lip and touched the corner. He looked at his fingers, dripping with crimson liquid. He licked the cut, eyes ablaze with fury as he grinned.

"You shouldn't have done that," he spoke softly before he suddenly pounced, sending Void down to the floor as Scourge began delivering a barrage of punches to Void's face. Fiona gasped, trying to drag Scourge off him but Scourge kicked out his back leg, sending Fiona crashing to the ground beside the door.

Upon hearing the commotion, a tentative teenager peered her head out from her dorm room down the hall. Clove rushed down to see what was going on and gasped at the display she was seeing.

"Don't just stand there. Help me," Fiona growled at the stunned pronghorn. Clove acted quickly, darting down the stairs towards the lounging area on the ground floor. There, she spotted her chemistry teacher, Zonic, coming out of the smaller room at the back and grabbed him. She hurriedly filled him in on what she saw and lead him back up to Fiona's room.

Meanwhile, Scourge continually punched Void. He hit the face, the chest and the gut. Void just took the abuse, waiting for his moment and studied Scourge's style, searching for a weakness. Just as Scourge reeled back again to deliver a final blow, Void quickly brought his knees up underneath the delinquent and sent a powerful blow to Scourge's crotch. Scourge rolled over in pain, a tear coming to his eye as Void squirmed out from underneath him.

"You'll regret that," Scourge growled as he reached out to grab Void as he fled, sinking his nails into Void's shirt and hauling him backwards. Void reached out desperately, trying to grab ahold of anything that he could. His fingers clasped the fabric of Scourge's shirt and he pulled. The sound of seams ripping filled the room as Scourge's shirt came apart and Void gasped.

There, he saw something out of a horror movie. Three, deep gashes carved into Scourge's bare stomach, like the vicious claw marks of a wolf, tearing his skin apart.

"You're a freak," Void growled deeply.

"A freak who's about to kill you," Scourge spat back as he grabbed Void again. However, before he could deliver the final blow, he felt a pair of strong hands on his own shoulders. Scourge turned, ready to punch whoever was holding him back when his eyes met those of Zonic.

"Get off him now!" Zonic commanded. Scourge growled but begrudgingly agreed, standing up from the bloodied boy.

"You got lucky this time, Void," Scourge spat. Zonic tensed up, looking between Scourge and Void before his eyes fell on Fiona. Suddenly, it was like a lightbulb went off in his head and he pieced the puzzle together.

"Hang on. Fiona… and Void… You're the guy my mates Zespio and Zector were talking about! The one that escaped shortly after Fiona came back to dorm," Zonic announced aloud. Void panicked, quickly jumping to his feet and darting towards the window but Scourge and Zonic were quicker. They both dived towards him, pinning him down as Zonic whipped out his phone and dialed the number of his two close friends.

Scourge grinned victoriously, Fiona held back the tears that threatened to escape her eyes and Clove sighed in relief as Zonic took the situation under control and marched Void outside, waiting for his friends to arrive in their police car and escort him back to prison.

"Void!" Fiona called out desperately.

"Fiona…" he whispered back, glancing one last time behind her before he was forcefully pushed into the elevator and the metallic doors closed, obscuring him from the vixen's view.

"I'll come get you out…" she muttered to herself, trying her hardest to contain her composure. Scourge posed triumphantly next to her.

"If you ask me, I did you a favor," he smirked in victory. Fiona snapped, pushing Scourge up to the wall and pinning him, her forearm pressed against his windpipe as her soulless, angered eyes stared deep into his yearning ones.

"What the fuck was that?!"

"Now that he's gone, you can finally come back to me, babe," Scourge sneered.

"Come back to you? Why would I do that after what you just did? I hate you!"

"Oh, c'mon now, Fi. I did you a favor. That guy was nothing but trouble," Scourge laughed darkly before his words turned into a cough as Fiona applied more weight to his throat.

"You're a dick, Scourge. I'll never come back to you! I… I loved Void. More than I could ever say about you," she admitted.

"Bullshit. Fi, I know you and you don't love people. Besides, he was just using you. You know that, right?"

"You don't know a thing about him!"

"Actually, I do. I got a mutual friend of ours, Tails, dug up some dirt on him for me. Fi, you know that only reason he sought you out in prison was because he needed a lawyer to help him for his upcoming court case. Then you, the daughter of the most prestigious lawyer in the whole country just appears in front of him, he made his move. Everything he said, everything he did for you was all just so you would get your mother to defend him and get him out of jail. He never really loved you," Scourge explained, enjoying the doubt that was clearly evident on her face.

"But he would… he wouldn't do that. He loved me. He really did love me…" Fiona trailed off, not wanting to believe that, after all, she was truly all alone in the world, again. "Oh yeah, if you really know what happened then tell me why he was sent to jail!"

"And ruin the surprise?" he laughed as he took her by surprise and pushed her off him, setting himself free. "Now where's the fun in that?" He smirked as he walked off, ignoring her angered shrieks.

Fiona was livid. She couldn't control herself. Finally, after all this time, the dam around her eyes finally burst and tears flowed out of her eyes freely, cascading down the contours of her face and staining the carpet below. All this time, she had been ditched by everybody. Her parents hated her. Scourge dumped her when she needed him. Tails was only pretending to be her friend and now the one person who truly loved her was sentenced back to the hell hole she escaped from. It wasn't fair. Fiona let a fist smash deep into the wall of the corridor, burying it under a foot of plaster.

"I'm done losing everything," she sniffed, anger replacing the sadness inside of her as she finally decided to lock away her feelings deep inside of her. "If I have to suffer, then it's finally time to make the person that ruined my life suffer as well. It's time to teach Amy Rose a lesson!"

* * *

 _A/N: Poor Fiona. Love her or hate her, she really has been through a rough time recently. Maybe that song they were all singing back in chapter 1 about karma was foreshadowing? Nah, it's not like I've been layering some foreshadowing throughout this story for a lot of the characters :P I wouldn't do that. (Hint, hint. I do, quite a bit. As an example, the claw marks on Scourge's chest. This is the second time they have been explicitly mentioned so that means they must be important, right :P Keep an eye out for seemingly out of place details or phrases such as Blaze's 'Smoking wont be the death of me' back earlier referring to not only her getting caught in the fire and her mothers death from smoking, but also elluding to Sally being the real culprit. Anyway, tangent over!)_

 _Manic and Sonic have always had a strained relationship but Manic has finally cracked, but is there anything Sonic can do. And don't forget, Fiona still went to Spike about Sonic, Manic and Mina. What could she have planned for these four, and the poor Amy Rose. Find out soon! But while on the topic of Mina, although everybody thought she was a massive slut, it turns out that Tails was actually the person to take her virginity at Elias' party. Maybe there is more depth to her character than can be seen on the surface? Only time will tell._

 _Silver has finally asked Breezie out, and she accepted! It would be beautiful, if it wasn't for the fact that he is still going out with Blaze. Will he break up with her or will the fiesty cat discover his dark secret? Speaking of Breezie, she has put her plan to pass history into action but Julie-Su might prove to be an unforseen thorn in her side. Will she help Spike see what Breezie is doing or will Breezie have a change of heart?_

 _Finally, after all this time, Cosmo's secret is finally out. The lies about her parents and being robbed, the constant asking for money from her roomates and her adictive, strange betting behaviour all makes sense now. She has a serious gambling problem. And who is this mysterious Nack that Storm mentioned and what relation could he have to Cosmo? Will Rouge tell her roommates or will Cosmo's addiction continue to spiral out of control. And remember, if you enjoyed this chapter then don't forget to leave a review and make sure to answer the question of the day :P_

 _QotD: Despite all Fiona has done, do you think she deserves all she has gotten recently?_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Fiona puts her master plan into action_

 _Stay tuned, next time on Chapter 28: Fruition_


	28. Chapter 28: Fruition

_A/N: Sorry it has been a while, just life stuff getting in the way. I hope you all had a happy holidays and a wonderful new year. I know I did, nothing like having a drunken beach celebration :P Anyway, this chapter has been built up for sometime and will be the big climax for a couple of the big Part II 'Truth and Lies' arc's so I hope you enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 28

Fruition

The crescent moon rose high in the sky, it's luminescence showering the Emerald Lake campus in bountiful light. The clouds had since dissipated into the atmosphere, lifting some of the gloom that had descended upon the surroundings as of late. It seemed like, parallel to the weather, the lives of the students were about to pick up as the mid semester break was fast approaching, less than a week away.

As most of the students slept soundly, one particular orange haired boy snuck out, making sure to avoid Zonic on his usual late night patrols around the grounds. He tiptoed past the teacher's lounge, the light still on and the stench of alcohol wafting through the slit of the open window. He paid no attention to them as he made his way over to one of the grander trees on the edge of the football oval, adjacent to the vast forest.

Finally, as his eyes began to fully adjust to the faint darkness and he edged closer to the tree, he could begin to see the outline of one of the most feared girls on campus.

"You're late," Fiona hissed as she let her boot fall from the tree, strips of bark sliding off as she pushed off against it. She turned to him, her hip cocked out in an annoyed stance as she folded her arms over each other and stared at him.

"You only messaged me like fifteen minutes ago," Spike complained, slightly out of breath as he closed the gap between the two so they were both concealed underneath the foliage of the tree above them, shrouded in extra shadows from the teachers that were still out and about.

"Honestly surprised you came," she continued, her tone changing slightly.

"You said you were going to let me in on your little to plan to help without Mina problem," Spike replied casually, his need to help somebody who was like a hero in his mind outweighing the need to be cautious around Fiona.

"Yep," she grinned maliciously, a hint of doubt entering Spike's mind.

"By the way… how did you know about Sonic, Mina and Manic's whole situation?" Spike enquired, suddenly feeling like he was being tricked by her, like so many have before him.

"I have my ways," Fiona winked, not wanting to reveal that she had only been able to fully piece together the picture when Spike naively offered her the final pieces to the puzzle in their last meeting. "But let's just say that I want to help."

"And how can I trust you? You of all people would never want to help Sonic," Spike countered, not backing down as easily as he had before. Breezie had instilled a new sense of self within him and he felt more confident in himself and around others than he ever had before.

"Look… I know that Sonic and I have had our," she paused. "Differences… but believe it or not I have been in the situation he's been in before. Back a long time ago and I know it sucks. I want him to suffer, but not in the same way I did if that makes sense."

"Not really. You're playing some endgame here, aren't you? Something has to be in it for you."

"Maybe, but what does it matter to you? Sonic gets Mina off his case, he thanks you and hangs out with you more. I'd call that a win, win. Why do you care what happens to Mina?"

"Aha! This is all about Mina, isn't it," Spike clicked his fingers, pleased with himself that he figured it all out. Fiona hid her happiness behind her poker face, putting on a shocked façade.

"Okay, you got me. I need her to pay for what she did to me," Fiona continued with her charade, never faulting. "So, you in?"

"Sure, if it takes Mina down a peg then I'm more than happy."

"Good… so, here is the plan."

…

"And it might be a bit hard to see but if you look from Orion and follow my finger, you can see Taurus," Sonic drew his finger across the sky as him and his date's gaze followed. "Can you see the outline, the two points to the left. They're it's horns and you can sort of see the majority of the constellation making up its body. It's confronting the hunter, Orion. I know it's a bit hard to see but it's best seen in summer."

Amy marveled, her eyes shifting from glancing skyward to peering at the enthusiastic body of Sonic as he explained more about the constellations. She couldn't help but melt, finding it almost unbearably adorable just how passionate he was about something as simple as stars. Yet, as he continued to show her, they weren't as simple as she always led herself to believe.

"Wow… you really know a lot, don't you," she chuckled.

"It's kinda like a hobby, I guess… One of the many reasons why I adore this campus," he beamed a gigantic smile as he turned his head to look at her. The two teenagers lay out, sprawled across a checkered blanket. Amy rested her head on Alec's arm, which was draped behind her, his hand gripping her shoulder lovingly. Their legs extended from their torso, the skin of their outer thigh gently touching each other's over the patterns of red and white underneath.

"Another reason is all the time we get to spend with each other since we don't need to be home or dealing with parents all the time, right?" Amy added, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Obviously," he replied confidently before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"I'm so glad we got to give us a second chance," Amy sighed, hot flashes rushing through her body each time Sonic's lips touched her skin like they used to throughout most of her eleventh year at school.

"Me too. I can't quite put my finger on it but you've changed for the better, Amy. And I'm really liking it."

"What, so you never liked me before?" She huffed. "Fine, maybe this wasn't what I thought it was going to be."

"N-no, no that's not what I. I mean, like you used to be so… and now you're…" Sonic flustered, mumbling through his words. His face glowing red as he began to feel hot under the collar.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean," Amy giggled after watching him stew for a few moments. He noticeably relaxed, letting out a sigh that was a strange mix of relief and embarrassment.

"Not funny," he pouted.

"Yeah it was," she beamed proudly. She waited but no reply came. "Oh come on, don't be that way. Keep telling me about the stars."

"Well, if you insist," he grinned his dopey grin again, all inklings of misery dissipating form him. Amy shook her head, unable to believe how quickly his mood could change but she adored him for it all the same.

"You know," Sonic added as he continued to show her many of the dazzling constellations in the sky. "I was actually teaching Sally about these same one's last week when she convinced me to man up and ask you out."

"S-Sally?" The name caused the muscles in Amy's body to tense. Just uttering it was like flames licking her tongue. The girl she wronged. The girl she made feel miserable, worthless. The girl Amy could never love in the way she tried to convince herself she could.

"Yeah… sorry, if she is still off limits to talk about then I can-"

"No," Amy interrupted quietly. "No, not at all. I just… I think it's really cool that she is okay with this. With… us." Sonic smiled, nodding as Amy reflected a smile of her own. Slowly, under the calming night of the crescent moon, the two teenagers leant closer and pressed their lips together, their tongues dancing with each other. All of their worries faded away as they both focused on the then and now, and the body, mind and spirit of the other person who consumed them.

"What was that?" Sonic asked, pulling away suddenly, much to the disappointment of Amy.

"It was just a stick breaking, probably just an owl," Amy soothed, trying to pull Sonic back down onto her when they were instantly bathed in artificial light.

"Sonic, Amy, Curfew was hours ago!" The stark, strict voice of Zonic echoed throughout the area they were situated.

"Run!" Sonic yelled, almost in laughter as he grabbed Amy's wrist and pulled her along with him, ignoring the sounds of the angry teacher chasing after them. Amy couldn't help but join in with his infectious laughter. Despite the blood pumping in her veins coupled with her quick, shallow breaths of fatigue, and despite the angered shouts of Zonic accompanied by his heavy feet cracking twigs and leaves behind them she was happy. This date was perfect.

…

Eclipse couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, trying to find the perfect position but comfort eluded him. It was too hot so he threw the blankets off. It was too cold so he brought them buck up to his chin. Once again, too hot. Nothing was working. He grunted quietly in frustration before sitting up, combing his fingers through his hair. He knew why he couldn't sleep. It was Tikal. It was always Tikal.

She hadn't been herself recently. Ever since she went to have a meeting with Razor she had come back a zombie. A shell of her former self. Sure, she was still angry, but it seemed that was the only emotion that she could muster. She had become quite distant, something that Eclipse didn't want.

'That's it. I can't take another minute until I figure this out!' he decided, jumping out of bed and sliding on a pair of grey tracksuit pants over his boxers. He quickly rummaged around for a clean shirt and threw that over his darkened skin. He glanced out the window, the blind wasn't drawn and the thin, yet strong light of the crescent moon shone through. Eclipse quietly slipped out of the room and carefully tiptoed his way down the stairs, across the lounge and back up to the female side. He didn't stop until he found himself outside the familiar door.

He wracked his knuckles against the wooden door, hearing a murmured groan of annoyance emanate from the other side of the door. He waited patiently as somebody walked over and creaked open the door.

"Eclipse?" Tikal gasped in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here? It's like midnight," she hissed, thankful that his intrusion hadn't awoken any of her other roommates.

"Sorry I just really need to talk to you," Eclipse responded.

"Couldn't it have waited until morning?"

"No. No it can't. Tikal, I can't sleep. I haven't been able to since you saw Razor. You've been distant and different. You're never happy anymore, just frustrated, angry or indifferent. I miss the old Tikal. I miss her smile, her joyful walk and the way she would brush the hair out of her eyes with a perfect innocence."

"I haven't changed," she replied with indifference, holding back the jarring realization that Eclipse was practically lost without her. Although, she had to admit the detail that he noticed her warmed her heart.

"You have." She shook her head, causing a sigh to gurgle in Eclipse's throat. "Okay. If you haven't, then you wouldn't mind telling me what Razor and you talked about earlier this week?"

Moments of silence passed before she begrudgingly replied, "…nothing."

"If it really was nothing then tell me." Eclipse grabbed her hand, encompassing it in his own as his hands formed a protective shell around hers. "You know you can trust me with anything, right?"

"I know it's just…" she sighed, pausing to glance back at her roommates. Mina was out like cold, a light snore sounding the room as Breezie stirred silently from the other bed. Tikal looked back and pushed Eclipse out of the room, following close behind him and closing the door almost all the way so that there was only a slit left.

"It was about my mother."

"Really? You seemed to handle her well when she came to visit on parent's day," he replied obliviously.

"No… I mean, my birth mother. She… she wants me back in her life" Eclipse's eyes widened as he finally understood.

"Isn't that good news? Your mother is finally reaching out to you after all this time."

"No it's not! I don't want my mother in my life. Not after everything that happened. I… I hate her," she spat bitterly, her eyes casting downwards to her bare feet.

"Tikal… you don't mean that."

"Yes I do. You don't understand, Eclipse. You don't understand what it is like being in a constant fight with your mother. You don't understand at all," she whispered loudly, anger raising the volume but common sense keeping it as low as a murmur for fear of getting Eclipse caught.

"I do understand," Eclipse said emotionlessly, letting go of her hand. Suddenly Tikal felt a ping in her heart, remembering the sparse information he had confessed about his mother to her.

"Eclipse I… I'm sorry I didn't mean it."

"Tikal… you might not think so yourself but don't make the same mistake I did. Give your mother a chance. They only want what's best for us," he held back tears, but wasn't strong enough to stop one lone tear slip from his eye and slide down his face.

"Eclipse…" Tikal breathed. "What happened between you and your mother?"

"I… I guess you should know," Espio sighed as he leaned back against the wall, sliding down it until his bottom hit the floor. Tikal glanced around before kneeling beside him, retaking his hand in hers.

"Just like I can for you, you can also tell me anything," she offered him an empathetic smile.

"Well, it's been going on for a while. You see… my mother was never the greatest. Sure, she always had our best interests in her heart but she just wasn't a very… charismatic woman. First when she gave birth to my brother, Dusk, and apparently it changed her a bit and then five years after, when she had me, she quit her job to become a full time stay at home parent. After I had grown up enough, she never did go back to work and dad could never really hold down a job either. I would never have been able to go to this school if it wasn't for Dusk. He took up a job which he worked every day after school to help get me into a good school. When he finally graduated, he got accepted into a prestigious university far away, leaving just me with mum and dad."

Eclipse paused to think, carefully mulling over his words before continuing. "After he left was when mum and I really began fighting. It was about money. Always about the money. We weren't poor, but mum just had a problem. She couldn't help herself really. She just kept spending money. Whenever it was payday or when my brother sent over money she would spend it immediately on more stuff… and then some extra we didn't have. We were always at each other's throats. Always in an argument. This went on for two whole years, constantly yelling. When Dusk returned for Christmas, we ruined it by arguing. For his birthday, arguing. At any event, constant arguing," Eclipse sighed.

"It just kept getting worse, amplifying to the point where we didn't even know why we were angry at each other. We just always were. So bitter. That's when I left, came to this school where I had an excuse to never be around her. To avoid her at all times and the only times I ever interacted with her was when Dusk came back. He was the only way I could face her, and I think he was the only way she could face me. Chaos knows dad was no help. He was never any help…"

"So, what happened to her? How did she die?" Tikal asked, somewhat rudely. She was just curious.

"She got sick. Early last year, she just suddenly got really sick. Dusk told me it was cancer, but I never saw her after she was diagnosed. I was too stubborn. He begged me to come see her, telling me she really wanted to talk to me. Dad tried to convince me to but I just didn't. I was just so used to being angry with her my whole life I didn't know how to feel any different. I got the call late last year that she passed away from breast cancer and Dusk gave me the funeral details but I couldn't do it. I couldn't face the family. She died, and I was too stubborn and spiteful to be there for her. In her dying breaths, she was with dad and Dusk, but I wasn't there. I figured she wouldn't want to see me. Dusk came here, to the lake she used to always camp around as a child to scatter her ashes. He tried to force me to do it with him but I couldn't do it. It's not that I was mad at her anymore, I was mad at myself. Mad that anger stopped me from saying goodbye to her. Mad at my anger and angry at our madness. The last thing I ever said to her was months before she died, and it was 'fuck off.' They were my final words," Eclipse began to cry openly now, pushing through the sobs.

"Dusk told me, after he came here to place the tombstone and pick me up at the end of last year, that her final words were about me. 'Where's Eclipse?' she asked. Where was I? I was here, hating her. That's why I couldn't go to the funeral, scatter the ashes or even visit the grave." His tone changed, drying his eyes as he stared deep into Tikal's. Her heart broke, the strings torn as she listened to his story and watched him begin to break down. She wanted to help him, to ease his pain but she didn't know what to do. She felt helpless.

"Tikal," he said seriously. "I wasn't there for my mother. I never gave her the second chance she deserved, but you can. Don't block your mother out. She loves you. Trust me."

"I… Okay," she sighed, understanding that she needed to do this not only for herself anymore, but for him as well. "I'll visit her over the break like she asked on one condition." Eclipse raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You come with me."

"Deal," Eclipse nodded, tears still rimmed his eyes as Tikal leant down and placed her lips gently against his, trying to absorb some of his pain and anguish just to give him a break. She could see he blamed himself and she wanted more than anything to let him know she didn't blame him.

"I love you," she whispered.

"You too."

"Now, let's go call mum."

…

Sonic filed out of his class, descending the steps and emerging out in the calming afternoon air. He glanced around, scanning the crowd of bustling students rushing to classes or lounging around on the grass. No matter what any of them were doing, or where any of them were going one thing stood true on all of their faces. They all couldn't wait for the end of the week when the two week break from school would finally begin.

"Sonic! Hey, Sonic," an annoyingly high-pitched yell rang through the crowd. Usually, hearing the familiar tone of voice would send shivers down Sonic's spine and he'd roll his eyes but recently he had become quite fond of the voice and the boy that accompanied it.

"Hey Spike, what's up?" Sonic asked casually as the boy came to a stop in front of him, palms on his knees as he panted heavily.

"I… just… thought of… a way… to…" he breathed frantically, trying to suck in the oxygen his body was screaming for.

"Whoa, whoa, take a breath first and then we can talk, little buddy," Sonic chuckled. Spike slowed himself and took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"I have a plan to finally solve your little Mina problem," Spike flashed a smile.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, it's fool proof and Manic won't hate you and Mina won't keep harassing you ever again after this afternoon," he beamed.

"Okay Spike, I'm listening. What's the plan?"

"Well…"

…

Fiona waited underneath the shade of the grand tree situated between two of the tall buildings on the grassy knoll. Her eyes glassed over, her gaze fixated on the door to the brick-layered building where she knew Mina would eventually exit. She had skipped most of her classes that morning, intent on making sure everything was going according to plan.

"I'll see you this afternoon for gal's night," Fiona heard the melodic voice of Mina sing out across the air as the indigo-haired teenager called out to her best friend Breezie.

"Yeah, I just need to stick with Spike for a bit and then I'll head over," Breezie responded before hastening off to her next class. Mina smiled, sighing contently as she skipped along the path, passing right beside Fiona unknowing that the vixen was burning holes in the back of her head. Fiona took a breath in, steeling her facial features as she plastered a fake smile across her face and darted out from the tree.

"Hey Mina," she sang happily as she trotted up beside her, beaming Mina the biggest smile she could muster.

"…Fiona?" Mina questioned, furrowing her brows at the normally angry girl's cheerful aura. "What's got you so happy?"

"I just came here to warn you about Amy, girl to girl," she tilted her head, keeping up her charade.

"What do you mean, warn me about Amy?"

"Well… didn't you hear? Sonic is thinking about giving her a second chance and is about to ask her out."

"He wouldn't do that. And besides, he hates you so anything you say is probably just made up to get me to do something stupid," Mina protested indignantly, huffing the air around her and blowing a stray strand of hair that had carelessly fallen over her fringe back up onto her head.

"Haven't you noticed how much time they have been spending together recently. I've heard from one of my closest friends, and dorm mate, Sally, that he asked her if giving her a second chance was a good idea. And she said yes. I might hate Sonic, but Sally and I are close and she is one of his best friends so…" Fiona chuckled lightly, letting the false information sink into Mina's brain, admiring her handy work.

"…So what?" Mina scoffed, trying to keep her cool. "Amy wouldn't screw me over like that. Her and I are friends."

"Yeah you are, aren't you? Such good friends, in fact, that I remember she was the one that originally set you up with Manic, wasn't she? Pushing you on the brother he has strained relationships with to get you out of the picture and make Sonic hate you more."

That was it. The moment Fiona was waiting for. The flicker of anger sparked behind her eyes. The hidden hint of betrayal and hurt concealed behind the hazy surface of her chartreuse eyes.

"Maybe it's just time to give it up. Give _him_ up."

"No. No, fuck that," Mina growled, much to the pleasure of Fiona. "She thinks she can play me like that, I'll show her. I'll make my move on Sonic today. Show him that he actually likes me and not that slut."

"Okay princess," Fiona smirked slyly. "Prove it. I bet you can't get his pants off by the end of the day."

"I bet I can. What do I get if I win?"

"A favour. One favour from me, and it can be anything you ask of me."

"A favour from the infamous Fiona Fox? How could I say no? You are so on," Mina grinned proudly, sticking out her hand. Fiona snaked her own hand in Mina's and shook it firmly. "And what do you get if I don't win?"

"Don't worry, I'll get what I want," Fiona smirked. "You better get going. Time's ticking!"

…

"I'm so glad you came, I know how busy you have been recently," Clove continued, her spirits seemingly sucked out of her as the frown that had remained permanently as of late plastered her face.

"Not that I don't love talking to you but what is the real reason you asked me to come here?" Tikal asked, glancing around at the somewhat empty café. Tikal thanked Bean, who handed her the coffee she ordered with little more than a depressed sigh before both Tikal and Clove sat down at one of the square tables. "I know it wasn't just for the coffee, because we both know Breezie makes a much better coffee than Bean."

Clove giggled slightly, the scowl across her face lifting slightly before returning almost instantly. Tikal sighed, noticing her best friends' demeanor.

"This is about Mighty, isn't it?"

"You always could read me like a book," Clove replied dryly.

"So, tell me what's troubling you?"

"it's just… I don't think Mighty loves me anymore," Clove admitted, her eyes drifting from Tikal's to the cardboard coffee cup latched between her palms below her, steam billowing from the hole in the lid.

"Clove, c'mon, of course he does."

"I think he's getting… I don't even know… sick of me or something? It has been over a year and maybe he is just not in it like he used to be anymore."

"Clove, I can tell you with absolute certainty that Mighty still loves you, just as much as he always did. He probably just has a lot on his plate or something," Tikal responded, choosing her words carefully as to not alert Clove's suspicions as she remembered the promise of secrecy she made to him.

"How would you know? I feel worthless, Tikal. He barely even looks at me anymore! He's always off somewhere doing something but the worse thing is, I know he is lying to me. I know his excuses are bullshit but he keeps making them anyway," Clove almost explodes.

"I'm sure he has-"

"He keeps avoiding me and the sparse times we are together, he's on his phone half the time talking to somebody else. We haven't had sex in like two whole weeks! Am I not good enough for him anymore?" Suddenly Clove paused, the gears in her mind turning as a horrid thought crossed her. She swallowed "Do you think… he is cheating on me?"

"What? No! No, no, no, Mighty would never do something like that to you," Tikal responded instantly, waving her hands in front of her. "Clove, listen to me. You're special. You're hot, funny and so much fun to be around. You're such an amazing person, and that's why I chose you to be my best friend. Just like how Mighty chose you to be his girlfriend. He loves you, I can see it in his eyes. He's just… going through some stuff at the moment but give him time and be patient and I'm sure everything will go back to normal. No, be better than normal," Tikal smiled as she finished.

"…Thanks," Clove whispered, her eyes softening before she leant over and wrapped her arms around Tikal, burying her head in the girl's shoulder. "I needed that." Tikal frowned, worried about both Mighty and Clove, but squeezed Clove back to show her support. No matter what, she was going to make sure that this wouldn't eat both of them alive.

"I should be getting to class," Clove wiped a stray tear away from the corner of her eye, sniffing once as she gathered her composure. "I'll see you around." With that, Clove grabbed her things, and the coffee she had purchased, and headed off to her next class.

Tikal frowned, not knowing what to do as she watched her best friend walk away, a rain cloud above her head. Suddenly, Tikal felt a buzzing and pulled out her phone and answered the call.

"Hey… Mighty."

…

Mina waited outside the room emblazoned with three bronze numbers. She chanced a quick glance through the window, noticing both Sonic and Manic sitting at their desks near the back. Her eyes scanned the room, passing over familiar faces such as the orange haired boy that she knew had a massive crush on her best friend, before they finally stopped on Zonic who was in the middle of another chemical experiment.

"Five minutes," Mina sung to herself as she took a step back and leaned against the wall, waiting for her moment to pounce once Sonic was released from his class. "I'll show Fiona that I can get him."

Finally, the clock struck three and Zonic dismissed the class. They began filing out and Mina made herself hidden in the sea of faces as Manic exited. The messy haired boy shoved his hands in the pockets of his red jumper and plodded off down the opposite hallway, letting Mina relax once again.

She noticed Sonic and Spike standing just outside the door together, talking in hushed whispers. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but was frustrated that Spike wouldn't just leave already. Sonic's eyes quickly darted from Spike to hers, making eye contact with Mina before quickly returning to Spike.

As Mina questioned whether he had just shot her an alluring glance, or if she was just imagining it, Spike and Sonic had said their goodbyes and Spike began to walk off. Sonic stood in place for a few moments, his glance meeting Mina's in a fiery glare. Neither one moved, they just let their emerald eye's dance with each other before Sonic looked down at his phone. He threw it back in his pocket, gave Mina a weak smile before he turned and walked down the hallway. Mina grunted, thinking she was getting somewhere as she quietly followed him.

She kept in pace, keeping a few meters behind Sonic as she followed him. After a few minutes, he stopped outside a room unfamiliar to her. Sonic quickly shot off a text on his phone before entering the room. He pushed the door closed with his shoe as he entered, but the lock didn't quite click, leaving the door ajar. Mina laced her fingers in the gap and cautiously pushed open the door to follow.

She furrowed her brow, confused as she took a look inside the room. It seemed like a teacher's office, but with no files or a computer in the room. There was a large window at the back, the fuchsia curtains still drawn with two seats facing each other. Closer to the door was a desk and chair, facing the doorway. Sonic was standing in the middle of the room when he whipped his head around, his eyes meeting hers again.

"M-Mina, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked, his voice strangely shaky. Mina took another step forward, closing the door behind her so that only her and Sonic were left in the spacious, empty office.

"What is this place?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"It's an old office. Abandoned. I found it earlier this term and have been using it as my little piece of solitude when I need to think," he admitted, his hands in his jean pockets.

"It's really cool," she marveled as she took another step closer to Sonic.

"I guess," he shrugged. "But… as I said, I come her to be alone," he repeated sternly. Mina smiled, batting her eyelashes as she took yet another step towards him.

"Are you sure you really want to be alone?" She emphasized. Sonic backed up but his back clashed against the wall. His head swiveled right and left, but concluded there was no escape. He had to talk his way out of this.

"Mina, I don't want this. You know I don't so why do you keep trying?"

"Trying what?" She giggled innocently as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"This," he traced his arms around her body. "You trying to get with me. You are with my brother and I'm trying to fix my relationship with him and you are his girlfriend."

"How many times to I have to tell you, we aren't dating. We are just seeing each other and having fun," she grinned as she placed her forehead on his. "But if you want to date me…"

"Mina stop," he pushed her back. "I don't like you that way. Hell, I don't like you in anyway. Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing, yet," Mina smirked as she threw herself on him. Her arms curved around his torso, her fingers entwining behind the crux of his back, pushing his pelvis against hers as their bodies crashed together. She tilted her head, closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his forcefully. Sonic moaned in surprise, trying to push her away but she moved one of her hands up his back and rested it against his sapphire quills, pushing his head against hers.

She slowly snaked her other hand around to his front and slipped it below his belt. She felt around his stomach, tracing his lower abs to find the entrance to his boxers. She let her dainty, eager fingers dive beneath them and clasp around the object of her desire.

"Mina-" Sonic muffled as he grabbed her wrist, trying to wrench her arm out of his pants when the door swung open and another teenager walked in, looking down at his phone.

"I got your text, Sonic. This better be…" He trailed off as his looked up and saw the display in front of him. "What the fuck is going on?!"

"Manic!" Mina shouted in a cry for help. "He's pushing himself on me," she signaled to his hand that was clamped around her wrist. Sonic instinctively opened it and Mina retreated her hand and stepped back, making a show of wiping his spit off her mouth in disgust. She turned and ran into Manic's arms, draping hers around him. "Thank Chaos you came, I didn't want to be he just grabbed me."

"Sonic, how the fuck could you do this to me, to her?!" Manic screeched as he stepped passed Mina and right up to him. "I thought you were trying to fix our relationship, not try to fuck my girlfriend," he jabbed an accusing finger into Sonic's ribs.

"Manic, it's not what you-"

"Don't give me that bullshit," he bellowed, angered fire alight in his eyes. He jabbed Sonic again, harder this time. Sonic winced slightly from the pain. "You say all this shit, everybody speaks so chaos-damned highly of you but you're nothing. You pretend to be this good guy but you're just an asshole. If I ever see you near me, or near Mina again, I'll do a lot worse to you than I did to Mephiles," Manic warned.

"Manic, please you have to understand this was all her doing, not mine."

"He's lying," Mina shouted, slightly hurt that Sonic was selling her out despite knowing what she did was wrong. She thought that maybe she could have turned him, but it seems he was just angrier at her than he had ever been.

"Never again," he repeated forcefully, shooting him daggers before retreating to Mina's side and slipping his hand into hers, their fingers finding each other. "Let's go, honey."

"Wait!" A fourth voice called out. Mina, Manic and Sonic's attention was all turned to the window at the back of the spacious office. Slowly, Spike stepped out from his crouching position behind the curtains and walked into the room.

"Spike?" Mina gasped, sweat suddenly beading on her brow.

"Manic, don't believe her. I was here the whole time, acting as an eye witness and I saw the whole thing. Sonic is telling the truth," Spike urged.

"See," Sonic added. Manic's eyes darted between Sonic and Spike before finally settling on hers.

"Mina?"

"You can't believe them?" Mina panicked, thinking quickly as she calmed her pulse and nerves. "You would seriously believe him, somebody who is a close friend of _his_ over me? He's obviously lying to help Sonic!" She accused.

Manic thought it over for a few seconds before deciding she has a point. "True, why should I believe you?"

"We thought she might say that," Sonic began, smiling at Mina.

"So I might have been recording the whole interaction," Spike finished victoriously as he pulled out his phone and opened up his videos, selecting one that was taken minutes ago. "Just watch this and you'll have all the proof you need."

Mina's eyes bulged open as Manic looked down at Spike's phone, watching the events play out exactly as they occurred. She could here Sonic's pleading voice and her seductive advances. She saw herself force her body onto his and shove her hand down his pants despite the complaining from Sonic. Her eyes found his, like they had multiple times before but she didn't find confusion in his. She found passion, she found victory. He sneered at her, grinning maliciously.

"Manic… I-I can explain," Mina began as the video ended. Spike nodded at Sonic as they both turned their attention to Manic who stood as tall as a statue. His hands were balled into fists, shaking slightly at his sides. He took a deep breath in through his nose and expelled the air out of his mouth.

"Get. Out." He said quietly.

"What?"

"I said get the fuck out!" Manic exploded, his hands shooting above his head as spittle flew from his mouth, staining the shocked expression on Mina's face. "Get out of this room, of my life and of my brother's life you slutty, home wrecking bitch!"

"Bit harsh," Spike whispered to Sonic but the teenager wasn't paying attention, just pleased to hear Manic finally refer to him as a brother.

"Manic please…" she begged, staring deep into his eyes. The fire that had been kindled by Sonic was now a raging bonfire, consuming his eyes, face and whole body. He was now visibly shaking and it almost looked like he was about to punch her. Spike noticed this, staying on alert incase things escalated any further, remembering Manic's previous outburst towards Mephiles.

"If you're not gone in five seconds I swear to Chaos…" he warned, his voice scarily low and menacing. "Five."

"But-"

"Four, three."

"Manic…"

"Two, one!"

"But Amy said-"

"Wait-" Sonic quickly stepped in between the two, ceasing Manic's counting.

"Sonic, don't try to defend her," Manic barked.

"What about Amy?" He asked, ignoring Manic's words. Mina shook, on the verge of tears as she continued shakily.

"The only reason I ever tried this was because of her," Mina explained. As she continued, Sonic's face began to scrunch off, anger at Mina slowly switching over to anger at Amy. "After I first talked to you and failed, I ran into her and she helped me win you over. She suggested getting with Manic to get close to you and eventually win you over by making you sad that your relationship with him was strained. She thought that you would break up with your old partner that way because you would be more vulnerable and I could pick up the pieces," Mina admitted, sobbing silently. "I just wanted a boyfriend, a real one who cared about me and she helped me try to get one. I didn't mean to…"

"More like so she could pick up the pieces," Spike muttered under his breath. Sonic shot him an annoyed glance, the looking showing Spike that he had already made the connection.

"I can't believe she did this… I thought she was different," Sonic growled silently.

"To be fair, this all started ages ago, when she was still seeing Sally so-"

"Don't try to defend her," Manic interjected, almost as angry as Sonic.

"I need to talk to her. This is going way to far, this is so fucked," Sonic mumbled to himself before rushing out the door without a second glance.

"Now this I gotta see," Manic smiled as he followed, leaving Spike alone in the room.

"I never should have made that bet with Fiona," Mina sobbed, beginning a break down as she quickly ran from the room so Spike couldn't see her at her most vulnerable. Spike froze. It was like the name from Mina's tongue was a poison dart that stuck into Spike's neck, contorting him.

"Fiona… this is what she wanted all along… she played me like a fiddle," Spike spoke aloud, bewildered that he didn't think this through.

"That was a lot more entertaining than I imagined," a voice cackled from the doorway.

"This was never about Mina… was it?"

"Not in the slightest, but I did enjoy her little breakdown," Fiona smiled as she stepped from the shadows into the room.

"Amy was the one that sent you to prison, who framed you. Amy was the one who got you on probation from Razor after you attacked her and Amy is the one who got her happy ending with Sonic."

"Looks like there is a brain in there somewhere," Fiona smiled. "But you were too busy trying to help your 'hero' that you would do anything for him, even if it was going to hurt him in the end."

"You're a monster," Spike said dryly, unable to say anything else, too frozen by anger at himself and surprise at how easily Fiona played him.

"No, _she_ is the monster. And now she is finally get what she deserves. If I can't get a happy ending, neither can she."

"You'll never be happy if you treat others like this, Fiona."

"As long as everybody else feels what I have felt for so long, that's all I need," Fiona spat as she turned to leave. Spike just stood alone in the room, stewing in his self-deprecation and mentally scolding himself. He knew he would never again trust Fiona. Never.

…

Tikal frowned, not knowing what to do as she watched her best friend walk away, a rain cloud above her head. Suddenly, Tikal felt a buzzing and pulled out her phone and answered the call.

"Hey… Mighty."

"Hey Tikal, I've given what you said to me the other day some thought," he began, his voice slow and raspy, like each word had to be forced out of his mouth.

"You mean about Clove?"

"…Yeah," the voice responded in a hushed whisper, like he was unsure if his words were true or not.

"And?" Tikal urged, pressing the phone as hard as she could against her cheek and ear, like it would speed up Mighty's response on the other line.

"It's just… Ray needs me. He needs me more than Clove has ever needed me right now and I know that if I devote more time into helping him get better, he'll go back to the guy we all used to know and love. He can get better. But Clove doesn't need me. She loves me, and I her, but she will get over it. She'll be sad for like a week and move on with her life, meet somebody new and enjoy life. Maybe I can try again with her after all this has calmed down and Ray has gotten better, that is if she ever forgives me, but that's a risk I need to take," Mighty explained.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Best friend since childhood or a high school girl friend? One who needs me or one who thinks they do? One who I'm not sure if they can move on without me or one who I know can easily? The choice is simple…"

"And that choice is?" Tikal asked, although already knowing what the response is going to be. She felt her heart ache as the words spilled out of the receiver.

"I'm going to break up with Clove."

* * *

 _A/N: Well there you have it. Fiona's big plans. Was it illegal? No. Was it violent? No. Was it conniving and clever? Well, I hope you guys answer yes :P Yes, after all this time, she was just using Mina, Sonic, Spike and Manic all just to get her revenge on Amy. As fulfilling as beating her senseless was for Fiona, it only gave her sympathy and once she finally got the boy she always wanted, Fiona was fed up. She tricked Spike into doing her plan. She tricked Mina into trying it so she would get caught and she planted the memory of how it was originally Amy's idea for Mina to get with Manic and everybody played their parts to a T. Fiona does really see the school as a chess game and the students a pieces. After having her first true love killed in front of her, having her overbearing parents disown her/her disowning them, having gone to prison for somethign she didn't dow, having her boyfriend tell her he only used her for sex and finally, the new guy who she really fell hard for get sent back to prison by her ex boyfriend Fiona couldn't take it anymore. She needed people to feel pain she had felt, and she needed Amy to feel it the most._

 _Also, a major theme since the start of this part when Sonic and Tails discovered the gravestone of Veil, was what happened with Eclipse and his mother, since we found out most of the details with Tikal's family past. Eclipse finally revealed almost all of it, and it broke Tikal's heart so she has finally agreed to give her mother a second chance despite all that happened with her brother. Will their meeting go well over the break?_

 _And finally, although a smaller part of the chapter, was Clove's conversation to Tikal about how she has been feeling about this whole ordeal as we know what Mighty is feeling but remember, she doesn't know about Ray at all. Imagine how she has been feeling. After Tikal consoled her, she got a call from none other than Mighty who finally decided to break up with Clove. Is it the right choice or will it only lead to more heartbreak?_

 _Thankyou all for keeping up and reading my stories throughout 2016, it means a lot. All the reviews, follows, favourites and just people reading what I created is so humbling and I can't thank you all enough. So I hope you all have an amazing 2017 and don't forget to review and answer the question of the day :D_

 _QotD: Double Question - Was Fiona's plan Clever or Crap? And, Did Mighty make the right choice?_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Mighty dumps Clove_

 _Julie-Su and Knuckles finally seal the deal_

 _Mina goes to Tails for consolidation where he reveals just how close him and Sonic used to be_

 _Cream, Cosmo and Sonia try to convince Wave and Jet to stop hurting themselves_

 _...and Sonic confronts Amy_

 _All this and so, so, so much more (like scenes with Gold, Razor, Shadow, Spike, Fiona, Blaze, Eclipse and more) next time on Chapter 29: The End of Term_


	29. Chapter 29: The End of Term

_A/N: Hey everybody, I hope you have all been enjoying the break. I know I have (assuming you haven't already gone back to school/uni/work since I don't go back until late February because Australia :D) I just wanted to prefice this chapter by thanking all of you for your continued support throughout this story. All we have left is the two part finale of this second part, 'Truth and Lies'. Chapter 32 will officially start part 3 which is 'Death's Door.' Yeah, remember the death hinted at way back in chapter 1, well it was pushed back a bit when I doubled the stories length but it will finally happen at some point within the next 14 chapters so look forward to that. But on a slightly sadder note, I will be taking a short hiatus. Not just on this story, but from writing in general. I have written basically non stop for over a year now, completing 3 big stories and still working on 3 more. I've written like 500,000 words in 2016 and that is a hell of a lot and I just need a break. And since I should be on a break, I'm taking one. This isn't goodbye but just that I won't be doing any writing until February. I know it sucks that I'm taking this right before the two part finale but that's just how things work out. SO anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 29

The End of Term

Sonic fumed as he stormed down the hallway. He angrily shoved passed other students who crowded the halls, ignoring their angry shouts. He had tunnel vision and all he could think about was Amy. No matter what happened in his life this year, everything seemed to lead back to her.

"Hey Sonic, I-"

"Not now!" Sonic growled angrily, pushing Tails aside as the boy tried to gather his attention in the main lounging area. He took a sharp left and stomped up the stairs, unable to stand still and wait for the elevator in fear of stewing in his anger and letting it out on whichever unfortunate soul was stuck in the elevator with him. Eventually he found his way to her door and turned the handle, finding it unlocked and entered without knocking.

"Hey," Blaze screamed in surprise when she laid eyes on Sonic. "You can't just enter without knocking, this isn't your room."

"Get out!"

"This is my room you can't tell me what to-"

"Get. Out." He ground his teeth together, his eyes narrow and his words quiet, dark and forceful. Blaze felt fear, real fear seeing him this way. She nodded obediently, scared to try to stand up to him any longer when he was in this state. Blaze had known Sonic for a long time and they had become friends almost as fast as Sonic had with Tails when he first moved to the city and she had never seen him this worked up before. She grabbed her laptop, phone and quickly hurried out of the room.

"Whoa, calm down baby, what's wrong?" Amy asked, already standing from her bed as he entered. "I'm sure whatever Blaze did it can't be that bad."

"Blaze did nothing," he turned to glare at her, his unrelenting gaze burning a whole right between her eyes.

"Why did you get her to leave?"

"I didn't want her to witness this," he began, raising his voice as he closed the distance between her. "How dare you."

"What did I do?" Amy asked innocently.

"Always the innocent one, aren't we? Always playing the princess card? Well I have news for you, the world doesn't fucking revolve around you and you can't just walk all over everybody to get whatever the fuck you want," he screamed, rage exploding from his mouth as embers danced in his emerald eyes.

"Where is all this coming from?"

"You! You were the one who told Mina to get with Manic. You were the one who told her to seduce me. You strained my already brittle relationship with my brother. You broke Tails and I up. You tricked me into falling for you!"

"S-Sonic… I-I can explain."

"Well good 'cause I'm all ears," he threw his hands up in the air for emphasis, their eye-contact never breaking, more intense than ever.

"I was jealous, okay? Of you and Tails. How you had something I could never have with Sally, no matter how much I tried. I couldn't not love you, Sonic. But that was the old me, you even said yourself the yesterday how much I've changed. You know I've changed."

"Oh you've changed, have you? Well how fucking strange is it that even after you change, it's still you that is fucking up my life?"

"Fucking up your life? I wasn't the one who put a strain on your relationship with your brother, that was you being a fucking idiot when he first came into your life. You burnt that bridge, not me," she fired back, her voice shaky. "Yes, I told Mina to do it. I was a little shit but I've changed. Don't come back and judge the old me!"

"If it wasn't for you things could have been different. Maybe Manic and I could have a healthy relationship like I created with Sonia. Maybe things would have been different between me and Tails."

"Don't you dare pin that on me!" Amy shrieked, angered that he brought Tails into the conversation. Those in the adjacent rooms could clearly hear the conversation now but froze, scared to make a sound in case the two teenagers turned their wraths against them. Their anger alone is scary but combined could break anybody.

"It was your fault."

"No, it wasn't! You said how you felt he was clingy. That _you_ wanted to go back to being best friends, not me!"

"And now somehow, I'm with you, just what you always wanted."

"Are you saying I tricked you? You fucking shit! I didn't trick you into liking me? Do you even love me?!" tears began trickling down Amy's eyes but the two headstrong teens refused to back down, neither one wanting to seem weaker. Two ends of a magnet, repelling each other but trying to butt heads despite the field between them.

"I… I don't even know anymore," Sonic's voice dropped as he cast his gaze downwards, his eyes growing soft. Distant.

"So what?" Amy still fumed, unable to stop yelling. "Do you want to break up, is that it?"

"I… I don't know," Sonic admitted silently as he turned to leave, ignoring Amy's angered shouts behind him. Blaze watched him turn, her face pale as she listened to the argument. She paused, unsure whether to follow Sonic or go in to comfort the raging girl inside her room. Instead, she just stood frozen in place, nailed to the floor.

…

"I still don't know if I can do this," Mighty lamented, his hand shaking as he stared at his phone for what felt like hours.

"Mighty, you know you have to. You made a choice and you need to stick to it," Tikal responded calmly, albeit slightly frustrated that she needed to be there for him.

"But I don't think I want to," Mighty sighed.

"Of course you don't want to," Tikal reasoned. "But you already said you didn't have the courage to tell her in person, even though I really think you should, and if your heart tells you that you can't do this, maybe this is your own way of saying you should choose her."

"No," Mighty snapped back immediately. "This is the right choice."

"Then just breath and dial." Mighty complied before inputting the number he knew off by heart and dialed the phone. He brought it to his ear and listened to it ring before finally the uplifting voice of Clove on the other side greeting him in her own special way brought a smile to Mighty's face. It was quickly wiped away when he remembered what he was doing.

Tikal sat beside him, listening intently despite only being able to hear his side of the conversation, her heart breaking with each passing moment.

"Hey Clove… yeah I just-yeah please I have something important I need to say," he began. "I just really have been going through some things recently. Everything is so fucked up for me right now and I haven't been in the right headspace and that is unfair to you. I've been a shit boyfriend and I have seen the way it has taken its toll on you. I know this might sound cliché but it is really me that's the problem and if we continue this thing we have then I will just keep letting you down again and again and keep hurting you. I've seen how I have been affecting you and it breaks my heart to see you this way so I think it's best if I…" Mighty choked up, pausing. He glanced to Tikal who gave him a helpful smile, masking her sadness as he smiled weakly back. He spoke carefully into the phone. "If we broke up."

Tikal watched his face, him showing no emotion as he listened to words on the other line. He said nothing, just listened to her voice, none of which Tikal could decipher although she could have sworn she heard crying. She made sure to go straight to Clove to console her after Mighty had hung up.

"I'm sorry," Mighty sniffed as he hung up the phone and buried it in his pocket.

"How was it?" Tikal asked. Mighty looked at her before falling into her arms. She held him back, squeezing him as he buried his face into the crook of her shoulder, tears streaming down his cheeks and staining her shirt. "Don't worry, I've got you," she soothed, rubbing his back. "You made the right choice."

Meanwhile, Eclipse walked by and glanced into the quiet café. He noticed Tikal and opened his mouth to greet her, beginning to walk over when he suddenly noticed someone with her. Not just with her, but hugging her. Burying his face into her shoulder. He rubbing his back smoothly. That's when he saw it was Mighty, the guy who was his friend. The guy who first convinced him to ask Tikal out, the guy who was supposed to be with Tikal's best friend. He felt the jealously surge around inside of him, eat him whole. It was as if his skin was turning green. He felt sick, grinding his teeth to keep himself from exploding with anger.

"How could he try this?" Eclipse whispered to himself. "This explains why those two are always together recently. He's trying to steal her from me. I'll make sure that doesn't happen!"

…

Julie bounced the ball expertly between his legs, reclaiming it on the other side before leaping up and tossing the ball into the ring.

"Game!" Julie whooped victoriously as she began to moonwalk along one of the many painted white lines on the floorboards.

"Okay, okay, you got the best of me this time but just watch out," Knuckles panted, dragging the back of his hand across his forehead to absorb some of the sweat dripping off his brow.

"Oh shit, is that really the time?" Julie cursed as she picked up her phone, noticing that the rest of the team they practiced with had already left over an hour ago and they had been too engrossed in their game to realize the time ticking by.

"Yeah, we should get ready or else there will be no dinner left in the dining room. I hear it's taco night tonight," Knuckles grinned, salivating from the mere thought of the delectable meal. "I'm gonna go hit the showers. Meet back here in ten?"

"Well…" Julie purred, waltzing up next to him and placing her hands on his hips, dragging his body close to hers so he was pressed up against her. Knuckles grinned, arousal coursing through him as she grinded her body against his. "Why don't I go hit the showers with you." Knuckles gulped, waiting for this moment.

"But I can't go in the girl's changerooms," Knuckles mouthed, his brain shouting at him for being an idiot and not just accepting it.

"That didn't stop you when we first met," Julie laughed as she grabbed his wrist and lead him out of the gymnasium and into the changerooms. Knuckles followed obediently, letting himself be taken by her until they got to the showers. Although they had both wanted to for a while, neither of them had instigated that final step to fully complete their relationship yet. That was, until Julie began removing his basketball shorts and boxers while Knuckles threw off his tank top. Knuckles quickly ripped off Julie's clothes too until they were both standing naked in front of the other.

Julie, without warning, quickly jumped on him, crashing her lips against his passionately and attacked them with her mouth and tongue again and again, pressing her naked body against his until she had to stop for air.

"Julie wait," Knuckles gasped, gripping her shoulders after the initial shot of ecstasy rushed through him, pushing her back to keep her at arm's length. Hurt flushed her face as she frowned, the pain breaking Knuckles heart as he continued. "No I mean, I just wanted to give you something first.

Knuckles quickly reached into his bag and retrieved the shimmering treasure. The breathtaking golden bangle with emerald fastened to it that Julie had rescued from its watery prison earlier in the term.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Rouge used to tell me about it, show it off in front of me. She said it was your grandparents and that you have to give it to the one who you think is the one," she said, her eyes glued to his.

"I made a mistake giving it to her. You, Julie, are the one who I want to have it," he whispered as he slowly pushed the bangle up onto her wrist.

"R-really?" Knuckles simply nodded before he pressed his lips and body against hers and pushed her under the running shower. As they let their bodies do the work, the steam slowly filled the room, fogging up the mirrors, tiles and the glistening emerald of the bangle now fastened to the wrist of the person it truly belongs to. To Julie-Su

…

Tails sat at one of the desks in his dorm room, textbook, notebook, calculator, pens and pencils sprawled across the wood. He read an equation, plugged numbers furiously into the calculator and copied out the result. He repeated this again and again until he finally leant back, sighing in relief at finally finishing another page of his advanced calculus homework. Mephiles was out sulking, as he had been recently. Sonic was probably still returning from his afternoon classes with Manic and he had heard Mighty casually remark how he was meeting up with Tikal at the café, leaving him all alone to feverishly finish his work.

"I really regret allowing dad to talk me into taking this dumb class for my final year. This is impossible," he lamented aloud. He reached over and chugged another gulp of his caffeinated beverage before cracking his fingers and neck, getting ready to begin another set of equations when he heard a knock at the door.

"It's unlocked," he called, assuming it was just Sonic or Mighty returning. The two of them were horrible, constantly forgetting their key's and forcing Tails to have to let them in so he made sure to always leave the room open unless he wasn't in either. Tails was suddenly alerted to the sounds of loud sobbing as the door swung open. He turned to see who it was but was immediately met with weak arms wrapping around his body.

"M-Mina?" he questioned as he stood up and let her completely fall into him, despite her being slightly taller.

"I-I-I," she babbled, trying to speak but unable to get though the first word without breaking into another fit of sobs. Tails frowned, remaining patient as he let her cry into his shoulder, ignoring the growing dampness from her snot and tears. He just stood there, holding her until she finally began to calm down.

"Come here," he breathed quietly as he led her over to his bed and sat her down, secretly praying that none of his roommates, especially Sonic, doesn't walk in to see her in this state. Despite their differences, the two still felt a strong connection that had blossomed in childhood and never really faded as their paths forked whilst growing up.

"Th-thanks," she said between long, slow breaths. "Sorry about your shirt."

"Please, that's the least of my worries," Tails smiled warmly. "Now, tell me, what's wrong?"

"I really, really fucked things up," she admitted. "It's just… I don't even know. Honestly, I don't even know why. I guess it's because of dad… I just don't even know," she shook her head, burying her face back in her hands.

"What about your dad?"

"Please… I don't want to talk about him."

"But Mina, if you want me to help you I need to know-" Tails explained but was cut off by the begging girl.

"Please." Tails nodded, going back to why she screwed up instead.

"Okay, sorry. So, how did you fuck things up?"

"Like I said before, I tried to go after this guy, Sonic, and, well, I don't know he's hot and funny I guess but like then I ran into Amy and she started talking about him in this way that made him sound amazing. I tried to get to him but he was already going out with somebody, making him unavailable and all the things Amy said about him made him sound like a god of some kind…"

"Yeah, Amy has this weird view of him. It's kinda sad, honestly. Don't let her get you carried away. Also, speaking of Sonic, I never did tell you who he was going out with."

"Who? I never did figure that out," Mina enquired.

"…Me," Tails smiled sheepishly. Mina went white, her mouth falling open as things suddenly fell into place.

"Ohhhhh," she didn't know what else to say. She had no idea Tails was into guys, or at least was into a guy. All she knew was that he used to be going out with Cream and then he had sex with her.

"You don't think any differently of me… do you?" Tails asked, twiddling his thumbs nervously as he glanced back up to her.

"Never," she fell back into him, wrapping her arms around him as she pushed his back down onto the bed. He smiled, hugging her back before she rolled off him to lie adjacent to him on his bed. She traced her hand through her indigo hair before turning to look at him. Tails looked back with a smile.

"So, you can't have been so sad just because Sonic kept rejecting you. There must have been something else," Tails probed further, eliciting another regretful sigh from Mina.

"I started, kinda, forcing myself on Sonic. Probably even while you were still with him… sorry." Tails stood quiet, nodding at her but it was clear that he was somewhat annoyed by this new development. "Well, I sorta started going out with Manic to try to get him jealous."

"You used Manic?"

"Well sort of." Tails raised a judgmental eyebrow, breaking Mina's defenses. "Okay fine! Yes, I used him. Okay? But it wasn't like I didn't like him or anything. He was nice, and funny, and when we finally went all the way together last week it was actually really great but he was also angry all the time and so jealous and protective and… well yeah, I just wish I could take it all back."

"But what happened?" Tails asked, still confused as to her earlier behaviour. Tails eyes grew wide, his insides filling with a strange mixture of anger and sorrow towards Mina as she explained the events that had transpired that afternoon. However, learning of Spike and Sonic's joint plan together bugged Tails. He wondered why Sonic had asked Spike to help him out instead of himself. Since when were those two such good friends all of a sudden?

"And then I ran here and, well, you know the rest," she concluded.

"Mina… I…" Tails paused, mulling over his response. "Look, I'm not gonna lie, that wasn't cool what you did. Not at all. Especially not towards Sonic and Manic, they didn't deserve that at all but, I'm not going to hate you. I'll be here if you need to talk and I'm still your friend. I'm not going anywhere. Just make sure to apologies and don't do this sort of stuff to anybody ever again," Tails replied didactically.

"I know, I know. I just wish… ugh, I've fucked everything up in my life."

"Come on, that's not true. Surely there are some good things."

"Well there is one more good thing left in my life, apart from you of course. Maybe I should go see how he is doing," Mina managed a smile.

"Who?"

"Espio."

…

Gold yawned, stretching out her limbs as she leant backwards. She rubbed her eyes, tired from squinting at small print underneath the luminescence of her desk lamp. The only sound in her office that of the clock ticking rhythmically. She glanced over, noticing that it was passed midnight.

"Knock, knock," a voice called from the door.

"Razor?" Gold exclaimed, surprised by his unexpected intrusion. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I came by to ask you the same question," he smiled as he strolled into the room holding two mugs of steaming coffee.

"Who are those for?" She asked absentmindedly.

"Coffee, for you and me. I think you might need some. You look like you are going to doze off," he smirked kindly as he offered her a mug. She took it thankfully, her lips glossed red blowing the billowing steam before taking a tentative sip.

"It's delicious. Exactly what I needed."

"I thought so. I also thought you might need some company." Gold nodded, smiling as she wrapped her dainty fingers around the mug, warming them with the heat the liquid radiated.

"Thankyou."

"You do far too much here, Gold. I'm so glad you've come to work for me. I'd be so lost without you."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Gold giggled. "You had this school running perfectly before I showed up."

"True, but not as well until you showed up. You've been the perfect addition to the school." Gold beamed him the beautiful smile of hers that had begun to make him melt. Little did she know that with one glance the firm, manly principle turned to putty in her hands. He gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat as he ran his tongue along his dried, chapped lips. "Also, I have something I need to ask you."

"Anything."

"Well, I was thinking… since the break is coming up at the end of the week-"

"Razor, Gold!" Zonic rushed into the room, intruding on the atmosphere. Razor groaned, standing up to address the disgruntled teacher.

"Yes Zonic, what is it?" he replied almost too harshly, frightening Gold to a minor degree.

"Uh," Zonic stumbled, taken aback by his abrasive tone.

"Out with it!"

"S-sorry, I just wanted to know that I caught some students sneaking around after curfew and Gold wasn't at the girl dormitory. I think a dorm check might be in order. This is the third time this week I've stumbled upon students out after dark," Zonic spurted out mechanically.

"Oh, those girls just never listen to me," Gold sighed, standing. "I'll go back to the dorms and do a quick sweep."

"Mr. Principal, would you mind helping me with the boys?"

"If I must."

"Oh, you were going to ask me something?" Gold asked, pausing at the door to look back at Razor after following Zonic out of the room.

"Who me? No, never mind, it's nothing…"

…

Mighty sat on the edge of his bed. He held the small brown teddy bear that Clove had given him for his birthday out in front of him. He stared into the bear's black button eyes, devoid of anything. They mirrored exactly how Mighty felt currently. He didn't sleep at all the night before. Regret, insecurity, doubt. All things that fought around in front of him but he knew, he just knew that he had made the right choice. He hadn't seen Ray at all since the breakup. He tried to call him but went straight to voicemail so he left the notice that he had finally broken up with Clove. He still didn't even know if Ray had heard it or not. Suddenly, a horrid thought crept into his mind.

'What if Ray is making his move now that Clove is single?' his thoughts shouted but before he could delve down this fearful road, a knock at the door shook him back to his senses. Mighty begrudgingly trotted over to the door and answered it hesitantly, half hoping it was Ray but when the wide-eyed cat smiled at him from the door.

"B-Blaze? What are you doing here?"

"You weren't in class this morning so I wanted to make sure you were doing okay," she cooed soothingly.

"Yeah, I'm fine… there was just somebody who I wanted to avoid today of all days," Mighty admitted.

"Clove." Before Mighty could ask how she knew, Blaze continued. "She came in this morning bawling her eyes out. I was surprised that Rouge, of all people, was the one to calm her down and make sure she was feeling better. She complained how you broke up with her over the phone yesterday out of the blue and didn't really give her a reason. Rouge sounded pretty pissed about it, saying shit like how you're a dick head anyway and that she is better off without you," Mighty's heart sank further after each syllable Blaze uttered.

"Great, Rouge hates me now, too. Just add her name to the list. I didn't even think those two were friends."

"Nobody expected it. We all thought they hated each other," Blaze nodded in agreement. "But Mighty, as your friend, what was the real reason you broke up with her?"

"I…" Mighty hesitated, not sure whether he could say why. Recently, him and Blaze had become as thick as thieves, talking to each other a lot. Mighty liked the distraction, hanging out with somebody who wasn't Clove or Ray or directly related to his whole situation like Tikal was. He just needed an out, and Blaze was that out. However, whilst she regaled him with tales of the romantic things that Silver had been doing for her, he kept his romantic life quiet, even when she asked. He could tell it annoyed her but only on a few occasions did she bother trying to ask him. This was one of those times.

"Mighty, please, don't you trust me?" Blaze asked innocently, arching her eyebrows.

"I do it's just-"

"It's just what?"

"I can't! Okay, I just can't!" Mighty screamed, anger bursting like a dam. Blaze took a step back, suddenly frightened as Mighty clenched his fingers, breathing heavily. His eyes suddenly widened as he took a step backwards himself, apologizing for his outburst profusely.

"Mighty it's… it's okay. But if you can't tell me, then why not? Is it something I did? Something I said?"

"No, no it's not you. I just… I promised somebody that I wouldn't reveal their secret and I'm not about to break a promise. I've only ever broken a promise once and I'm not about to do it again any time soon," he admitted.

"This is about Ray, isn't it?" Mighty remained stone-faced but Blaze could tell just by looking at him that it was true. "Are you and him… like… y'know?"

"What? No, no we aren't. I didn't break up with her because I wanna fuck my best friend. Chaos, why does everybody think that?!" Mighty yelled again. "Just leave."

"Mighty, I'm sorry. I just thought-"

"Well you thought wrong. Now get out!" Mighty interrupted forcefully.

"You don't have to get so mad. I'm just trying to help."

"I said get out!"

"Fine, if you want to be that way to the people who are trying to help than I guess you're on your own," Blaze caved finally as she stormed out of the room. Mighty waited until he heard the door close before letting out a defeated sigh, alone.

…

Espio smiled as he lazily lay underneath the shade of the grand tree, shielding himself from the midday sun. He lay on his stomach, his feet in the air with a notepad and pen in front of him. He nodded his head to the beat his manager had delivered him with earlier, scribbling down lyrics which he thought could work for his newest song. One about a lonely boy who is charmed by an unlikely girl.

He glanced over to his phone when it vibrated across the grass, dew coating the screen. He smiled as he snatched it off the ground and read it.

Mina: _Sorry I'm late. I'll be five minutes_

Espio felt his heart beat faster, knowing that the nice girl who helped him out during Parent's day had finally accepted a meeting after mentioning how she was always busy. He closed his notebook and placed away his pencil as he sat back up, leaning against the tree lost in his thoughts. He heard the crunch of shoes on the grass and leaves beside him and opened his eyes, turning to smile at who he thought was Mina but was quickly surprised by the presence of none other than Manic the Hedgehog.

"Oh…" Espio trailed off. "It's you…"

"Hey Espio… long time no see," Manic rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah, it has. Last time I remember seeing you was when both you and Knuckles decided to leave me hanging at Elias' party."

"Riiiight… yeah, sorry about that we were, well we weren't on good terms, Manic replied halfheartedly, ashamed at his earlier behaviour.

"So, what do you want? I'm about to meet up with somebody here soon."

"I just saw you when walking passed to go to my next class and, well, something happened recently to me that made me realize that maybe I was unfair to some of my friends while I was going out with Mina and just wanted to apologize, y'know, for getting angry and being a dick. I'm really trying to work on my anger issues," Manic apologized, genuinely asking for forgiveness.

"Manic…" Espio sighed, considering to accept the apology when suddenly part of his ramblings stuck out at him. "Wait, did you say while you were going out with Mina?"

"Yeah, we just broke up yesterday because apparently she was just using me to get to somebody else. All that girl does is use and abuse to get ahead, let me tell you," Manic replied bitterly.

"She was just using you?"

"Yeah, take it from me, if that girl ever tries to flirt with you she is probably just doing it for her own selfish desires. She wants to be a singer so I wouldn't put it passed her to ask you out just so that it'll further her own career," Manic laughed as he stuck out his arm. "Anyway, can we be friends again? I'm sorry for being a massive dick earlier."

"Yeah, yeah," Espio shook Manic's hand absentmindedly, only the news of the indigo haired maiden on his mind, troubling his thoughts.

"Okay… well, I'll get out of your hair. Good luck on your date," Manic smirked. "It's pretty obvious you're waiting on a girl." With that, Manic took off, walking back down the path until the buildings obscured Espio's view of him. However, Espio's gaze wasn't following him, they were fixed forwards, watching as the image of Mina steadily grew until she was standing right over him, a smile beaming on her face.

"Hey Espio, what's up? Sorry I was so busy but I thought that we really should meet up because it was so fun talking to you earlier," she giggled slightly as she collapsed down next to him.

Espio didn't reply, just staring at her blankly as Manic's words swirled around in his head.

'She's probably just doing it for her own selfish desires. All she does is use and abuse. Just so that it'll further her own career.' Each word carried a sting to it worse than a bee, penetrating his heart. He thought he had found the one girl who didn't care about the picture or his past and just wanted to get to know him for him. Not the singer, not the womanizer and not the naked selfie guy. Just as Espio the Chameleon.

'I guess I was wrong,' he thought to himself.

"Hey, Mobius to Espio, are you in there?" She asked, waving a hand in front of his face. He quickly shook his head, dispelling the thoughts as he turned to look at her, a snarl on his face taking her off guard. "Whoa, what's up with you?"

"Sorry, something just came up. I've got to go," he quickly spurted before grabbing his bag and standing up, turning to leave.

"Whoa, wait," Mina called after him, shooting up and grabbing his sleeve, holding him back.

"I have to go," he growled.

"Sorry, sorry. I just thought, I don't know, since it's the last night before we all go home for break, that maybe you would like to have some dinner with me? Y'know, as a date?"

"No, I'm good. Manic warned me about you," Espio replied coldly. The shock of hearing Manic's name took Mina by surprise. She froze, her grip loosening. Espio took his chance and quickly ripped his arm away from her and stormed off, not bothering to look back.

"B-B-But it's not like that," she sniffed as she watched him walk away, the world around her turning to haze as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, hazing her vision.

…

Shadow sat at the familiar table he had spent most of the term skulking beside. The setting sun shined against the adjacent dormitory, casting marauding shadows on the rustic atmosphere he was draped in. He let his head fall back, sighing out his frustration as he let his elbows sink against the table. The same table he first met Mephiles at.

'He was always here for me,' Shadow thought, recalling memories the two crated together sitting at this very table. He remembered the way the secrets he usually kept guarded behind impenetrable walls came flowing out around Mephiles. How the boy would sit and listen, making sure everything was alright afterwards. Shadow could still hear his soothing words, sense his caring warmth and feel his luscious lips against his own.

Shadow placed a finger against his lips, remembering all the times that Mephiles and gently touched his own against them. Suddenly a loud chime sounded through the area, drawing Shadow out of his detrimental, yet happy fantasy. Shadow grumbled as he scooped his phone up off the table top and scanned the message.

Commander: _Got your message. We must deal with a new threat currently and I cannot come meet you. What is wrong agent Valentine?_

Shadow bit his bottom lip, his eyes quickly casting towards the empty space next to him before back to the shaky phone. Shadow glanced skywards, watching the low-lying clouds sweep slowly overhead, no cares in the world. He imagined the clouds slowly fade away, broken by the swirling blades of the helicopter. He was sitting back in the parking lot of the night of the dance, waiting to be whisked away to his new life. Rouge cried next to him, begging to stay. He gave her a silent hug before grabbing a rung of the ladder and climbed up into the helicopter. Weeks passed of quick, intense training, the regime that he thought would kill him each morning he woke up groaning from sore and tight muscles. Suddenly, he was back at Mobius High, embers dancing in the sky as flames licked the walls of his beloved school.

Next, he walked up to the table, only to be bugged by a seemingly sleepy teenager who introduced themselves as Mephiles. He recalled the seductive meetings they shared, Mephiles being the only person who wanted to hang out with him because of the stigma that he burnt down the school. The awkward conversation at Elias' party and Shadow making things right when their relationship first started.

Shadow remember the romantic walks through the dark, continued meetings at their spot until suddenly it became a lot less happy. He was standing in the field, talking to the commander who informed him to eliminate the sun of a terrorist. The same terrorist that killed his father. The message he received in the café, the fight with Mephiles and all the hatred at himself for his actions. Then, he was standing beside Mephiles in the infirmary bed. Battered and bruised from Manic, Mephiles still cast him aside, permanently ending the relationship. Shadow was brought back into reality by another ding from his cell phone.

Commander: _Shadow, answer me._

Shadow hovered his thumbs over the keypad, not knowing what to put. He wasn't sure what to believe, what to do, who to ask. However, before he could dwell on it any longer his thumbs began to move and subconsciously he constructed and sent off his text.

Shadow: _Mephiles has been taken care of. Sorry for the slow response times but my mission is complete._

'What they don't know, won't hurt them,' Shadow decided. 'Besides, Mephiles is more important.'

Commander: _Good work. I know this must have been hard. I'll be there tomorrow afternoon to pick you up for your two-week break training regime._

Shadow quickly responded before sliding his phone back in his pocket and walking off to the cafeteria, his gurgling stomach shouting at him for sustenance. He allowed one last glance back at the table before he disappeared into the building. Not one minute passed before another figure walked around the corner, sitting in the same place. However, this time it wasn't Shadow, it was Mephiles.

'It's been a while,' he thought to himself, letting his hands caress the table that had been his safe haven for years and, as of recently, a place of majesty. The place Shadow and he used to always run off to be alone. His limbs and muscles still hurt from the beating Manic had given to him and his blackened eye was still recovering but the pain had all but subsided in his stay at the infirmary.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he removed his hand from the table and stood up, stretching his aching body. Mephiles hadn't heard any news about Shadow's instructions on bringing him into G.U.N headquarters to answer for his father's crimes and thus concluded that Shadow must have either refused or lied. He smiled, a weak smile, at the idea that Shadow still cared so deeply about him but Mephiles knew what he had to do. He screwed up and he had to make things right. He knew that he had to propose to Sonia the Hedgehog.

…

Dinner time at the cafeteria was normally quite busy but it was overly crowded this particular evening. The last meal of the term on the last night that all the students would be spending together until the final term begins in two weeks' time. A special Mexican themed dinner was prepared by the chefs in commemoration of the happy event.

Sonia walked down through the rows of tables and chairs, getting lost in the sounds of children and teenagers talking and conversing. She held her tray carefully between her hands as she scanned the crowd, looking for her brothers to sit with.

"Hey Sonia, over here!" A younger voice called out. Sonia glanced over to the source, her eyes meeting those of Cream. She smiled, deciding that she'd spend all vacation with her brothers and walked over to join her friend.

"Hey Cream, it's been a while hasn't it? Are you excited about going home?"

"Yeah it's been like a week since we last saw each other. I missed you," she giggled. "And of course, although I will miss seeing everybody for two whole weeks. So, how's the baby going?"

"Manic is fine, I think his tantrums have subsided a bit. Oh, and my baby is excellent too." Cream burst out laughing.

"Manic is kinda like a baby, isn't he?"

"I bet he'll be more work than this thing inside me will be when he or she is finally born."

"What happened with Mephiles? Has he spoken to you since your brother put him in the infirmary?"

"No, not yet," Sonia frowned, her eyes downcast and foggy. Cream felt her heart break a little, washing with empathy for her friend.

"Well don't worry about it. Don't worry about anything and just take these two weeks to relax and we can figure everything out when we all come back here next term," Cream decided, eliciting a small smile from Sonia.

"Sorry I'm late, Cream. That line is huge," a shy, quiet voice spoke out from behind them. Sonia glanced up, locking eyes with a green dressed girl as she sat down opposite her.

"Oh, you guys haven't met yet, have you? I still can't believe that. Sonia, this is Cosmo. Cosmo, Sonia," Cream introduced the two.

"Nice to meet you," Cosmo squeaked, holding out her hand.

"Likewise," Sonia nodded, shaking her hand.

"D-Did you guys hear about what Mina did to Sonic and Manic the other day?" Cosmo spoke up, mainly to Cream as the two would normally talk about what events their friends had been getting up to.

"Yeah, I heard how Sonic got Spike to film Mina and him to prove to Manic that he wasn't trying to get with his girlfriend."

"Wait, my brothers were doing what?" Sonia gasped, unaware of the whole situation.

"B-Brothers?"

"Yeah, Manic is my brother and Sonic is my half-brother," Sonia replied casually to Cosmo before turning back to Cream. "So, what is this about my brothers?"

"It's a long story, I'd ask them in the car ride when your parents pick you up tomorrow. But, if you ask me, I think their fighting is about to all be over."

"Well that's a weight off my shoulders," Sonia sighed, laughing to herself.

"Oh, by the way," Cream chimed in as she looked up and locked eyes with two individuals who were heading over to the table. "I wasn't entirely truthful with why I asked you guys to sit with me today." Sonia and Cosmo shared wary glances before waiting for Cream to finish. "You see, after Jet cheated on me with Wave, I have had a run in with both of them and decided that I should at least try to be more friendly to them."

"Seriously? I say forget about them," Sonia snorted.

"No, I think what you're trying to do is commendable, Cream. You're a bigger woman than I could ever be," Cosmo added.

"Why is she a bigger woman?" Wave asked abruptly as she stood at the table, joined with Jet who sat on the other side of the table next to Sonia, who shuffled slightly towards Cream.

"Oh nothing, please sit," Cream waved away the accusations as she offered the two to eat with them. "Cosmo, Sonia this is Wave and-"

"Jet," the boy interjected, holding out his hand to Cosmo. "The name's Jet, nice to meet you." Cosmo quickly tried to hide her immediate blush as she shook his hand.

"So, Wave, I just wanted to say something to you," Cream turned to the girl as Sonia tried to hide her smile at Cosmo's actions, knowing far too well what a girl with a sudden crush looks like.

"He's not a bad looker, is he?" Sonia whispered into Cosmo's ear as Jet bent down and brought the meat filled taco to his mouth, crunching down on the hard-outer shell.

"Shut up," Cosmo giggled.

"Yeah, what is it Cream?" Wave asked, ignoring Jet's loud eating and the two other girl's giggling.

"I'm sorry about how I acted. I might have gone a bit too far and it was Rouge who really helped me come to terms with my actions," Cream began to explain.

"No, you were completely justified. I was a bitch and I shouldn't have done anything with Jet while he was with you. I am really, really sorry," Wave replied, her sunken eyes filled with an apologetic look.

"But still, I would like to offer you your old bed back. That is, if you want to come back to our room," Cream offered. Wave smiled, nodding enthusiastically. After heaving a relieved sigh, finally getting that off her chest, Cream was able to get a better look at both Wave and Jet. Both teenagers had seen better days. Jet had his sleeves rolled down, obscuring all his skin but Cream knew that he was still cutting himself. Wave, on the other hand, although her cuts less severe, was obviously not well. Her face looked tired and her bony shoulders stuck out like spires. She was skinny. Far too skinny. Her ribcage showed through her skin and her arms were long, thin and lanky with little meat or muscle on them. Not at all how the previously radiant woman looked at the start of the term before Elias' party.

"Also, there is one more reason I asked all four of you to have dinner with me," Cream admitted again. Sonia gave her another look, wondering what else the mysterious girl had up her sleeve. Cream wasn't one known to be anything but honest so she was intrigued by this apparent ulterior motive.

"What is it?" Cosmo asked innocently.

"Jet, Wave. I am your friend. Many others at this school are friends and I bet both Sonia and Cosmo would love to be your friends if you got to know them," she began.

"We sure would," Cosmo chimed in, her natural innocence and kind hearted nature exactly what Cream was counting on.

"What's this about?" Jet asked, salsa dripping from the have devoured Taco.

"It's about you guys… cutting yourselves," she finished bluntly, not knowing how to put it kinder. Cosmo and Sonia both gasped as Wave and Jet exchanged a worried glance.

"Cream I don't think-" Wave began but was quickly interrupted.

"I know it isn't my business and I know I shouldn't be revealing this personal information to two strangers but it is getting to be an issue. At first, after the party, I didn't care if Jet fell into his old habits and when I saw you I could see the signs, along with your physical appearance, but I was so filled with anger I didn't care. But now… I just want you to know that I don't hate you. Either of you. And if I don't hate you, then you shouldn't hate yourselves either."

"Cream, I appreciate what you're trying to do but-" Jet spoke up but again was interrupted by Cream.

"I know but this needs to be said. And I just wanted you guys to know just how important you are to the people around you and just how important life is," Cream signaled to Sonia. She glanced back, furrowing her brow in confusion but as her eyes darted from Sonia's face to her gradually growing stomach, she understood why she had also been invited.

"Right," Sonia began. "Jet, Wave… I know this might be weird because we don't really know each other that well. Especially you, Wave, but Cream is right. Life is precious. It shouldn't be taken for granted. Just take me," she rubbed her belly. "I might only be eighteen but I'm already on the way to creating a new life, and I can't imagine anything bad happening to this little bundle of joy. I'm going to bring this life into this world and protect it and teach it just how majestic life can really be. And if I can not only keep myself safe, but another life that I made myself, surely you guys can do the same for your own lives," she urged, somewhat forcefully.

Jet and Wave exchanged another knowing glance before both staring down. They knew she was right. Truthfully, both of them had tried to stop together, multiple times but just the sight of themselves disgusted them. Originally, they thought that maybe if they did it together, it would help them stop but it only worsened the problem.

"Y-You're right," Jet admitted finally. "I'm sorry if I've caused you worry, Cream. You know I only wanted you to be happy. Always did, always will," he forced a fake smile. Cosmo watched him, touched by his honesty and heart.

"Me too," Wave chimed in. "I screwed up and I owe it to you, Cream. You could have hated me, but you showed me such kindness when you ran into me the other week and, for you, I'll try to stop."

"No, not for me. Do it for you, for both of you."

"Okay," Jet and Wave looked at each other, sending a glance that both of them could count on. If the other could stop, why couldn't they. "We'll try."

"That's all I can ask," Cream concluded, allowing the somber tone to fully descend upon the group. A few awkward moments passed as they glanced around the room before Sonia finally spoke up.

"Oh, Jet, did you hear about how Spike filmed Mina and Sonic," she chuckled. She didn't like dragging her brother into gossip but she didn't know what else to say, their previous conversation still at the front of her mind.

"No way. Mina Mongoose?" Wave cracked a smile.

"Yeah, turns out she was dating Manic to get to Sonic but Spike ousted them," Cosmo added. The five continued to gossip, laughing and sharing stories they had heard about their friends as the dreary atmosphere dissipated around them and was replaced with one of joy. Cream felt proud in the knowledge that she achieved something. She hadn't got them to stop, but she had made them promise to try and that's all she could ask for.

…

The final day of term. The school was abuzz with energy as everybody hurried along with their things, getting ready to go home. Gold studied her files, wondering which ones she needed to take and which could await her return after the break. She grabbed two in each hand, scanning over the contents before deciding to leave the majority of her work in her office for her to finish when she returned. She glanced over to her suitcase, already pulsating from overstuffing.

"You know work won't go anywhere when you leave," a voice chuckled from the doorway. Gold spun around frantically, startled by the sudden intrusion. "It's not just a break for the students. It's a break for us too."

"Oh, Mr. Princip- I mean, Razor," she began, flustered as he smiled politely at her, glad that she was finally done with the formalities. His hands were hidden behind his back as he stood at the doorway to her office. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to say goodbye before you left," he replied suavely as he scooted over to her desk, revealing the object he was hiding behind his back. He held out a stunning red rose, thorns protruding down its stem.

"Wow, for me? This is beautiful," Gold marveled as she took the rose from him, smelling the gorgeous scent.

"Not as beautiful as you."

"Thanks Razor. I'll miss you," she admitted, growing quite fond of her boss. She enjoyed his company when she decided to work over hours after making sure all the girls went to bed. It had become customary for him to stop by and have a late-night chat with her before they both head off to bed. "I'll miss the company too."

"Please don't tell me you're going to continue your late-night work. Gold, you of all people truly need this break."

"Duly noted," she replied happily, deciding to leave all of the folders she had picked up.

"So, as I was going to ask the other day, would you maybe, sort of, want to do something with me over the break?" Razor fumbled, his macho and domineering nature completely being replaced by that of a nervous school boy.

"Why Razor, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were asking me on a date," Gold giggled. A slight shade of crimson began to ebb its way onto his face.

"Well… I am."

"Oh," Gold stated, her eyes turning sympathetic and sorrowful. "I'm so, so sorry Razor but I can't accept. I just don't think it would be appropriate. Mixing work and pleasure, along with the age difference and such."

"Right, right. Too true, I don't know what I was thinking," Razor fired back, brushing imaginary dirt off his shirt and adjusting his tie. "Absolutely true. I should let you get back to packing then."

"Razor wait, I don't mean any ill will," Gold called out as he exited the room quickly, clearly embarrassed. "Oh, Razor I'm sorry," she sighed as she heard him march away. However, her dour mood didn't last long when a familiar teenager peered his head into her room, sporting his indigo hoodie as always.

"You ready to go, Gold?"

"Espio," she beamed happily. "I sure am," she forced her stuffed suitcase shut, not ceasing the force she exuded until she heard the satisfactory click. "I can't wait. This is going to be so much fun."

"Well I owe it all to you. I'm so glad you're coming with me."

"Me too," she smiled as the two left the school together.

…

The sound of engines running and rubber tires screeching against the asphalt chimed throughout the steadily emptying school. Busses stalled, waiting as students threw their bags into the under compartment and filed on into their seats. Car's with waving parents waited to drive their children home and a steady flow of students walked down the stairs of the dormitory and across the main path towards the car park. The school was filled with the hustle and bustle of almost everybody going home for the break.

"This sucks," Mighty moaned as he stared absent mindedly out at all the smiling students leaving. His eyes were trained on Ray who opened the boot of his parent's car and tossed his suitcases inside. He turned and stared upwards, his eyes locking with Mighty's as they both smiled and gave one last wave.

"I wish mum and dad didn't take that stupid job up north," Mighty grumbled. "I'm not going to be able to see them until after finals are all over and I have to stay here." He thought back to his conversation with Ray not moments earlier where he begged the boy to come stay with him and his parent's over the two-week break. Ray's heart broke as he had to decline Mighty's pleading.

 _"_ _My dad wouldn't like it," Ray admitted._

 _"_ _I know your dad hates me but maybe I could change his mind this time," I countered._

 _"_ _Sorry but there's no reasoning with him. Besides, he says he wants just me at home," Ray shuddered at the thought but it went straight over my head at the time, too absorbed in my flurry to get out of this place._

 _"_ _But I can't stay here alone for two weeks."_

 _"_ _Sorry, there's nothing I can do. You'll still have Tails though, right?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, I guess," Mighty sighed as he wrapped his arms around Ray and gave him a quick hug before Ray left to go home._

"At least you will have a family to go home to when the school is over," Tails sighed from his bed, staring absent mindedly at the ceiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry dude," Mighty apologized, forgetting about how Amadeus had disowned Tails at the Parent's day.

"It's cool. I just don't really want to talk about it."

"I get that," Mighty put on a happy façade, trying to coax a smile out of the disheveled and depressed teenager but nothing worked. "Well, I know you and I will become the best of friends over the next two weeks."

"Yeah. Okay," Tails replied absentmindedly when a knock sounded from the door.

"I'll get it," Mighty spoke up when Tails showed no sign of moving but as he creaked open the door, a hand shot out through the gap, grabbed him and threw him outside, locking him out. "Hey!" He screamed from the hallway, pounding on the door but his assailant ignored him, skulking into the room.

"What do you want?" Tails asked, not moving his gaze from the ceiling.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"What Scourge said about Void. He told me you dug up the information. Is what that douche bag said true," Fiona yelled, anger taking a hold of her.

"I don't know what he said, but everything I told him was true."

"So Void really only use me because he knew my mum was a lawyer!"

"What?" Tails asked, confused. "How am I supposed to know that? I only knew that he was responsible for the death of those two people."

"Wait… Void was in jail for murder?" Fiona gasped. "I need to go talk to him, now," she babbled aloud before sprinting out of the room, barreling down the angry armadillo outside before Tails could get in another word.

"I never said murder…" Tails said but Fiona was already meters down the hallway.

"What was all that about?" Mighty asked, closing the door as he returned into the room. "Chaos I hate that chick."

"I don't even know… Just Fiona being Fiona, I guess."

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore," Mighty decided with a smile. "Nothing matters at the moment. It'll be just you and me enjoying an empty school for the next two weeks!"

* * *

 _A/N: Well, there you have it. A lot of things to cover. Firstly, Mighty has officially broken up with Clove. Was it sad? That's up for you to decide. But looks like he'll be staying with Tails for the break since his father doesn't want him home and his old caretaker Ken won't be there to look after him back at home._

 _Sonic and Amy are broken up? Maybe, maybe not. It's confusing, but whether they can weather this storm will be revealed in the two part finale. If you are confused about current relationships, I'll do a big list at the end of chapter 31._

 _Now rapid fire. Julie and Knuckles finally went all the way. Mina is starting on her road to redemption, much like Espio already did, but not even Espio can see past her misdoings. Can she really redeem herself after her atrocious actions or, does she even deserve redemption? Shadow has lied to G.U.N in hopes to win back Mephiles... too bad he has already decided to propose to Sonia. Gold refused Razor's advances and is going somewhere special with Espio. Where could it be? And Cream has taken the help of Sonia and Cosmo to help out the two that wronged her the most, Wave and Jet. Is she too nice? And what other surprises will this new group of 5 get into? And is Mighty already destroying his friendships, starting with Blaze? If he can't trust her, who can he trust?_

 _Thankyou all for reading this chapter, and all those before and if you enjoyed it please don't foget to leave a review. I know there are a lot of you out there who don't have an account or do but don't want to review but have read every chapter. Don't be afraid to let me know what you think in a review. It means a lot, even just to answer the QotD. And again, sorry for my short hiatus but it needs to be done. So anyway, I hope you enjoyed this extra long installment and, until next time, have a nice day._

 _QotD: Do Wave and Jet deserve all the nice treatment they have recieved from Cream?_

 _Next time on the Finale of Part 2 of Sh:EL_

 _The break is here, and the hedgehog household will be in a world of confusion when Jules decides to show up at their door_

 _Espio is able to perform his first sold out concert at a stadium with Gold at his side_

 _Silver enjoys a romantic day at the mall with Breezie but after a surprise run in with Spike, can he keep the porcupine quiet about Blaze?_

 _Rouge decides to let off some steam at the casino but runs into Cosmo and her partner in crime, Nack_

 _...and Mina makes a horrible discovery_

 _all this and so much more, next time on Chapter 30: The Break (I)_


	30. Chapter 30: The Break (I)

_A/N: Hey everybody, thanks for being so patient with me while I took some time to recharge my batteries. I'm back (With a tan :P) and ready and as a gift, this chapter was extra long. It's actually the longest chapter I have ever posted so far with over 11,000 words so this should be enough to satiate some of you until part 2 is finished which will hopefully be posted next week but it depends how I go. I hope you all had a great time and don't worry I'm still working on Missing and War of Faith but I want to finish part 2 of the break before I get to them but, again, who knows I just sort of write whichever story I feel like writing at any given time. Anyway, I'm back and enjoy :)_

* * *

Chapter 30

The Break (I)

Bernadette whistled as she basted the turkey, the melodic tones echoing throughout the spacious kitchen area. She smiled as she picked up the centerpiece of the dinner she was preparing and placed it in the oven, making a note of the time.

"How are you going with the dessert?" Bernadette called to her newest roommate.

"Just putting the finishing touches. Your son hasn't lived until he's had a slice of my home-made pavlova," Aleen chimed in delight, focusing her attention on her pavlova.

"Likewise, for Manic and Sonia. I can't wait to see their faces when they take a bite of this turkey."

"Now Bernadette, you know I told you Sonia is a vegetarian," Aleena instructed helpfully. Bernadette hid a frown. She never did understand the allure of vegetarianism but she wasn't one to judge.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I've prepared an alternative for her too." The two mothers continued discussing, rushing around the kitchen in a flurry. Bernadette a beaming joy donned her floral dress whilst Aleena sported a stylish coat over her shirt and jeans. Just as the oven dinged to signal that the turkey was ready to be taken out, a similar ringing came from the doorbell.

"That's them," they both exclaimed happily as they rushed to the door. As they threw open the door, their eyes fell on the three teenagers, Sonia was in the middle of scolding her brother.

"If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times. Tie up your shoelace," Sonia reprimanded Manic.

"Whatever, it's not like anybody ever trips on their shoelaces," he waved her off when he noticed the door opening and his mother and Bernadette greeting them with joy. Sonic brushed past Aleena and barreled into Bernadette, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Meanwhile, Sonia did the same to Aleena whilst Manic grinned sheepishly at the two, rubbing the back of his neck until Aleena engrossed him with her own embrace until he finally gave in and hugged back.

"I missed you, ma," Sonic laughed. "School just wasn't the same without your dinners."

"I've gotta agree Mrs. Hedgehog. Your food was the only enjoyable part of our first week here," manic added.

"Please Manic, Bernadette is fine. Also, are you and my little Sonic still fighting?" She frowned, letting a sidelong glance towards Aleena.

"Don't worry, we're cool-ish," Manic nodded, allowing Sonic to throw an arm around his shoulder.

"Ish?" Aleena rose an eyebrow.

"Trust me, mum, I've learnt to take what I can get with those two," Sonic chuckled. "But he is right, I was promised an amazing meal tonight. The food at Emerald Lake was okay but… well it wasn't on Bernadette level."

"Please, come in. We were just finishing up," Bernadette and Aleena stepped aside, letting their kids file into the house, dragging their things along the floor. "We can put your things away later, but first, let's dig in." As the trio walked into the kitchen, Manic stepped on his shoelace, tripping as he tried to bring his other foot forward and collapsing face first into the carpet.

"Told ya so," Sonic smirked as she took a seat at the table. Sonic shook his head, stifling a laugh as he extended out his hand to help his brother up. That's when his eyes fell to Manic's waist, his butt in the air and his red and white polka dotted boxers showing.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sonic burst out with laughter, pointing at the boxers.

"Screw off," Manic swatted his hand away, quickly pulling up his jeans to hide the embarrassing boxers as he rushed over to the table. Sonic couldn't wipe the grin off his face, thoroughly amused as he finally made his way to the kitchen.

The five all helped set the table and finalize the food before they all took their seats at the table. They laughed and reminisced as they enjoyed the delectable food.

"And that's when Manic socked him in the eye!" Sonic laughed, his humor only increasing when he saw Manic's embarrassed face.

"It was horrible! Poor Mephiles," Sonia sighed disapprovingly.

"He deserved it. Nobody ruins my sister's life," Manic groaned.

"He didn't ruin my life. At first I was devastated but… well the more I think about it and the more I feel this thing inside me grow, the more I'm actually looking forward to raising it."

"And I'll do everything I can to help you. Father or not, this kid is going to have a fabulous life," Aleena helped as all eyes turned to Sonia.

"This is delicious Mrs. H… Bernadette," Manic grinned as he scraped the last morsels of food off his plate.

"You're quite welc-" Bernadette began before a loud knock at the door rang through the room, silencing everybody. The five all exchanged confused glances to one another.

"Was anybody expecting somebody?" Aleena asked, receiving only shaking heads as Bernadette stood, tossing her napkin on the table and walking over to open the door. Sonic, Manic, Sonia and Aleena all remained, looking over to the door as they heard Bernadette greet the intruder.

"Hello, how may I he-"

Silence. Nothing but silence. Bernadette stopped completely mid-sentence, her words replaced with a gasp.

"Mum!" Sonic called, worried. He stood nervously, telling his relatives to stay put while he went to investigate. He peered his head around the corner cautiously, not knowing what to expect when his eyes fell on the person at the door. His jaw fell open as his eyes bulged.

"Sonic, what is it?" Sonia whispered but he stood frozen. Unable to move. All he could utter was the name of the person at the door and nothing more.

"…Dad."

…

Clove sat on her bed, clutching the silvery jewelry that Mighty had gifted her over their time together. He eyes, usually lighting up and dazzling at the majesty of the silver only filled with sadness. Her tears that still fell wet the stainless necklace. She squeezed her hand tight around the chain, raising it above her head and got ready to throw. She thrust her arm forward but at the apex, she couldn't unfurl her curled fingers. She just couldn't let go.

"Why, Mighty… why?" She sniffed as she hugged the necklace against her chest, unable to let it go. She quickly snapped her head when she heard some quiet knocking at the door.

"Clove, hello?" A soft voice whispered sadly from the door, accompanied by more knocking. Clove remained quiet, holding her breath to avoid sniffing some more. "Clove, c'mon, I know you're in there. I know something's wrong, please, let me in."

"Go away Cassia," Clove called.

"No. Open this door and tell me what's wrong or I won't stop knocking," Cassia insisted. "Now please, open the door," she begged.

"Chaos you are so annoying. Just leave me the fuck alone," Clove lashed out angrily. A few moments of silence passed before the incessant knocking continued.

"No," Cassia repeated stubbornly, her voice slightly shakier as fear snaked its way into her head. However, she refused to back down. Clearly something was wrong with her sister and she wanted to know what. "I'm your sister, whether you want it or not and I know your upset and if you're sad, then I'm sad. Now please… let me in." Cassia held her breath, waiting at the door until she heard the sound of a lock clicking emanate from the door as it slowly creaked open. Cassia smiled as she pushed open the door but it was immediately replaced with a frown when she looked at Clove. The pronghorn was a mess, her hair messy and tangled. Her eyes puffy and sore from a night of crying, a permanent frown plastered over her face.

Cassia stared at her sister, not knowing what to do until she decided there were no words she could say at the moment until Clove opened up to her. Cassia took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Clove. Clove sighed, collapsing into her sister as she let her head fall onto Cassia's shoulder. She let the tears flow freely again, not bothering to bottle them up as Cassia held the embrace. Eventually, she led Clove back over to her bed and lay her down, petting her head and combing her hair.

"What happened?" Clove breathed in before finally admitting aloud, more for the benefit of herself than to Cassia.

"Mighty dumped me. I thought he was the one… I loved him and he… he just dumped me out of the blue. In a text of all things!" Clove began to raise her voice.

"Hey sis, I have a question and you have to promise not to get mad," Cassia began. Clove nodded, holding out her pinky like they used to always do as children.

"Pinky promise." As Cassia's finger slid into place around Clove's, Cassia spoke.

"Is Mighty gay?"

"What?" Clove sputtered. "No, of course not. He loved me. He dated me for over a year and we… we did, things."

"Okay, he might not be gay but, are you sure he might not be bi?" Cassia probed.

"Why would you even think that?"

"Because, until recently I had my suspicions. Back when you guys were just friends before he asked you out I thought that he might have been. I think he's in love with Ray. The way he looks at him… the way they share everything and how they always have the most blissful smiles on their faces. I can see how jealous you are of their connection." Cassia explained, her words more mature than Clove had thought before.

"When did you-"

"I notice things. I know your friends just think I'm the annoying little sister but I also look out for you. They act differently when you're not around. But they never notice me. They act like… well… like they're in love," Cassia concluded.

"That's crazy. They are just best friends, nothing more."

"How come he keeps lying to you about being busy so he can sneak around with Ray?"

"Wait, what?" Clove stuttered.

"Back at parent's day. You complained that he was always busy and that he was busy on parent's day too."

"Yeah, he was. He was visiting his parent's."

"But he wasn't. I know because our mum invited his over to dinner on that weekend because neither of them could make it but the thought of you two made them decide to meet up."

"Why would he lie to me?" Clove frowned, thinking back to the day but came up with nothing. They hadn't fought, they weren't mad at each other. Everything seemed normal between them, apart from that she was already feeling that they were drifting apart.

"Well… I saw him with Ray. Alone. They seemed… happy. I don't know, I followed them a bit and they didn't do anything but, I don't know, they just acted like they were a couple. I can't even explain it, I just have a hunch. And you know my hunches are never wrong."

"How… how could he?" Clove sighed, thinking back to all the nights that she tried to organize a meeting but Mighty made up seemingly plausible excuses at the time that only unraveled now that Clove analyzed them. Every time he said he was busy, Ray was also inexplicably too busy to hang out as well. Suddenly, it all fell into place. "He's been doing this for over a month now… How did I never see it?"

"Are you okay?" Cassia asked, rubbing her hand over Clove's back.

"I'd like to be alone for a bit," she admitted.

"I'll be in my room if you need me," Cassia replied stoically before she hopped off the bed and left Clove alone with her thoughts, closing the door softly. Clove reached under her pillow to retrieve the silver necklace that she had hidden and stared at it. What looked like love not minutes before now just seemed like lies. All the time, lies. Clove let out an angry, pent up yell as she hurled the necklace at the wall, watching it explode into tiny, shattered pieces. The small gem fixed to the front shattering into a thousand pieces on the floor. Broken.

…

"This one is so cute," Breezie babbled excitedly as she ran up to the shop window, pressing her face against the glass to marvel at the stunning dress. Silver strolled up beside her, slipping his hand in hers as he examined the dress. His eyes fell down to the price and gulped.

"Are you kidding me? That much for that dress?" he cried out.

"I know, right? It must be on sale or something," Breezie beamed as she turned to him. Silver was stunned, shaking his head unbelievably.

"S-Sale?" The two teenagers had spent most of the day walking around the mall, both enjoying their first real date together. Silver held bags of shopping, draping from his arms containing many different clothes. They continued to window shop, laughing and talking together as Silver struggled to keep up with the enthusiastic Breezie who was clearly happy to be back in the city and was making use of the extra money she had earned from her job at the café despite her better judgement to save it for university.

Eventually, Breezie began to tire as her stomach gurgled. The two retired to one of the many tables contained in the twisting labyrinth of the food court and grabbed some lunch.

"That looks disgusting," Breezie remarked light-heartedly as she watched Silver dig into the large burger, mayonnaise squirting out from the bun.

"I'm sorry we can't all be satisfied by a tiny little salad," Silver chuckled as he took another bite of the burger, indulging in the wondrous flavors. "Anyway, would you like to come back to mine and have some dinner with me? My parents are simply dying to see you again after all this time," Silver spoke casually, not mentioning that he told his parents that she was just a friend and nothing more.

"Oh, I'd really love to, Silver but I promised I'd be home for dinner," Breezie frowned.

"Wait, where are you staying? I thought you said your parents were still overseas where you moved and ditched me- I mean when you had to move. Are they back in Central City again?" Silver enquired.

"Yeah… sorry about that, again. But yes, they decided to return late last year and said they wanted to be here for my final year of school," she apologized.

"That's great news. I can't wait to see your father and mother again," Silver smiled but his cheery tone quickly diminished when he saw her saddened features, tears pining the corners of her eyes. "Hey… what's wrong?" Silver asked, concerned as he placed his hand on hers, looking her deep in the eyes.

"Oh, what? Me? No, nothing is wrong," Breezie lied, quickly brushing away the tears and offering him a fake smile. Silver didn't buy her charade.

"Come on, you know you can tell me anything."

"It's just… it's just when you mentioned my mum."

"What about her?" Silver asked obliviously, not getting the hint or understanding the dour shift her words took when mentioning her.

"She died earlier this year," Breezie admitted, sniffing.

"I'm sorry. She was a good woman. What happened?"

"Car accident. She went for a drive one day and her rental car she hired had faulty brakes. She didn't survive the ambulance ride to the hospital."

"That's horrible," Silver sighed, leaning over to encompass Breezie with his arms, offering his warmth.

"Thanks," Breezie sniffed. "I-I'll be right back. I just need to use the bathroom and just get myself under control," she sniffed again, trying to keep herself composed. This was the first time since the incident that she had openly talked to anybody about the incident apart from her father and her two best friends Mina and Spike.

"Take all the time you need. I'll be right here for you," Silver responded empathetically as he watched her stroll over and enter the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Spike stood at the other end of the food court. He had spotted them both shopping earlier when he went to buy himself a new pair of shoes and tailed them, gasping when he saw them kiss and realized that this must have been a date. He growled, grinding his teeth as he watched them laugh together and somehow just managed to hold himself back by biting his bottom lip and pinching his skin when he saw Silver make her cry. Spike waited until Breezie was completely gone before he rushed up to the table and took the seat opposite Silver, startling the teenager.

"S-Spike, what are you doing here?" Silver remarked somewhat surprised by the sudden intrusion. "I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"Cut the crap. I know what you're doing," Spike narrowed his eyes, anger seething throughout his words.

"Spike, please, this is not the time. Breezie isn't in a great state and you should probably leave for the time being."

"You'd like that wouldn't you. To get me out of the picture, so I don't tell her the truth."

"What are you on about?"

"About how you are still going out with Blaze," Spike challenged as Silver froze. "I knew that would get your attention."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Silver denied.

"Oh, we both know I do. Just like we both know that you had sex with Breezie at Elias' party even though your poor girlfriend was in the hospital. Or how you are still going out with Blaze when you decided to ask Breezie out."

"You wouldn't tell Breezie. She'll just think you're jealous because everybody knows you are desperately in love with her. You're just blinded with envy and don't know what you're saying," Silver replied darkly, trying to keep his cool while showing he wasn't afraid of Spike's threats.

"True, but let's just see what Blaze has to say when I go tell her," Spike smiled as he stood up. He tried to walk off victoriously, knowing he had the upper hand when he felt Silver shoot out his arm and grab his wrist, pulling him back to the table.

"Please… please don't tell Blaze. I'll do anything," Silver begged.

"Anything?" Silver nodded. "Okay. Break up with Breezie, and make sure you don't hurt her when you do, or else I'll go have a nice little chat with Blaze." With that, Spike wrenched his arm out of Silver's grasp and stormed off triumphantly without looking back.

"Sorry about that," Breezie apologized as she emerged from the bathroom and took a seat opposite Silver. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Who me?" Silver quickly darted his eyesight back to Breezie. "Yeah, I'm fine, just worried about you is all."

"Thanks Silver, that means a lot. I love you," she smiled as she leant over and placed her lips against his.

"Yeah, I love you too, Breezie."

…

"D-Dad, what are you doing here?" Sonia asked, finally being the one to break the shocked silence that had descended upon the household.

"Sonia, my little girl, how have you been?" He smiled warmly as he stepped uninvited into the household and crossed through the living room towards the open doorway in which Manic, Sonia and Sonic all now stood. He tried to hug her but she recoiled, taking a step back. Hurt flushed onto Jules' face but Manic quickly stood between the two, eyes narrowed.

"Answer her question, pops," he replied dully.

"Manic, my little man. Come on, don't be like this. Think of all the good times we had," Jules urged. "I just came here to see my kids. You all left so suddenly and I wanted to see how year twelve has been treating you." Manic frowned, wanting nothing more than to believe his dad's words. He thought back to all his fondest memories with his father. Jules racing beside him as he learnt to ride his bike and skateboard. His father going to great lengths and putting up with all the noise to let Manic pursue his drumming dream. Playing catch in the yard, eating ice-cream after church on Sunday's. All Manic's life, Jules had been a great dad. A single tear began to fall from his eye.

"Is it true?" That's all Manic asked.

"Manic, please, remember-"

"Is. It. True?" Manic said again, more forcefully this time. Bernadette and Aleena exchanged worried glances, neither one sure whether they should intervene or not but both still frozen from the sudden intrusion of the man that they had both once loved.

"Yes. Everything is true. I was married with Bernadette and raised Sonic whilst also raising you and kept it a secret. I knew it was wrong but I loved you all. But I-"

"Spare me," Manic spat darkly, his eyes glassed over and hazy, obscuring his pupils. He had never felt hatred for his father, not even after learning of everything. It was always focused at Sonic but now, after seeing his dad dare to come back and apologize for everything, he couldn't even stomach the sight.

"Manic please. Everything I did was for you."

"Really? Keeping my brother a secret from me was helping me? And when we left and finally found him, did you come and face me? Did you apologize then? No, you were too much of a coward!"

"Manic… I wanted to come see you but I didn't know where Aleena sent you two."

"Don't you dare pin this on me," Aleena yelled, her silence breaking as she shot daggers at Jules.

"No I didn't… I mean… Manic," he returned his attention to his son. "Buddy."

"Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me that when you lied to my face. You made me blame Sonic. All this time, I blamed him. I had so much anger for him, I ruined my chances with the girl I like and everything was so fucked up," Manic began to yell, his father's presence stirring up his anger and opening up all the old wounds that he thought he had covered. Manic growled, and as his father opened his mouth again Manic could take it no longer. He pushed passed Jules, ignoring the calls from his siblings and mother and stormed out of this house. All the pain he was feeling, all the pain stirred on by his father and amplified by his failed romance with Mina, despite knowing he should blame his father, one name kept popping up in his head. The one who tricked Mina in the first place. Amy Rose.

"Sonia, honey please," Jules turned his attention to his daughter, hardly deturbed by the actions of Manic.

"Oh, what? Manic wouldn't forgive you so now it's time to try with me? You're pathetic, dad," Sonia growled uncharacteristically.

"Sonia, I was only doing this all for you. I just wanted to care for you," Jules begged, his voice straining as he became more desperate. All too aware of both Aleena and Bernadette's angered gaze burning holes into his head.

"Don't you dare. Don't try to defend yourself to me."

"Sonia, you just don't understand. One day when you're a parent you will but today is not that day."

"Well maybe I have more of a clue than you know, dad. I bet I'll be a better parent than you ever were and ever will be," Sonia hissed. She could feel her blood boil, her anger only raging brighter after witnessing the conversation that had just transpired between her father and brother.

"You're far too young to understand young lady," Jules fired back, getting more frustrated. Things hadn't transpired at all like he had planned and he was having trouble wrestling the conflict back over to his side.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Dad! I'm pregnant!" Sonia screamed, her voice raspy and straining. Jules froze, his eyes bulging as he looked down at her stomach which still showed no clear signs of pregnancy.

"How could you let this happen?" He turned to Aleena, rage exploding. "She's only seventeen and she is pregnant? See what happens when I'm not around to guide her."

"Don't blame her dad!" Sonia jumped to her mother's defense.

"Stay out of this. You don't understand."

"I never understand, do I?" Sonia was on the verge of tears. "Never have, never will. I'm just the little girl who doesn't know anything and always needed her big brave father to save her. I didn't know what I was getting into with Shard, did I? That's why you had to scare him off and threaten him to leave me. Yeah, that's right, I know about what you said to Shard. I'm also apparently just the little girl that didn't need to know about her other brother and family? I'm just the little girl who fucked up her life by getting pregnant. Well news flash, dad, I don't need you of all people to protect me!"

"Sonia, don't talk to me like that. I'm just trying to help you," Jules chastised her, unable to satiate his newfound anger.

"Sorry dad. I guess you just don't understand," she spat bitterly before running over to the banister and disappearing up the stairs, leaving only Sonic, Jules, Aleena and Bernadette remaining in the living room.

"What, not even going to try to talk to me?" Sonic asked after moments of silence raised the tension in the room, already despising his dad after seeing how he treated Sonia and Manic.

"Not now, Sonic. I need to make things right with my children," Jules ignored the boy.

"Oh, so I'm not your child now? Oh, that's right, you chose them. Not me. You never wanted me."

"Sonic, don't talk to me like that. I'm your father."

"Are you, dad?" He laced the word with venom, pure hatred seething from his mouth. "Didn't you ever think what leaving would do to me?"

"I learnt that Bernadette told you I was dead. It was better that way. Just look at the fine man you became today because of it," Jules replied, his eyes still focused up the stairs to his daughter's new bedroom door.

"Cut the crap. Do you know how much that hurt me? I knew you weren't dead. I never gave up looking, hoping one day you would come back. I thought you weren't proud of me, that I did something wrong. That I wasn't good enough. I tried so hard to find you, to get you to come home. I worked on my social skills, tried to become the most popular kid so that people would love me since you never did. I joined track, trained constantly and became the faster person at school. I wanted to go pro, be televised. Have everybody love me. You made me think something was wrong with me. Like I couldn't be loved and no matter how many friends I made, or girlfriends I had, or fans I earned… it was never enough. I just need your love, dad. But I was never good enough. I thought maybe you would see a race I won, maybe at the Olympics? Come find me. Tell me you were proud of me," fresh tears were streaming down Sonic's face and both Aleena and Bernadette felt their hearts break as he finally confronted his absent father.

"Sonic… I-"

"No, you are going to let me finish," he scolded Jules, refusing to let his father defend himself. "Mum tried to protect me, from you and from myself. She said you died. Thought that way I would at least still think that you always loved me but I could see it in her eyes. I could see the pain and I knew she lied. I did my research. But it turns out it didn't take long for you to love Manic and Sonia. Why could you love them and not me?"

"Because I wasn't ready for you!"

"Wasn't ready? What, you didn't love mum?"

"No, it's not-"

"Didn't want to have to deal the responsibility?" Sonic interrupted him. He was teetering on the edge, about to have a full breakdown if he continued but couldn't back down.

"No, it wasn't-"

"Didn't want me?" he interrupted again.

"It was a mistake! You were an accident and a lapse in my judgement!" Jules screamed before throwing his hands over his mouth. Aleena and Bernadette froze, mouth agape. Sonic just stood there, motionless. He didn't move, didn't speak. Nothing. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Sonic… no, I didn't mean that. I-"

"Don't talk to me." The words were choked out, barely audible. Merely a whisper. Sonic stared down at his shoes, unable to look his father in the eye.

"Son, please. That's not it. I got flustered, it just came out."

"Don't call me son!" Sonic bellowed, stamping his foot loudly on the ground. He lowered his voice again. "It's true, isn't it? I was just a mistake, the unwanted child. You never wanted a kid with Bernadette. That's why you left. Why you went to live with Aleena, Sonia and Manic. You couldn't keep up the double life because I was a constant reminder of your biggest mistake. You couldn't look at them without being reminded of what a let down I turned out to be."

"Sonic, you know that isn't true. I got worked up but you weren't a mistake. I loved you… I love you," Jules pleaded, his voice becoming desperate.

"I'm going to go check up on Sonia. You hurt her and she needs somebody right now to be her hero, to be there for her and it sure as hell isn't going to be you," Sonic spoke emotionlessly as he began to climb the stairs.

"Sonic, please. I love you."

"I hate you." That was the last thing Sonic said before he slipped into his sister's room and slammed closed the door. Jules darted his eyes from Aleena to Bernadette, both of them filled with fury. He had come to make amends with his children but instead only made each one of them hate him more.

"Aleena…" he turned to her but she turned away, refusing to meet his glance. His heart broke, but he wasn't fully broken yet. He swiveled around and spoke to Bernadette. "Bernadette…"

"Get out."

"Berny… please don't do this. Let me make it up to them," he begged but she just turned her head, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"Get out! GET! OUT! I never want you anywhere near me or MY son again," she screamed, mirroring the exact last words she said to him the night he left her. The night he scarred their child. Jules frowned, sagging his shoulders as he turned to Aleena, his eyes pleading with her.

"Never come near us again, Jules," she said bitterly, still refusing to look at him. Jules sighed as he walked over to the door and out into the cold, night air leaving both mother's alone in the living room. The turkey on the dining table still cold and unfinished.

…

"Espio! Espio! Espio!" The restless crowd roared. The intense, vibrant and excited atmosphere flowed through the small backstage area, scaring Espio to his core. He shook, microphone in hand. He glanced to the stage, drum kit already set up in the back with three stands. He turned behind him, watching the three other backup musicians getting ready with their instruments, each one ready to go on. This wasn't their first performance, but it was for supplying instrumental's for Espio. After all, this was his first performance that wasn't for his peers at school.

"Nervous?" a calming voice cooed into his ear. Espio felt a hand press down into his shoulder and he turned to be face to face with the slightly shorter secretary he had come to know well over the past term.

"You have no idea," Espio chuckled nervously, sweat already beading on his head.

"Well don't be. I've heard you, I've seen you perform before. You have nothing to worry about," Gold soothed, beaming him the sincerest smile he had ever seen her give him.

"Thanks… you always know how to calm me down," he returned the smile, thinking back to the other two times he had gone on stage. Both times, it was Gold's presence that helped him get through it. That helped him calm his nerves and push through the pain to deliver the performance of his life. This was one of those times.

"Now get out there and show all your fans just how good I know you are," Gold laughed as she pushed him forwards, taking him off guard as he stepped onto the stage. Seeing the teenager caused a frenzy in the crowd, his name echoing around the venue. Espio waved as he walked forward to his mark, joined by the other members behind him.

"Hello Central City," he shouted into the mic. He was hit with thousands of voices screaming happily back at him. Burly guards in black tops keeping back the more rabid fans. "I hope you're all doing well?" More screaming. Espio felt his nerves began to fade as he continued greeting them before he was ready to begin the music.

"I've decided that the first song I ever play to an audience this big should mean something. And when writing this, I only ever had one person on my mind but recently, somebody came along to help me find a new purpose to write," he turned to look at Gold who threw him the thumbs up, signaling that he was doing a great job. He turned back to the crowd. "So, without further ado, this is Nicotine!" Screams rose from the crowd again as the lights dimmed and the strumming of the guitar pierced through the venue as the music started.

 _I feel the itch, I'm going numb  
My body's scarin' can't stop 'til I get some  
Your presence cleanses, leads to depression  
My soul's exhaled like the smoke from your gun_

 _Just one more hit, and then I'm done  
My hands are shakin', I block out everyone  
Taste of your lips, I need your kiss  
The blackened tar mends my heart, fills up my lungs_

 _I smoked it, you spoke it, I choked it, revoked it  
You joked it, and poked it, provoked it, now broke it  
You hijacked my brain, I'm feelin' insane, this is all obscene because you're worse than_

He smiled, the adrenaline rushing through his veins as his confidence, along with his voice, grew more powerful. He glanced over to Gold, watching her bob her head, blond hair flailing over her face as he smiled. He breathed deep and belted out the chorus, the crowd going crazy.

 _Nicotine!  
Addiction grows and smoke blows up in my face  
Nicotine!  
Know I should stop but I can't leave from this place  
Nicotine!  
Left my lungs as black as your heart's constantly  
Nicotine!  
Why can't I leave you the way you did to me_

 _I know it's bad  
But I need it bad  
I need it bad_

Espio continued, fueled by the atmosphere, his other band members and Gold's encouragement. He continued the next verse, chorus and interlude before finally belting out the chorus again for a strong finish.

 _You were the smell, after morning's rain  
Still feel the passion coursing deep in my veins  
You were the light, guiding me home  
But now I'm stuck, fight of this Stockholm syndrome_

 _You spewed out your lies, fog clouding your eyes  
I was brutalized now my life's terrorized  
You hijacked my brain, I'm feelin' insane, this is all obscene because you're worse than_

 _Nicotine!  
Addiction grows and smoke blows up in my face  
Nicotine!  
Know I should stop but I can't leave from this place  
Nicotine!  
Left my lungs as black as your heart's constantly  
Nicotine!  
Why can't I leave you the way you did to me  
Nicotine!  
Better to light it up than to fade away  
Nicotine!  
Better to stay than to ever be replaced  
Cuz' you're worse than nicotine._

Espio continued, being pushed further by the feverish crowd as he continued his performance, singing song after song as Gold stood backstage, watching him perform. Gold noticed that he seemed so confident on stage. Like it was where he belonged. Where he thrived.

…

Casino zone, bright neon lights blaring through the night, their artificial luminescence bathing the seared roads constantly. The large area situated just outside of Central City was always abuzz with life. The sounds filled the air into all hours of the morning, drunken pedestrians stumbling down the sidewalks and large banners advertising all sorts of different entertainment.

Rouge strolled down the street, coming to a stop outside Crown Casino, patterns of bulbs flashing in sequence above her head. She had her hair done up in a bow, two diamond earrings draping from her lobes and deep black lipstick covering her rosy lips. She donned a long, flowing black sequent dress which accentuated her hips and flared out around her ankles, hiding her stilettos. She walked confidently, allowing her purse to be inspected before entering the large area.

She scanned the room, glazing over the slots, pokies and all other tables that dotted the room. Each one with a crowd of excited people betting thousands of dollars in hopes to get rich quick with a man or woman in a black tuxedo gladly accepting and usually taking their hard-earned money. Rouge chuckled as she confidently strolled over to her favourite pass time, the roulette. She tossed the chips she had traded with, promising herself to bet no more than one hundred dollars that night. However, before she could even sit down and begin to bet the night away, gambling and drinking to her heart's content, a familiar voice bellowed throughout the casino.

"Oh no," Rouge sighed as she turned around to see what she dreaded. The same girl she saw gambling back at school, Cosmo, was standing next to a table, cursing at the dealer.

"You will give me another chance," Cosmo yelled, getting more and more worked up.

"I'm sorry miss but if you have no more money than I can't let you play," the stoic, calm dealer spoke.

"Dude, c'mon bro, surely we can work out a deal," the teenager beside her tried to bargain.

"There is nothing more I can do unless you have more money to bet," the dealer replied again, reiterating his position.

"Trust me, friend, she is good for it. Just let her play one more game," the weasel insisted.

"Nack, let me handle this," Cosmo turned to him, spitting as she glared at him.

"Mam, I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice or else I will need you to vacate the casino."

"Don't tell me what to do," Cosmo hissed uncharacteristically, combing her hands through her short hair.

"Shhh, Cosmo, chill out," Nack placed a hand on her shoulder, grinning. "I'll lend you another fifty so you can win your money back and you can just pay me back, with interest, after this game. I'm sure your winning streak is about to kick in." Cosmo glanced from the dealer back to Nack, unsure. She knew this was a bad idea, but she couldn't help but give into the temptation. The allure too strong. Nack sneered as he called over a tall, curvy woman. He charmed her before taking the martini out of her hands, smacking her ass and sending her on her way. She growled in anger, completely disgusted by his behaviour and stormed off, wanting to be as far away from him as possible.

"Here, drink this to calm the nerves. You're too worked up, you need to relax to be able to bluff your way to win. Remember all I taught you," Nack said calmly as he handed her the drink, grinning as she downed it all in one gulp. Rouge frowned, watching the display from far enough away that she wouldn't be spotted.

"Fine, gimme the money," Cosmo caved, holding out her hand. She continued to play against the dealer until eventually she lost the fifty dollars, leaving her broke again.

"I'm sorry mam, but you lost again. Now please, if you aren't going to keep playing stand aside to let other patrons play," the dealer instructed. Cosmo panicked, seething with regret as she turned to Nack.

"I need more. I can win it back, I just need more," Cosmo insisted.

"Now, now, you already owe me two hundred," Nack wiggled his finger, stopping her.

"Don't wuss out on me now, you were the one who always taught me to never give up until you're winning."

"Look, Cosmo, tonight just isn't your night. You still have the rest of the break. Go do what you do best, scam your friends and family into giving you more money so you can pay me," Nack grinned wickedly.

"You dick head," Cosmo yelled, her blood pressure increasing. "You're supposed to be my friend."

"I am. And as a friend, I'm suggesting we give it a break for the night and come back fresh to win it all back," he remained calm, explaining carefully.

"No!" Cosmo shouted, turning back to the dealer and grabbing his tie. "Let me play one more game. I need one more." Before Cosmo could even react, three big, burly guys dressed in black ran up to her and constrained her, along with her partner and began dragging them towards the exit.

"Look what you've gone and done now. I'm respected here," Nack complained, struggling against the men.

"Me?! This is all your fault. If you're so good, why didn't you win anything either?"

"Well, I mean I did make one hundred from you," Nack countered.

"You son of a bitch," Cosmo screamed as both her and Nack got tossed out through the back door and into an adjacent street, the door slamming shut behind them. Rouge frowned, watching the display happen as her heart broke for the shy, innocent girl whom she had come to know.

"Poor darling. She needs to lose that loser. What am I going to do…" she pondered before deciding to go back to the roulette. "Well, I can't let that ruin my night. It's still young and I'm ready to strike it big!"

…

Espio sighed, wiping his face, drenched in sweat, with the towel he was given when exiting the stage. The crowd's loud noise began to dim as they all shuffled out of the building like water being drained from a bucket. Espio collapsed on the couch in his dressing room, perking up when Gold rushed in through the room and picked him up in a big hug, spinning him around despite his weight.

"That was amazing! You were so good," she chimed happily, placing him down and stepping back, her face flushed.

"You really think so? It means the world coming from you," Espio mumbled in reply, scratching the back of his neck.

"I wouldn't lie to you. Also, we forgot to tell you but Thrash thought it would be good publicity to hold a little radio contest for five lucky winners to get to come back stage after the show to hang out with you," Gold admitted suddenly.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, they're right outside. I thought I'd warn you. Anyway, I'll leave you to them. If you need me, I'll be in the room just across the corridor. Don't have too much fun," Gold winked playfully, although Espio could tell it was only a façade as she walked out, calling to the fans waiting patiently outside. All of a sudden, like a dam bursting, five squealing girls sprinted into the room giggling happily.

"…Hey," Espio smiled sheepishly as he looked upon the girls. All five of them were beautiful. Their hair done up, their faces applied with make-up, their body's curved and thin. It was as if Espio was dreaming, except he was wide awake. He imagined himself back at school in his room, the laughing stock of the school, wishing for any companionship. If only he knew then that before the end of the year, he would have five beautiful fans all begging to sleep with him.

"That was so good," one of the girls said finally after they stopped fawning over him. "You're even better live."

"Thanks, what's your name?"

"I'm Sticks," the teenager said. She looked about the same age as Espio and wore skinny jeans, converse shoes and one of Espio's shirts that they sold at the merchandise stands outside the venue he played at. She battered her eyelashes at him, taking a step closer until her body was brushing up against his.

"N-Nice to meet you," he fumbled, not sure what to do.

"There's a lot more of me to meet," she purred seductively as she pulled him by his shirt, heading towards the couch. Espio's heart thudded. He knew exactly where this was leading. He looked over to the other four girls, wondering if they would be made that this Sticks girl was taking him but they all seemed excited, getting closer. It was as if they were all ready for a turn.

"Wait, wait," Espio stopped, surprising even himself with his hesitation. He thought back to the start of the year. How many times he fantasized about this exact situation. Being in a room with five beautiful women all throwing themselves at him. He would have slept with them all and then moved on to another, like he did all throughout the previous year. He shuddered at his actions. He flashed back to when Cordelia chastised him, accusing him of all the horrible things he did as, what she referred to as a womanizer. And yet, all he wanted to do was get out of that room.

"Sorry, I'll be right back," he said stumbling, flustered as he retreated out of the room. Sticks watched him go, a frown on her face as she narrowed her eyes. She wanted him, and she knew she always got what she wanted. Espio ran across the hallway and quickly slipped into Gold's room, slamming the door behind him.

"Espio? What the hell?" Gold gasped, frightened by the sudden intrusion. He ran up to her, taking the book out of her hands and placed it on the table beside him.

"I can't do this, it was too much," he babbled to her.

"What do you mean?" Gold queried.

"They were all over me. They all wanted me."

"Not that I'm approving that kind of behaviour but… how is that a bad thing to somebody like you?"

"I… I don't know," Espio paused, not sure why. "I guess it just reminds me of a time that I'd rather forget. A me that I don't want to be anymore," he sighed.

"Well… what you do you want to be?" Gold asked, peering up to stare deep into his confused, conflicted eyes.

"A me with you," he whispered before quickly closing the gap between their lips. Gold's eyes flew open, not sure what was happening. It all happened so quickly. He raced into her room, he stared into her and suddenly his lips were pressing against hers, his tongue begging entrance against her teeth. Gold knew it was wrong, she knew that it wasn't allowed. She knew it could never work and she knew it was dangerous. But, she couldn't help but close her eyes, open her mouth and give into temptation, and to Espio.

…

"Really, are you serious?" Amy squealed in delight over the phone, twirling her hair with her finger as she spoke into the receiver. She lay back on her queen-sized bed, head resting on her dashboard.

"Yes, daring. Our editors have been hard at work and we think it is perfect. We can now enter the finalized stage of the publishing process," Zouge, Rouge's aunt and Amy's newest publisher responded through the phone. Amy could hardly contain her delight. This was the exact call she needed. Something to distract her from the depression that had loomed over her since her fight with Sonic in the last week of school. It hadn't even been a week and she already felt herself crumbling. No matter how hard she tried to redeem herself, things always seemed to blow up in her face. But not this time.

"Thank you so, so, so much," Amy repeated. "Can I get a copy of the edited version just to make sure it's all perfect?"

"Why of course darling, we want you to be happy with it before we begin to print. I've emailed you a digital copy. I hope it's to your liking," Zouge responded enthusiastically.

"I'll read it right away," Amy beamed, completely ecstatic.

"If all goes to plan, the book should be on shelves by the end of the year," Zouge continued.

"Really? That's awesome news."

"Isn't it though, darling? Anyway, I really must be off. Busy, busy, busy."

"Oh, of course. Don't let me keep you. And thanks again for everything."

"No worries, darling. Ta, ta," Zouge made a kissing sound into the phone before hanging up. Amy sighed, letting her phone fall to her bed as she quickly rolled over and switched on her laptop, positioning it on her lap, eager to see the email. However, before she could input her password to boot it up, she immediately fell back into her dour mood. Her eyes glazed over her lock screen, a picture of her and Sonic lying out under the stars on one of their dates. Both happy and content with each other.

'Maybe I should try calling him. Try apologize again,' she thought, frowning but as she went to pick up her phone, the doorbell rang. She quickly sat up, thinking it might have been fate and that Sonic was at her door, ready to forgive her. She jumped up, skidding down the hallway and out to the front door which she wrenched open without hesitation. However, her mood quickly returned when she saw none other than Manic standing at the door, his chest heaving heavily.

"Manic, what are you doing here?" Amy asked, looking around outside in hopes that Sonic was with him. He wasn't.

"You," Manic stated emotionlessly, hatred evident in his eyes. He took a step forward into her house. Amy backed up a step cautiously.

"Manic… is this about the whole Mina incident?" Manic narrowed his eyes further, not breaking eye contact. Embers danced in his eyes. "I can explain. Look, I was dumb and it was a long time ago. I honestly forgot I did that."

"You were the one who told me that you convinced her to give me a shot. You convinced me it was a good idea too," he stated darkly.

"I said I was sorry," Amy stood her ground, generally more frustrated in the presence of the easily angered teenager.

"You were the reason I hated Sonic for so long."

"Don't blame me for your shit!" Amy snarled back, shedding her sorrow and replacing it with anger.

"What, you needed him so badly you wanted to fuck up my life and Mina's too just so you could get him? I bet it was you that broke him up with Tails, too!" Manic accused, stepping closer into the house and slamming her door closed behind him.

"Oh, Fuck you!" Amy stamped her foot, fed up. "I'm so sick of people assuming I'm the reason bad things happen. You and your short temper was why you could never have a good relationship with your brother or with Mina. It's not my fault that she, and the rest of the school, just sees you as Sonic's younger brother. Oh, sorry, I mean half-brother," she emphasized her final words.

"I am not just Sonic's younger brother. I'm my own fucking person! And you know what? Maybe people think that because you can't help but meddle in other people's affairs. You're just a self-centered, egotistical, unloved bitch," Manic screamed, spittle flying from his mouth as he stared down Amy.

"At least I'm not a carbon copy of somebody much cooler, loser," Amy dared to step closer, her own eyes filled with hate as she stood up to him, their faces barely apart. She didn't know why, but her blood was pumping fast, like her veins were on fire with hatred the only way Manic could make her. Neither one knew why, but it seemed that the other one always knew just how to push their buttons.

"Slut!"

"Douche!"

"Whore!"

"Dick head!" Suddenly, without warning, Manic crashed his lips against hers, fueled with an angered passion. Amy, all but given up on ever being forgiven by Sonic, gave into her own hatred and kiss back, rough. She allowed him to slither his tongue down her throat forcefully as he ran his hands through her hair. He slammed her against the wall, both moaning in pain and pleasure as the greedily smooched. Their immense, unbridled anger and hatred manifesting into an unrelenting, insatiable lust for each other. This voracious feeling overtook them, compelling them to go further. It was as if all their thoughts and feelings were overcome by the urge to be with the other one.

Manic vehemently ripped off Amy's dress, as she did with Manic's shirt and jeans and they both collapsed with a thud on the couch. Both only in underpants, Manic ground his body against her, skin chaffing skin as they threw off the final piece of clothing they both wore, neither one quite knowing what was happening until it was too late.

…

 _"_ _Finally finished!" He beamed at me, ecstatic that we had finally completed our project. I waddled over, tossing the latest cardboard box that I had acquired aside. "You wanna go inside?" I nodded happily as we crawled through the opening we left._

 _"_ _It's beautiful," I replied as we both sat crouched in the center. "I told you that when we grew up we would get a house together," I chuckled as he grabbed his hand. I had been doing that a lot recently. I never really knew why, it just felt nice. We used to hold hands a lot around the school grounds but people thought he was weird. The other guys said he got cooties from me and he got really nervous. He even asked his mother if it was true. He really was naïve back then, but I guess so was I. He said he liked holding my hand though, so instead we decided to just do it when we were alone. Things were much simpler back then. Back when we were both eight._

 _"_ _I'd hardly say year four is grown up," he replied, squeezing my hand._

 _"_ _Yeah but I never thought we would ever make it through year three. Mrs. Bins was a meanie." We both shuddered, thinking to our horrible teacher before we descended back into silence, hidden away in our small house that we had constructed out of cardboard after school. He was supposed to come stay at my place that night because both his parents were away and his caretaker was sick but my mum was late._

 _"_ _Hey, Mina?" He turned to me._

 _"_ _Yeah? What's up, Tails?"_

 _"_ _You ever think that, maybe, when we grow older, we could buy a real house together?" he asked sweetly._

 _"_ _Yeah, of course. But, would you really want to live with me when we are grownups?"_

 _"_ _Totally," he grinned childishly. "I love hanging out with you. You're my best friend and you mean the world to me."_

 _"_ _But you know only mums and dads move in together and get a house, right?"_

 _"_ _True… But I really wanna get a real house together because one out of cardboard just isn't good enough," Tails pouted._

 _"_ _Oh, I know," I clicked my fingers. "Why don't we just get married when we get older and then we can move in together?"_

 _"_ _You mean it?"_

 _"_ _Definitely," I nodded. "Then we never have to be apart."_

 _"_ _That's perfect. So, it's settled then. When we both get older, we have to get married."_

 _"_ _Promise?"_

 _"_ _Promise!" I miss my time back with him in primary school. Back when we could just have fun building a house out of cardboard together. Back when thoughts of the future meant little and we made promises and plans without thinking. Back when things were simpler._

Mina let out a cry, trying to hold herself together as she looked down at the piece of plastic she held firmly in between her hands.

"It can't be true," Mina wailed as she ripped another one out of its casing and hurried over to the bathroom. "I must have done it wrong or something," she reasoned with herself. However, in her heart she knew it was true. She was late. For the first week she thought nothing of it, but it had been over five weeks since her last period and Mina had started to worry. It was only when the second test turned out positive that she really lost it.

"It can't be. It can't. It… it just can't," Mina repeated, getting more and more worked up. She cried, letting the tears flow freely. She wasn't ready for this. Not even close. Mina wished she could have just gone back to a simpler time. A time when cardboard houses were the worst of her worries. A time of splashing in puddles after rain. A time of warm soup made by her mother.

Mina couldn't take it anymore. She knew it was true, but she couldn't cope. She needed to talk to somebody, anybody. Her first instinct was Breezie, her best friend but as she grabbed her phone and scrolled her contacts, it was Tails' name that she ended up clicking on.

Mina raised the phone to her ear, dreading the dial tone until the familiar voice picked up.

"Mina? Mina, what's wrong," Tails' concerned phone replied when all he could hear was Mina's choked sobs. After a few moments of his desperately calling her name and getting nothing but a disjointed, tearful attempt at words Mina was finally able to gether her breathing enough to respond.

"Tails… Tails I… I'm pregnant!" Mina wailed.

"P-Pregnant? A-are you okay?"

"Tails… it's so fucked. It's so, so fucked."

"Mina, calm down, it won't be that bad. I know it'll be fine. I'll be able to help you through this. Everything will be okay."

"No… no it won't," Mina choked, unable to force the words out of the mouth. "You just don't understand. It's… it's…"

"It's what?"

"It's the father, Tails. I fucked up bad…"

"No… it can't be," he gasped.

"Tails… Manic is the father!"

…

"Hey… how you feeling?" Sonic asked carefully, his voice soft as he walked through the room. He saw her crying, arms folded over on her mattress as she knelt on the floor. His heart broke for her. He didn't know what to do. He approached her cautiously, like walking over to a broken, baby bird. Her sniffs gradually grew louder and louder. "Sonia…"

"I just can't believe he would say that," she dried her eyes, turning her head to face Sonic, a frown plastered on her face.

"Come now. That's just dad, don't take it too personally," he soothed as he took a knee next to him, wrapping his arm around her neck and placing his hand on the back of her head. She gave in, burying her face into his neck, his chin placed on her shoulder as he held her tight. He could feel her shaking as she clung to his shirt.

"I heard what he said to you," she said after moments of silence.

"Oh, yeah… that," Sonic grew distant, his eyes clouding over as he stared out the window.

"It's not true, you know," she broke apart, sitting back on her legs and allowing her back to drape against her bed. Sonic shifted position too, getting more comfortable as the two siblings sat side by side on the ground, staring at the wall in front of you. "You're not an accident."

"And you're not just a scared little girl who needs somebody to do look out for her constantly." The two smiled at each other as Sonia wormed her arm across the floor, finding the top of Sonic's hand and placed hers on top.

"Thanks. For coming to cheer me up."

"Anytime. And hey, at least dad taught me one thing by leaving," Sonic thought aloud.

"What's that?"

"That no matter what, no matter how I'm feeling or how fucked things seem to be, I'll never stop being there for the ones I love."

"You love me?"

"Of course I do, Sonia. I don't care if our only blood is shared by him, to me you're my full sister. And I love you and I'll always be here for you if you need," he squeezed her hand.

"I love you too, Sonic. You're the best brother a girl could ask for and if one good thing came out of all this madness, it was getting to meet you. I just wish…" Sonia trailed off with a sigh.

"What is it?"

"That you and Manic wouldn't always be at each other's throats."

"Don't worry. After the whole Mina and Amy incident I think we will be okay," Sonic thought optimistically.

"Just don't give up on trying with him, Sonic. He's a little stubborn and short tempered but he has a big heart and I can see that he is trying."

"I know… and don't worry. He's my brother, I love him too," Sonic decided, more telling himself that than Sonia as they both sat there, just enjoying each other's company after both of their traumatic arguments with their father.

"So… you mentioned Amy. What are you going to do about that? Have you talked to her since?" Sonia asked, curious and caring.

"Yeah, we talked. Well, it was more I yelled and she apologized."

"And?"

"I said I didn't know if I wanted to keep up the relationship and that I'd think about it."

"If a guy ever said that to me I'd kick him to the curb," Sonia giggled lightly.

"Trust me, Ames wouldn't do that to me."

"You're a bit confident, aren't you? You do know that you're not Chaos' gift to girls, right?" She punched him lightly.

"Don't worry. It's just Ames. She has some weird obsession with me," Sonic assured, chuckling. "But, it's not weird, if that makes sense. I feel so… I don't know… loved with her. She makes me feel special, like I could take on the world. She believes in me, the way nobody ever did and I know she would never hurt me. I just feel safe."

"Maybe you should go apologize to her? Everybody deserves a second chance."

"Maybe I should," Sonic smiled, giving her another appreciative hug before getting up and heading out the door, avoiding eye sight with his mother and Aleena to avoid a conversation he was still not ready to have and broke into a jog off to Amy's house.

* * *

 _A/N: Well there you have it. A lot of stuff going down and a lot more to still happen in part 2. The first thing you might notice, however, was the song. Instead of keeping with my theme of all the Scratch 21 songs, I decided to do something a little different. I put a song that I wrote instead that fit. (I hope you liked it :P) I decided that I didn't want to use other artists songs in my work for a character as important as Espio who's whole thing is redemption and writing music based on his struggles so I wanted to make it more personal. I have also written some others and replaced the other songs. So instead of Walk Through the Fire, I've replaced it with one I wrote called On Rainy Days (Go re-read his scenes in chapters 5 and 8). I also replaced 'The Rhyme' with my own song called 'Through the Stars' (Go re-read his scenes in chapters 13 and 18). And finally, I replaced the song 'Sorry Jack' with 'My Friend' (Go re-read his scene in chapter 22). I worked hard on all of them and I hope you take the time to go back to read them (Even though I can't also give out the sheet music to the instrumental) and let me know what you think. And if you are reading this in the future, or are just re-reading the whole story then hello, I hope you liked my (Espio's) songs so far. We still have 2 more coming in Part 3_

 _However, the big part of this episode was the ever disfunctional hedgehog family. We now have more information about the Sonia/Shard breakup, as well as why Manic seems to be so angry. But above all, we learn more about what makes Sonic, Sonic. Why did he hold popularity in such high regard, making the decision to choose love over status so hard back in the first book? Why did he train so hard in running? Why does he care so much about friendship? It seems it was his abandonment issues about his father that has shaped so much of his life and will continue to in the future. At least he managed to reconcile with Sonia and Manic... right? Speaking of Manic, poor Mina. Looks like we might have to start a mother's club soon with Sonia and Mina. Maybe more?_

 _And quickly, Cassia has put a horrid idea in Cloves head, Espio and Gold finally share a kiss (Gross? Maybe. Illegal? yes.), We finally see the source of Cosmo's addiction, her partner in crime, Nack and Spike is finally going to do something about the two-timing Silver. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and the songs, and please don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought. I missed hearing from all of you over the break (Ironic?) and as always, thanks for reading._

 _Question of the Day: Who do you want Silver to end up with. Breezie or Blaze or neither?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _The break shenanigans continues when Mephiles comes to the Hedgehog household_

 _Sonic shows up to apologize to Amy_

 _Tikal and Eclipse have a loud encounter with Tikal's birth mother_

 _The students who got left behind at the campus play a revealing game of 'I Never'_

 _And Shadow and Ray both make discoveries about who sent the nudes around and who Knuckles is related to_

 _...All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 31: The Break (II)_


	31. Chapter 31: The Break (II)

_A/N: Hey everybody, Happy Valentines Day :) I was trying to get out the special WoF chapter today but I'm only about half way done with that so instead I've decided as a gift I'll release the finale of Part 2, which I might have had finished for about a week now :P Anyway, WoF and Missing are being worked on, but since this marks the end of a two parter and also of Part 2 of this 4 part story, I thought it appropriate. This officially marks the halway point (Well not technically because my plans go to Chapter 65 but parts 3 and 4 both have 17 chapters instead of Parts 1 and 2 which had 14 and 17 respectively. I've decided I like the number 17. It doesn't get enought credit) Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 31:

The Break (II)

The sun had all but descended beyond the horizon, the fleeting light being snuffed out by the ever-increasing darkness. The campus was as cold and dead as a barren wasteland. Nobody dashed through the paths to make it to the dining hall. No shouts echoed through the hallways from feuding roommates.

Tails sighed as he looked out the window, his chin resting on his hand, elbows on the window sill. He tried dialing the number again but the same response. Directly to voicemail. The tenth time. Tails wasn't sure if his father was just ignoring his calls or had blocked him out altogether but every time he heard the same voicemail, he broke a little more inside. The words taunting him, only proving just how much his father now hated him. And for what?

"Tails… you okay?" a concerned voice pierced up. Tails flitted his eyes from the school grounds over to one of the beds and the lying teenager.

"Fine," he said plainly, ignoring Mighty. Mighty sighed as he rose his head, frowning at Tails. He had figured this time together would help them connect more. Grow closer together but all it seemed to do was make Tails more and more depressed and Mighty more and more desperate to help.

"C'mon Tails, I know something is bothering you. You know I'm here for you if you need to talk. You can trust me," Mighty urged as he softly stepped over to the window sill to make sure Tails was okay.

"I said I'm fine," he turned away stubbornly, not wanting to be disturbed.

"Is it about your father again?" Tails froze.

"Like you know," Tails hissed back uncharacteristically distant.

"Hey, don't lash out at me. I'm just trying to help."

"Oh, you're just trying to help, are you? That's all you ever do, right? Help those who are weak. It's like you get off on it," Tails began to get worked up, desperation fueling anger.

"Tails, come on, don't speak like that."

"Oh, why not? Because you wouldn't want to talk to me if I wasn't all depressed. Oh Mighty, my big, strong hero, I need your strong embrace to help save me," Tails exaggerated his words, straining his voice to sound like a heroine in distress.

"Dude, what the fuck? I'm just tryna help," Mighty groaned, getting slightly annoyed.

"I didn't ask for your help, did I?"

"I can see you're upset though. Let me help," Mighty insisted, raising his hand up and placed it on Tails' shoulder but he quickly swatted it away, turning to stand.

"I knew it. You do get off on helping people. It's like you need it. Maybe that's why you're best friends with Ray. I bet he was fine before you came along. I bet he-" Tails continued until Mighty brought his fist to Tails' face, connecting loudly. Tails took a step back, raising his palm to cup his cheek, pain on his face. Mighty staggered, taking a step back.

"I… I'm sorry…" he whispered, staring at his fist. He didn't know what came over him. He'd never hit somebody who hadn't deserved it before. He was just overwhelmed when Tails brought Ray into it.

"Fuck off," Tails growled. "Just leave me alone."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? But just because things are hard with your family right now doesn't mean you can turn on somebody who is just trying to help."

"It's not just hard, got it? My dad fucking hates me and never wants to see me again."

"Tails, I know this must be hard for you. I can't even imagine the hurt you feel but I understand that-"

"You don't understand shit," Tails interjected angrily. "Don't pretend you know how I feel."

"I'm not. I'm just saying I've felt the same pain before too."

"Shut up. You have no idea how I feel," Tails fired back.

"I really do."

"You have no idea. You don't know the pain of feeling your whole world crumbling around you. To have everything you believed in, all your future plans all explode," Tails began breathing heavily, completely worked up.

"Yes, I do, and I know that talking about it is the best way to help feel better," Mighty urged.

"You know what? Just forget it, I'm gonna go sleep in Blaze's room for the rest of the holiday's," Tails yelled as he stormed over to the door. Mighty could feel the breath escaping him, constricting his lungs. He couldn't help it. He didn't want Tails hating him. He knew it would help and he knew, despite everything, he could trust his roommate.

"I had to grab Ray off the edge of a cliff because he tried to kill himself because of me," Mighty said. Tails froze in step, nailed to the spot. He slowly turned, his eyes bulging open as he looked over to Mighty who still had fresh tears rolling down his face.

"You what?"

"He thought he was a burden. That he was ruining my life. He walked to a cliff in the dead of night and tried to jump. I wanted to check on him, saw he wasn't in his room and caught him just in time… I watched my best friend almost kill himself right in front of me. And there is nothing I can do to make him feel better."

"Mighty I…" Tails trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"That's why I broke it off with Clove last week," Mighty added. "Ray needs my help now more than ever and I' already swamped with everything. I need to dedicate all my free time to helping him get better."

"Mighty… I'm sorry," Tails whispered as he walked over to the sobbing teenager and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing tightly for protection. "I had no idea. I'm sorry I said all I did. I didn't mean it."

"Thanks."

"Woah," a voice pierced through the silence. "Look, if you fags are gonna fuck I can come back later."

"What do you want, Scourge," Mighty growled as his eyes flicked up to the open door where Scourge was still grasping the door handle, watching the two boys hug. He narrowed his eyes, grinning widely to show off his pointed teeth. Mighty and him had never gotten along and just the presence of the other seemed to make their blood boil.

"I just came to get you guys. All of us rejects are having a big bonfire on the footy oval but if you two are gonna keep being fags then we don't want you," Scourge replied calmly, his eyes never leaving Mighty's.

"Why should we believe you? As if you would ever want me there. In fact, as if you were ever invited," Mighty challenged.

"Why, I'm offended," Scourge mocked. "I figured since we're all stuck here it might do us some good. Storm and I broke into the alcohol supply and we thought we'd all have a bit of party. Show those who could go home with their families who are having the real fun but if you don't wanna come…"

"Thanks for the invite. We'll both be there," Tails quickly spoke before Mighty could add a snide remark. Scourge smiled, stepping aside to gesture for the two to come out with him in the hall.

"What was that for?" Mighty whispered.

"I think it could do us both some good. Just to chill out. Besides, we could all use a little fun despite having to deal with Scourge for a night," Tails replied, ignoring Scourge's snorting from his remark. Tails smiled at Mighty who, finally, shrugged and followed the boy out into the hall and down the corridor. Scourge smiled as he closed the door, his mind running wild with possibilities.

'So that's why Ray and Clove have been acting so weird lately…'

…

Sonic replayed all the times with Amy over in his head. At first, he thought about the bad times. All her manipulation, turning people against each other for her misguided truths. However, no matter how hard he tried to continually think of the negatives, they were overshadowed by the good times. He remembered the two of them chatting at the café, of nights spent lying under the stars staring at constellations and of staying up all night in each other's beds. He thumbed his pocket, kicking a small, aluminum can down the sidewalk as he took in the freezing air around him, the day unusually cold for this time of year.

He smiled as he finally arrived at her house and pushed open the gate, walking up to ring the doorbell. He waited, minutes passing before he ran it again, calling out her name.

"Amy, you in there?"

"Y-Yeah, coming," a flustered voice called before a few more minutes passed. Finally, the large door swung open and Amy stared, puffing and exhausted.

"What were you doing?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"I was just on the toilet, sorry," Amy apologized before her brain really clicked that Sonic was at her door. "W-why are you here?"

"Well… you see," Sonic began, taking a deep breath. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Amy nodded, standing aside to let him enter her familiar living room. As he entered, he completely missed the fleeing teenager who had descended the other side of the house sprint off out of her garden and down the street. She sighed as she closed the door. "Want a drink?"

"No thanks," Sonic declined politely as he took a seat on the large couch, waiting for Amy to sit opposite him, her hair messy and appearance disheveled.

"Are you still mad? Because if you've come here to break up with me just get it over with," she frowned, still feeling guilty.

"Amy, I just wanted to know why you did it all."

"You mean with Mina and Manic?"

"I mean with everything. Ever since we broke up back in January you've been so different to the girl I used to love. Only recently, back just before Parent's day did I see the old Amy I fell in love with."

"I'm still that girl," Amy assured him, but he shook his head, smiling.

"I know you are. Deep down, I truly do but on the surface, it's just hard. After all you did-"

"I said I'm sorry for Mina and Manic. I didn't mean to, that was back at the beginning. I've changed since then, I swear," Amy interrupted, her voice cracking and breaking.

"It's not just that. It's also about Tails."

"What about him?"

"Ever since I dumped him, we haven't really been the same. We've made improvements and are friends again but he's been so distant. We've hardly hung out but when I told him that you and I were back together, he was so supportive of me."

"So, what's the problem?"

"He was so supportive, but you weren't about my relationship with him," Sonic jumped to the point.

"What? Yes I wa-"

"No. No more lies, Amy," Sonic interjected. "Do you hate Tails because of what him and I were?"

"No!" Amy almost yelled. "Not at all. Tails is still one of my best friends."

"Then why are you so weird around him when we are together?"

"It's not because of you."

"Then why?" Amy looked down, unable to make eye contact. "Amy, why?" He pushed again.

"Because of what Rouge said!" Amy exploded.

"R-Rouge?" Sonic asked, bewildered.

"Back at the party before we came to this campus. I wasn't invited and she told me that Tails was the one that campaigned for me to not be invited. She said he was turning everybody against me. How could I be happy for somebody who would do that to me?"

"Wait, what? Tails never did that. It was all Rouge's idea to have the party at hers and to not invite you. She also was the one who convinced me to invite Lyra. It was never Tails," Sonic explained.

"But… why would she lie? What did she have to gain? What did she have against Tails?" Amy asked rhetorically, knowing Sonic didn't have the answers.

"I don't know, but I'm going to get to the bottom of this," he decided, determination running through his veins. "Amy," he turned. "I'm sorry I blamed you. I thought you hated him because of me."

"It's true that I was jealous but he is still my friend. I wouldn't have tried to break you two up… I wouldn't have tried to turn Mina and Manic against each other and you and Tails just because I wanted you. I wanted revenge on Tails too. I was just angry and I-" Amy tried to reason with him, tears beginning to well in her eyes when Sonic quickly closed the gap between the two and cashed his lips against hers. She immediately shut up, moaning in pleasure as she let him completely take her over. She fell to her back as Sonic climbed on top of her, his barrage of kisses never ceasing as his hands moved to her hips, slowly removing her shirt.

"Wait," Amy breathed, pulling away for some air. "Let's take this upstairs," she whispered. Sonic stood, never removing his lips from hers as he hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, gripping his shoulders as he began to slowly climb the stairs. The kissing never stopped until they got to her bedroom, her sheets messy and all over the place. Sonic took no heed as he threw her down on the bed. He quickly tore off her skirt and shirt, leaving her only in her underpants and bra when he quickly began removing his own trousers, panting.

As he dragged his shirt over his head and tossed it to the corner, watching it fly through the room, he noticed something. He walked over to the corner where his shirt was, ignoring Amy's heated cries for him to come back.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Sonic picked up his shirt and froze. There, an object that was tossed haphazardly into the corner had been forgotten as two teenagers needed to quickly stop and escape. There, a pair of red and white polka dotted boxers.

"Why are Manic's boxers in your house?"

"Wh-what?" Amy asked.

"Why are the boxers my brother was wearing today in your house?" All the evidence suddenly began piling up in his brain as anger, hurt and betrayal crossed his face. Manic stormed out of the house when talking about Mina. Clearly intent on coming to talk to Amy. The long expanse of time it took her to answer the door. Her disheveled appearance. The messy sheets.

"Sonic… Sonic, I can explain."

"Manic was here, wasn't he?"

"Sonic I-"

"Wasn't he?!" Sonic screamed, grabbing the boxers and flailing them around the room in his hand.

"Yes! Yes, okay?" Amy cried, tears streaming down her face. "It was an accident, okay? A mistake. He came over to yell at me and I got so angry and… I don't know what came over us. It just… happened."

Sonic said nothing. He just turned, put his shirt back on and ran down the stairs. Amy acted quick, still almost fully naked as she raced down the stairs and managed to grab his arm just as he was leaving the door.

"Sonic please. I'm sorry, don't go. I love you…"

"Don't touch me again," he said darkly, staring ahead, his eyes dark. "We're through," he growled as he yanked his arm out of her grasp and sprinted down the street, never looking back. Amy fell to her knees, guilt, regret and sadness wallowing around inside of her as the tears began pouring out on her doorstep.

…

Eclipse let go of her hand as he leant forward and forked over the cash to the taxi driver, thanking him before they both got out of the car. Tikal just stood on the curb, rooted to the ground as Eclipse threw open the boot and retrieved their bags. He shut the trunk and knocked on the car to signal he was done before the driver pressed his boot against the accelerator and roared off into the night, tires screeching on the pavement.

"Are you ready?" Eclipse asked, a bag in each hand and a backpack strung over each shoulder. Sweat beaded on his brow from the weight, but it didn't deter him. The image of Tikal's unsure, frightened face was all he needed to keep him tough. Not just for her, but for the both of them.

"I… I don't know if I can do this," Tikal whispered to herself. Eclipse frowned, dropping one of the bags and finding her hand with his own, snaking her fingers around hers.

"It's okay. If you can't do this then we can always turn around and go back. Our rooms at school are always there for us," Eclipse assured her.

"No," Tikal forced, her eyes raising to the door. "I can get through this. I need to get through this, for myself," Tikal decided as she took her first step over the curb and onto the grassy garden.

"I'm right here for you," Eclipse affirmed as the two walked up to the door and Tikal knocked lightly. They heard some scuffling before the porch light illuminated and the door was flung open to see a taller, slightly overweight woman standing in the entrance way.

"Tikal, I didn't think you would actually come," the woman spoke clearly and elegantly, however cold and emotionlessly.

"Me neither… mum."

…

Shadow sat in the G.U.N main office. He had logged into their main data base and was scanning through people, using specific words, dates and people that he knew to help a friend. To help Knuckles.

"Agent Shadow, we're all done for the day. Would you like to join us for some dinner? My treat," the commander asked nicely.

"Sorry sir, there is something I need to do," Shadow ignored him, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Maybe it was a mistake giving you access to our systems," the commander chuckled as he stepped into the elevator. "Suit yourself but don't stay too long." Shadow quickly glanced over to the commanded, nodding as the elevator doors closed and his attention shot back to the screen.

He continued his search as the hours ticked by. He drank more of his coffee to keep him alert, the pleading of Knuckles fueling his drive. He knew what it was like to have family members you never knew about. He still couldn't get his memory back but the relief and closure he felt after finally learning about what happened to him and his father was enough. He knew that just knowing who Knuckles' brother was, even if he doesn't like the answer, is a reward in itself.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Shadow had successfully determined the identity of the girl who Locke had had sex with that night. However, after tracing medical and birth records, he wasn't prepared for the answer.

"No…" Shadow breathed as an image of Knuckles' sibling was displayed on his screen. "No… it couldn't be."

…

Sonia lay in her room, headphones in as she scrolled her news feed and listened to her favourite bands. She nodded her head along, trying to forget the horrible confrontation between her and her father that had just transpired. Her talk with her brother had helped somewhat, but she needed some time to just relax and switch off her brain.

Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring. She yanked out one of her headphones and listened as Aleena answered the door.

"H-Hey," the person at the boy, undoubtedly male, answered nervously. "I'm here to see Sonia? Is she home?" Sonia couldn't make out who the person was, unable to match the voice to a face but he sounded familiar.

"Oh, of course. I'll go grab her," Aleena replied happily as she ascended the steps to knock on Sonia's door. "Honey," she peered her head inside. "A boy is here to see you."

"Okay mum, coming," Sonia replied, curiosity of her mysterious suiter engulfing her thoughts as she stumbled down the stairs and arrived at the door, the breath leaving her lungs as she gazed at the person at the door.

"M-Mephiles? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I have something I need to talk to you about. Wanna go for a walk?" Mephiles replied. Sonia looked from Aleena to Bernadette, neither one showing any negative signs and decided to accompany him. The two walked down the street, Mephiles leading Sonia as he took her through the winding streets until they arrived at a small park with a children's playground surrounded by a sea of tanbark.

He opened the small gate, leading her inside as the two walked over to the small swing set. Mephiles hopped up onto one of the swings, motioning for her to sit on the other with his head before he kicked his legs up, slowly pushing himself and building up momentum.

"So, why'd you bring me here?" Sonia asked, not really in the mood to tiptoe around the main issue the two shared.

"I just thought a change of scenery might be nice," he smiled, turning to her. She frowned, not buying it. "I can't fool you, can I?" Mephiles chuckled. She shook her head but allowed a small smile to cross her lips. "I've been thinking…"

"About the baby?" Sonia cut in questioningly.

"About everything. About school, about Shadow, about you and me and the baby and…" Mephiles trialed off, the list going on and on. "I've had some time to think. I had a lot of time after your brother put me in that infirmary."

"Yeah… sorry about that."

"It's cool, I probably deserved it. But, well, I don't know how to put this," Mephiles began again as he stood up from the swing and stepped across to Sonia. He reached into his pocket and fished out a small, blue felt box before kneeling on his left knee.

"Mephiles?" Sonia asked, short of breath as her heart began to beat faster, pulse racing.

"Sonia, I know we haven't really had a rich history. I know that we never really talked and our paths only crossed because of a night that neither of us can remember but I don't care. I know you're a smart, funny, kind person who really does care and you are now creating a life. A life that I gave you. I don't want you to have to raise this child alone. I want to be there for you. To help you raise this child… our child. I want to be in its life and I want to be in your life. I know we can give this baby the life it deserves, together."

"What are you saying?"

"Sonia," Mephiles opened the box to reveal a dazzling ring. "Will you marry me?"

"I'd like that," Sonia smiled as she nodded, allowing Mephiles removed the ring and slip it carefully on her finger.

"I know we can show this child a great life and love it together and, in time, grow to love each other just as much," Mephiles said, more trying to convince himself than her.

"It's beautiful, Mephiles. And thank you, thank you so, so much," she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips against his softly, closing her eyes. Mephiles did the same, allowing himself to kiss her back and enjoy it, despite all of the feelings he still harbored for Shadow that he couldn't expel.

…

The dinner table was silent. The tension was thick in the air, descending on the three attendees like a thick fog engulfing any and all conversation. Tikal just stared at her mother angrily, who watched her daughter back with equal intensity. Eclipse sat between the two, eyes darting back and forth. It was like being caught in the middle of the battlefield, bullets whizzing past but never hitting their mark.

"So, the funniest thing happened to your daughter and I the other day," Eclipse suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. Neither Tikal nor her mother turned from their stare but Eclipse wasn't deterred. "One of our good friends, Breezie, had her birthday the other week and so Silver was planning this big surprise and enlisted Tikal and my help. We had to keep it a secret but when trying to do some reconnaissance for Silver, Tikal completely let it slip about the entire thing and Silver had to do an impromptu party," Eclipse finished, hoping to get Tikal's mother to laugh.

"Hmm," Tikal's mother hummed, interested.

"What?" Tikal fired defensively.

"It's just curious. You were so good at keeping secrets when you were a kid."

"What's that supposed to mean," Tikal narrowed her eyes, anger kindling in her stomach and slowly glowing brighter, her eyes alight with fury.

"Nothing. Just interesting that you'd tell a secret about a birthday but not about a life-threatening illness," Tikal's mother remarked dryly.

"That might be because it was a secret and I was told that you couldn't find out no matter the cost."

"Well sometimes secrets need to be revealed to help the person who wants to keep them."

"But sometimes revealing those secrets can be more detrimental than keeping them and could hurt everybody."

"Well sometimes you should listen to your mother and trust her to save your brother!" Tikal's mother shouted angrily.

"Oh what? You're suddenly my mother now?" Tikal jumped up. "Last I checked you kicked me out!"

"Last I checked I was burying your brother's body after he killed himself because of you!"

"Because of me! I was the one trying to save him. What were you doing?"

"Nothing because I had no idea what was happening because you kept it a secret you selfish brat!"

"Are you both fucking kidding me?!" Eclipse bellowed, silencing the feuding family. Both turned to stare angrily at Eclipse, chests rising and falling visibly.

"Stay out of it, babe," Tikal hissed through ground teeth.

"No! Are you both kidding me? Can't you see that it was neither of your faults?" Eclipse tried to explain.

"Are you seriously taking her side?"

"Tikal, there are no sides. This is ridiculous. Your brother," Eclipse looked at Tikal and turned to her mother. "And your son committed suicide. It's a horrible thing to happen and naturally would cause a lot of sadness and suffering. But neither one of you are to blame. Tikal tried to help, Mrs. Echidna and your son made Tikal promise not to tell. It happened and it's sad but just be grateful that you both stull hate each other!"

"You wouldn't know anything about suffering," Tikal's mother barked.

"Yes, I would. My father committed suicide shortly after my mother's death. I know how horrible it feels."

"So? You wouldn't understand why we are fighting."

"Wouldn't I?" Eclipse was visibly shaking now, his voice rough and coarse. "My mother and I were in a fight, almost exactly how you two are now. I hated her, never wanted to see her again. But do you know what? I never got to see her again. She died and I was too angry to see her on her death bed. I'll never get that chance again but here you are, both of you, being able to see each other and yet you are at each other's throats. At least you both still have each other, despite what happened between you two. Something I wish I still had, but I don't and soon, neither will you." Eclipse just turned and stormed up the stairs, slamming the door to the bedroom Tikal and himself were given.

Another eerie silence descended upon the two echidnas as they continued to be locked in a staring contest. However, this time, it wasn't anger in their eyes. It was pain, sorrow and regret.

"Mum… I-" Tikal began but her mother interrupted.

"No, Tikal, let me go first. I… I'm sorry. Your brother, rest his soul, was sick. He wasn't in the right head space and he confided in you. I know you would have done everything in your power to help him and by promising him not to tell me, he might have killed himself sooner if you did because he would have lost the one thing he still had. His trust in you. His love. I should have seen the signs. I should have been there. I…" She began to choke up, tears dripping out of the freshly opened wounds streaming down her face.

"Mum… I'm sorry I got so mad. I just miss him so much," Tikal began to cry too.

"Me too, Tikal. Me too," her mother soothed as she walked up to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing in a tight embrace. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, mum." Eventually, the two broke apart, drying their tears. "Maybe you should go talk to Eclipse. I don't think I made a very good impression." Tikal smirked as she nodded, giving another quick hug before rushing over to the bedroom Eclipse had locked himself away in and walked inside.

"Eclipse?"

"What do you want?"

"I… I'm sorry. I'm really sorry about what you just witnessed," Tikal cooed as she walked further into the dark room, curtains closed and lights off. She found the large, double bed in the center of the room and sat down on the edge, running her hand through Eclipse's hair. He sighed, sitting up and wriggling over to allow room for Tikal to sit. She obliged.

"I'm sorry I stormed off. I just couldn't take it anymore," Eclipse apologized.

"No, you shouldn't be sorry. It was my fault. Besides, that was exactly what we both needed. Somebody to put how silly our fight was in perspective for the both of us. We were so caught up in hatred for the other person, we never stopped to think how they felt and what they must have also been through."

"You mean?"

"Yes. I think we are going to be alright. All thanks to you," Tikal smiled as she leant over and placed her lips against Eclipses.

"Hey… can I tell a secret," Eclipse whispered through kisses.

"Anything."

"That day, y'know, when I saved you."

"I'll never forget it."

"Well… it wasn't exactly an accident that I was there to save you that day."

"What do you mean?" Tikal cocked her head as Eclipse tried to explain.

"Just, the car was a freak accident but… well… I was kinda following you."

"What?"

"Not, like, creepily or anything. It's just, I don't know, I saw you from afar a couple days before. Sitting with Clove who I was supposed to meet in the mall. She was going to introduce us but I lied and said I was sick after seeing you. You were just so beautiful, I got nervous. I met up with Mighty and he tried to help me, telling me to just act cool and confident but I couldn't work up the nerve. I was finally working up the courage when that car came out of nowhere and I just acted. I didn't stay because I didn't know what to say. I couldn't, so I fled. Then you came and approached me at school and I fell in love."

"Eclipse… I'm glad you were at the mall that day. Even if you were stalking me, I think it must have been fate. All these people, Clove and Mighty, our friends who helped us before we even knew each other. Who made us in those positions that day with the car and that field on our first meeting. Fate wanted us to get together. And look, thanks to you, I might be able to have a relationship with my mother again," Tikal smiled.

"And I helped get closure for my mother thanks to you," Eclipse added.

"So no matter what we were before, I'm so glad I met you and I'm never leaving you. I love you, Eclipse," Tikal finished das she wrapped her arms around him, crashing her lips feverishly against his again and again.

"I love you too, Tikal," Eclipse managed to whisper as he removed his shirt and pants.

…

Bernadette and Aleena sat down at the kitchen table, watching the clock tick by and the food slowly cool down. Sonia had just left with some boy, Aleena had no idea where Manic had run off to and Bernadette was still trying to text her own son after he took off.

"And after we spent all afternoon on it," Aleena piped up, exhaustedly.

"Hmm?" Bernadette hummed, her eyes flicking up to look at her whilst never letting her thumbs stop tapping on the screen.

"Oh nothing. I was just saying how we spent all day on this feast and here it is all going to waste," Aleena remarked absently.

"Jules always did know how to ruin a family, didn't he?" Bernadette laughed dryly, her mouth remaining a stagnant line. She raised her hand to massage her aching head, rubbing her creased skin.

"At least our kids seem to finally be getting along," Aleena smiled optimistically.

"Ture. After our visit, I thought Manic and Sonic would never see eye to eye," Bernadette agreed.

"Maybe we should hold off on telling them until they have finally come to terms with the idea of each other?"

"No, just because Jules ruined the dinner doesn't mean that we should put off telling them. Tomorrow night, when they are all back we will tell them the news."

"Okay, then we sho-" Aleena was cut off with a loud knock at the door. She jumped up, assuming it was Manic by the severity of the knocking so she rushed over to let him in. However, it wasn't Manic who answered. It was somebody who had the same eyes and face, but neater hair and much, much older.

"Aleena… please, I won't go until we talk," Jules begged. Aleena tried to slam the door on his face, filled with unbridled anger at him for ruining their family moment but he wedged his foot in the door, blocking her.

"Aleena, do you need any help?" Bernadette called from the kitchen, her eyes frosting over with malice when she noticed Jules in the doorway. "What's he doing here?"

"Aleena… please."

"Five minutes," Aleena sighed dryly as she creaked the door open a little more. "Yeah, I got this. Just wait in the kitchen," she called to Bernadette who skeptically returned to the kitchen, mentioning how she would be right in the other room if Aleena needed.

"You look beautiful," Jules began.

"You've only got four minutes left. Times ticking," Aleena responded bitterly, ignoring his compliment.

"I know I screwed up with the kids today. I know I messed everything up but I'll try to talk to them later, when I've calmed down but-"

"You will not talk to the children until they want to talk to you. Understand?" Aleena interrupted forcefully. Jules nodded in compliance.

"Fair enough, but I need to talk to you. Do you remember how we first met?"

"I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"I was on a business trip to Mobotropolis. I was on the beach, drying off when I noticed you frantically throwing things out of your bag. I walked over to you, remember?"

"You asked me what was wrong," Aleena recalled, not letting down her guard.

"You told me you had lost your phone. I helped you look. I refused to leave for hours until I helped you until we finally found it buried in the sand. I missed my meeting to help you so you offered to take me out to dinner as a thanks and things went on from there," Jules smiled, taking Aleena's hand.

"Yeah…" Aleena recalled with a grin before wiping it off her face and recoiling from his grasp. "But you were already engaged with Bernadette at that time."

"But it was still real, Aleena. I still fell in love with you that day, as you did with me. It doesn't matter about my old life in Central City. That was still real. And I left Bernadette and Sonic for you and the twins. I spent fifteen years with just you and them. Are you telling me that wasn't real?"

"It was but…" Aleena trailed off, her emotions beginning to get the better of her as tears threatened to flow. She promised herself she wouldn't be weak to his advances but it was too hard. "You have one more minute. Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Aleena," Jules felt his heart break. "Please. I love you."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Do you still love me?"

"Jules, time's up," Aleena looked away. He lashed out and grabbed her wrist, his eyes pleading and full of regret.

"Please, just tell me if you do. Say it. I just need to hear it one more time. Aleena, if anything was real between us, then please, just say it," Jules begged.

"Jules, I've always loved you. You will always have a piece of my heart and always did."

"Just say it, please. I need to hear it from your lips at least one more time."

"I love you," Aleena admitted before she began to close the door.

"How?"

"What?" Aleena asked just before she closed the door on him.

"How are you so calm? Get mad at me! Yell at me! I hurt you and Bernadette so why aren't you pissed. Punch me, tell me I'm a horrible person. Do something!"

"I can't, Jules. I love you and wish you no ill will."

"Why? Don't you feel anything? Why don't you hate me? Why won't you show me any emotion, Aleena?"

"Because the only emotion I feel towards you is love, not hate. And that's why I won't get mad. Now please, don't come back here," Aleena concluded before closing the door, her hand never leaving the handle as he legs shook underneath her, knees rattling.

"Are you okay?" Bernadette called sympathetically. Aleena looked up at her, her eyes paralleling those of Bernadette's when Jules first left her.

"I just need to be alone for a bit. I'll be in the living room if you need me," was all Aleena managed to say before she slumped over to the living room and fell down on the couch. Bernadette knew that feeling all too well but respected her wishes and went back to clearing the dinner table, food stone cold.

…

"Okay Mighty," Ray replied into the speaker, his fingers expertly tapping away on his keyboard as he continued his work. "Yeah, nothing bad has happened… I know, I miss you too, Mighty… okay… okay… Mig- Mighty… yeah… yep… okay Mighty, I've got to go… yeah, I have some work to do… okay I'll see you when I get back to school… bye Mighty," Ray sighed as he hung up the phone. The way Mighty talked to him, spoke so kindly broke Ray's heart. He missed his friend dearly, but he knew time away from school and everybody in it would be good for him. Even if it was only two weeks.

Ray yawned, stretching his aching muscles as he finished up his work.

"There, that should do it!" Ray exclaimed proudly as he picked up his phone and logged onto Espio's snapchat account, remembering the username and password that Espio had given to him earlier when he enlisted Ray's help in finding out who spread around the naked picture. Ray had spent the few days he had spent at home thus far fiddling with his programs, designing something that could help him determine exactly when Espio, in a drunken state, had sent that picture and, more importantly, to who. Ray smiled as he plugged his phone in and extracted the data that he had mined from his app.

"And they say it's permanently deleted," Ray scoffed as he watched all the supposedly deleted date from Espio's account come up on his screen. Ray input certain combinations, his eyes scanning the screen. He found all of the snaps that Espio had sent to certain people but had not placed on his story. All photos that were screenshotted by other people and finally one on in the small period that Espio had said he would have possibly sent it. During the mid-year break, on one of the nights he drowned his sorrows away with alcohol.

Ray finally pinpointed the photo and his eyes grew wide when he saw the name next to it. The person that not only saw the picture, but who sent it around to everyone and made Espio the laughing stock of the school.

"No…" Ray breathed as he read the name, none of it making sense in his head. "Why would _he_ do it? I've got to go tell Espio!"

…

"Please open the door," the man cooed as he continually wracked his knuckles against the wooden door of his son's room. It had been almost a week since Knuckles had returned from school and he hadn't left his room. Plates of food had been left at the door and Locke had discovered empty plates in their place when he came back to check on his son.

"Go away, dad," Knuckles called back from his bed, the lights off and unused.

"Knuckles, please," Locke begged, knocking on the door again. "It's been days. I need to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk," Knuckles yelled back, his voice distant and strained. Locke had tried calls and texts while Knuckles was still at school but got no reply. He was half expecting his son not to show up throughout the break but he was surprised by a visit five days ago. However, instead of the reunion he had imagined, Knuckles had walked right by him with a grunt, as if Locke was a ghost, and retreated to his room where he had yet to emerge.

"I'm sorry. Okay, I'm sorry," Locke pleaded as he rested his head against the door. "But do you have to torture me like this? Please, just open the door so we can talk." He heard some shuffling around on the other side of the door, but it remained closed.

"How could you never say anything?" Knuckles replied, his voice a lot louder even though the words were whispered, as if he was standing right on the other side of the door.

"I didn't know. I had no idea she was pregnant or had a child. I was oblivious. She never told me, whether that was her choice or she had forgotten who I was. But don't think I wasn't torn up about it. I was tortured for years. Looking at you and how happy your mother was holding you, it made me regret my decision even more. I wanted to tell her what happened that day, but I was afraid of her leaving me. Of her taking you with me. I didn't want to lose you," Locke sniffed. There was a pause before the door creaked open and Knuckles stuck his head through the crack.

"Then why did you do it?"

"I was weak. I was young. I was dumb. I don't know why I did it, but I did and I've lived with the guilt ever since. I just wish I could tell your mother now, but I was too much of a coward and now it's too late for that," visible tears began to stream down Locke's face as he spoke. "She was too good for me."

Knuckles watched him, saw how real the tears were. Saw the regret that pooled in his eyes, fogging them over. He could see the pain on his father's face. Knuckles knew it was unfair to continue to blame his father, to torture him further than he had already tortured himself.

"Dad…" Knuckles breathed as he opened the door fully. "It was a long time ago and you didn't know. You couldn't have known I had a brother. I… I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about son. I messed up. Can you ever forgive me?" Locke asked as Knuckles closed his eyes and fell into his father, wrapping his muscled arms around Locke's torso and burying his face in his chest.

"I love you… dad."

"I love you too, son."

…

The large bonfire was raging by the time Mighty, Tails and Scourge had arrived. As the three entered, Scourge left them to go snatch a bottle of Vodka Storm and take a swig with a grin. Blaze and Julie walked up to the two and handed them both a bottle of beer, smiling.

"Julie, how come you're here?" Tails asked as he thankfully took the drink from Blaze. Mighty hit him in the arm, causing him to moan aloud in pain.

"Shut it," Mighty whispered but Julie just chuckled.

"Don't worry Mighty, it's cool," she responded before addressing Tails directly. "I never knew who my father was and my mother abandoned me at a young age. I jumped around foster care for a while until I got the opportunity to come board at this school."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tails apologized but Julie waved him off, assuring him that it was all in the past. The four walked back to join all the others around the roaring fire. The students all sat in a circle, among them being Mighty, Tails, Blaze, Scourge, Wave, Jet, Sally, Julie, Fiona, Storm and the kid from the coffee shop, Bean.

"Beanie, it's been such a long time," Fiona smirked as she sat beside him. "How have you been? Where's that little slut of yours?"

"Fuck off Fiona. I already told you I want nothing to do with you anymore," Bean fired back, in no mood.

"Come now. Don't say that to an old friend. I'm just trying to check up on you," Fiona cooed maliciously.

"Well I'm doing fine, so you can leave now," he frowned, his mood souring by the second.

"Don't be like that. What, you all mad that Tekno didn't let you go back to her or something?"

"I'm warning you," Bean shook with anger as he took a long gulp from his beer bottle.

"Okay, okay I'll stop. But I do hope you come play with us all," Fiona smirked.

"Play?"

"Oh yes. I propose a game of I never," Fiona announced to the group, half of which nodded with glee.

"What's that?" Bean asked obliviously, assuming it was another one of those stupid games that Fiona continually tried to play with him and Espio when they were younger.

"Just a game where everybody's secrets come spilling out." Bean narrowed his eyes, already mad as he stood up.

"Count me out," he growled as he stormed off.

"Come on Bean, why don't you stay and play," Sally insisted, flashing him her sweetest smile. Bean contemplated it but as his eyes scanned the crowd, the twisted smile on Fiona's face was enough of a reason for him to bail.

"Sorry, maybe another night," he responded before disappearing back into the building.

"Way to scare him off, Fiona," Scourge hissed.

"Way to be a complete fuckwit," Fiona fired back with animosity.

"Soooo, anyway…" Storm piped up after moments of silence where everybody just stared at Fiona and Scourge who were locked in a staring contest, neither one wanting to back down. "We going to play I never?"

"How do you play?" Wave asked innocently.

"Oh, it's quite fun," Julie chimed. "Basically, we go around and somebody says something they have never done and if other people have, they have to drink. Simple."

"Oh, goody," Jet shuddered. "Just great."

"I'll go first to demonstrate, shall I?" Blaze offered and continued after hearing no complaints. "I never pissed myself as a teenager." The group looked around as Sally took a sip.

"Hey, I had a good reason," Sally complained as she had to endure a barrage of laughs. "Fine, well I never been on a vacation outside of the country." Everybody except Scourge took a drink. Sally smiled, pleased with her question.

"I never knew my father," Julie said, watching as everybody took a drink except Blaze.

"Come on, Blaze," Jet whined, smiling for the first time in a while. "Don't flake on us, I was watching you. You've gotta drink," he insisted.

"Jet, shut it," Tails tried to signal for him to shut up discreetly but Blaze spoke up, undeterred.

"No, it's cool Tails. I'm surprised he never knew," she smiled. "I actually never knew my father either. I've always lived with my mother until she died of cancer when I was younger. Been living with my aunt ever since." Jet grew quiet, his eye sight dropping to the floor as guilt washed over him.

"How come you're not with your aunt now?" Sally asked.

"She is away on a vacation so I'm stuck here with you guys," she chuckled as she slid her hand down her shirt and retrieved a small object tied to a chain that hung around her neck. "This small amethyst necklace is all I have to remember my father," she said, clutching it.

"I always wondered why you wore that," Jet replied.

"I guess I hoped that one day somebody would recognize this jewel and realize that I'm their daughter. He gave it to my mother as a gift and she gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday."

"Well as touching as that is, let's keep this train moving, shall we," Fiona interrupted rudely, ignoring the disapproving glances again. "I never kissed a girl." She smirked when both Sally and Julie both took a drink, looking at each other curiously. Before Sally could ask Julie any questions, Mighty decided to speak.

"I never had a one night stand," Mighty chimed up, smirking as Scourge, Fiona, Storm and, surprisingly, Julie took a drink.

"Yeah, well I never kissed a guy before," Scourge fired back. Mighty's eyes widened as Scourge stared right at him, his knowing glance chilling Mighty's soul. Blaze, Wave, Jet, Sally, Julie and Storm all gasped as Mighty took a drink, all eyes on him.

"Care to detail the story," Wave asked but Mighty completely ignored her, his anger at Scourge steadily growing as he realized that Scourge must have been standing outside the door when he spoke to Tails.

"I never was hated by my father," Mighty spat as Scourge took a drink, speaking again before anybody else could take a drink.

"I never had a best friend that cut himself." Mighty stared at him, not moving as all the other members of the group held their tongues, watching the two steadily get more and more frustrated. Mighty slowly rose his bottle to his lips and took a drink.

"I never got somebody arrested just because I was jealous that my slut had moved on." Scourge snarled as he took a drink.

"Hey fuck you," Fiona swore but both Mighty and Scourge ignored her, too engrossed in their battle.

"I never continually lied to my girlfriend about what I was always busy." Sally, Tails, Blaze, Julie, Wave and Jet all exchanged worried glances as Mighty took another sip.

"I never had some deep secret with Silver," Mighty said, struggling to keep up with Scourge, grasping at the small nuggets of information that he could. Scourge's eyes widened as the teenager's name escaped Mighty's lips. He was relived that Mighty knew nothing, knowing that he would have been more specific if he knew the truth but decided to pull out the big guns to shut Mighty down for good.

"I never broke up with Clove because of how I felt about Ray!"

"Go fuck yourself!" Mighty screamed, hurling the bottle in the fire as he stood up and stormed off. The glass bottle shattered, exploding in the fire as the flames grew higher. The wood crackled, sending embers shooting into the air and dancing around in spirals as they drifted to the ground.

"Whatever, this was dumb anyway," Scourge growled as he stood and skulked off in the opposite direction.

"Mighty, wait," Tails called after his friend as he hastened over to Mighty.

"Maybe this was a bad idea…" Sally whispered.

"I think I'm done for the night," Julie sighed, agreeing.

"Come on guys, there are still so many secrets to learn about. The night is still young," Storm urged but Wave, Jet, Blaze, Sally and Julie just shook their heads, rising and leaving the bonfire until eventually Storm reluctantly retired to his room as well, leaving Fiona alone to her thoughts.

"Well, I thought that was fun," she giggled as she took another swig of her drink. "And interesting…"

…

"What the fuck?!" Sonic screamed as he thrust open the door, nearly breaking the key as he snatched it out of the lock on the front door of the Hedgehog household.

"Sonic, watch your language!" Bernadette snapped as he stomped across the threshold and hastened up the stairs.

"Don't get involved, mum," Sonic warned as he pushed open the door to the room that Manic and Sonia shared and slammed it closed behind him, drowning the living room into an eerie silence.

"What was that all about?" Aleena asked, poking her head around the corner, her eyes still damp and puffy.

"Hormones?" Bernadette shrugged.

"Bro, what are you doing?" Manic yelped in surprise as Sonic slapped his laptop lid, which crashed down. "You could have broken the screen!"

"How could you do that?" Sonic growled, unable to believe what he had just seen at Amy's house. "Just when things were finally turning around. Just when everything was getting back on track. Just when you and I were finally becoming brothers."

"What are you on about?" Manic asked again, scratching his head in confusion.

"Did having a proper relationship with me mean that little to you? Do you care at all about anybody but yourself?" Sonic poked his chest.

"Tell me what the hell has gotten into you?" Manic challenged, tossing his laptop aside and jumping off the bed to eye Sonic down, although he stood two inches smaller.

"Take off your pants."

"W-what?" Manic fumbled at the odd request.

"I said take them off."

"Dude, no. That's gross I'm not stripping in front of you." Sonic snorted as he gripped Manic's waste and pushed downwards. Manic's jeans fell, his exposed skin showing with nothing underneath. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Manic shouted as he quickly picked up his pants. "We're brothers and this is sick. I'm not gay."

"What happened to those polka dot boxers you were wearing?" Sonic ignored his ramblings.

"You made fun of me so I took them off," Manic replied, his shock replaced back with anger.

"Yeah, you took them off alright," Sonic narrowed his eyes, his words laced with anger.

"What are you insinuating?"

"You took them off in my girlfriend's bedroom!" Manic froze, his face draining of colour. His skin crawled, his pupils dilating. He looked like a phantom, a ghostly pale as his tongue dried of saliva. "What? No snappy comeback? No witty insult? No angry denial? Nothing?" Sonic shot back, each question hitting Manic like a bullet but he said nothing. "Say something!"

"I… I'm sorry," Manic whispered, unmoving.

"Sorry? You're sorry? You fuck my girlfriend and all you can say is sorry?"

"Yes." Sonic grunted loudly, his fingers curling into a fist as he reeled his arm backwards, ready to punch Manic in the face. The brother closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he prepared himself for the blow, but nothing came. Manic peered open one scrunched eye, watching Sonic, his fist still shaking in the air as he panted heavily. "Go on. What are you waiting for? Hit me."

Sonic just stood there, eyes fixed on Manic and fist raised in the air, primed and ready. "I fucked up, hit me!" Manic commanded, needing the sweet release of pain to punish him. Sonic sighed, breathing subsiding as he lowered his fist and collapsed to the floor.

"I can't."

"But I deserve it."

"I know but… You're my brother," Sonic admitted defeatedly, knowing he couldn't hurt Manic. Not after all they had been through. Fresh tears stung his eyes and stained his face but he couldn't hit his brother. Manic frowned, his heart shriveling as he knelt beside his brother and placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder.

"Sonic… I'm sorry. I really, really am," Manic whispered, all his anger dissipating from him, too.

"Why?"

"What?"

"I just want to know why. Why did you do it? Was it to get revenge for me being responsible for your break up with Mina?"

"What? No, no not at all," Manic destroyed Sonic's theory. "Never. I didn't mean to do it. I originally went over to her place to yell at her. Dad's words just made me so angry and I promised mum I'd stop punching holes in the drywall, especially because this isn't our house so I needed to blow off some steam and she just seemed to be the root of my problems. The person I needed to yell at."

"So why did you shag her?"

"I don't know. I yelled at her. She yelled at me. We were both so mad and then… and then we just got caught up in the moment I guess. I don't even know. Anger turned to lust. It was nothing else, promise," Manic urged.

"I guess this isn't the first time your anger has fucked you up," Sonic replied. Manic's eyes widened, confused if he heard his brother right.

"Did you just… make a joke?" Sonic turned his head. Although tears still welled in his eyes and his breathing still raspy and chaotic, he hid a small smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry I exploded. I shouldn't have thought Amy and me was going to work. It never did in the past. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

"No, it's my fault. I screwed things up."

"Yeah, you did," Sonic fired, stinging Manic's heart but he perked back up as Sonic continued. "But if it was that easy for Amy to cheat on me, just because of anger then she probably would have done it sooner or later. It's just better that it was you than somebody I hate. This must just be fate telling me we weren't meant to be."

"You're a bigger man than I could ever be. I'm known for holding grudges," Manic admitted.

"I've noticed. But maybe we can just both direct our anger to healthier alternatives. Ones that deserve it. Like dad."

"Agreed. And Sonic, again I'm really, really sorry. Can you ever truly forgive me?"

"Of course I can. Brother?" Sonic held out his hand.

"Brothers," Manic affirmed, pushing Sonic's arm aside as he wrapped his arms around Sonic's back and pulled him in for their first, loving brotherly hug.

"Am I dreaming?" A voice asked from the door. Both Sonic and Manic turned to see a bewildered Sonia standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. "Of all the crazy things that have happened today, seeing you two hug takes the cake," she chuckled.

"Wanna join in on the hug?" Sonic smirked.

"I really need a hug right about now," she smiled as she walked over and threw her arms around her brother and half-brother, enjoying both their comfort and the knowing comfort that despite everything, both of them will always be there for her. Suddenly, Manic gasped, his hand folding over the top of his sisters.

"S-Sonia… What is this?" Sonic scooched back, blushing as she held out her hand, the new glittering ring the center of attention.

"My engagement ring… Mephiles proposed," she announced. "I… I'm getting married."

"That's amazing news," Sonic feigned a smile.

"I'm so happy for you," Manic added halfheartedly, exchanging a worried glance with Sonic.

"Guys, don't worry. I know this might seem strange but Mephiles is a good guy. He wants to support me and my baby."

"But Sonia… he is gay," Manic replied bluntly.

"Maybe not. Maybe he is just bi. Either way, we have a responsibility now. Yeah, I had dreams of marrying the man of my dreams on some tropical island and have a bunch of kids but I must be realistic. This baby is going to be a part of my life and it would be unfair if it grew up without a father. After what you've been through, you must know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. I think that's a wonderful thing," Sonic decided.

"Thanks, guys," Sonia beamed, still unsure of her decision herself but becoming more comfortable with it as the reality suddenly become real. "Mephiles will be a great dad and I'll grow to love him. Besides, he's a great kisser," she giggled, making both her brothers blush.

"Gross, I didn't need to hear that," Manic cringed.

"So, when's the wedding?"

"I don't know, but we were talking about it today and we think having it when school goes back at the school chapel would be nice. We want to get it all over with before exams to relieve stress and Mephiles said he talked it over with Razor who is happy to completely fund it for us if we have it at school," Sonia explained.

"I think that is a great idea," Sonic nodded. "And I'll be here to support you in whatever you decide. I have your back."

"Me too," Manic affirmed as the three siblings all joined in on another group hug, enjoying the fact that despite all the unfortunate hands that life had dealt them recently, they all knew that they could weather any storm if they just stayed together.

* * *

 _A/N: There we go! The end of Part 2: Truth and Lies! Exciting stuff. As a treat, I'll let you know the subtitle for part 3. Death's Door. Yep, the big main character death is coming. Of the 28 main characters, or technically 32 if we count Gold, Razor, Void and the new character being introduced into our cast next chapter. Plus, some previously background characters will become more important in the next part. Specifically Aleena, Bernadette, Jules, Zonic and Bean so if you like them then get excited._

 _So, Ray now knows who sent around the picture and Shadow has discovered the identity of Locke's other child. Any guesses?_

 _ADRESS: Okay, I know i've been a bit weird about Blaze and I tried to explain a bit before but here is the deal. I know both her mother and father have made appearences despite contradictions previously but here is the truth. Blaze's mother died a couple years ago from lung cancer and she never knew her father. At parent's day her aunt came to visit her, who she has been living with, and this same aunt was the one who is on holiday and dropped Blaze off at school when she returned. So I hope that clears everything up._

 _Mighty vs. Scourge. Looks like a new rivalry has formed. But will all that's happening to Mighty at the moment, will Scourge be able to use it all against him or will the armadillo come out on top? They both have amunition, as seen, and we haven't seen the last of these two._

 _Well, They spent 8 chapters hanging out and talking heaps and 5 chapters as a relationship after getting back together but it's official. Amy and Sonic are over. I mean, she fucked his brother, that's uncool. But could this be the beginning of a new relationship? But at least Manic and Sonic could get over it, probably thanks to their father whether they want to admit it or not. Now the hedgehog family are all on good terms... for now :P But as Jules tries to apologize for Aleena, we will get to see more of their past, as well as have Aleena, Bernadette and Jules to do a little more as we come into the second half and the third part (Season?) so stay tuned. However, speaking of Sonia, she is officially engaged! How will Shadow take this news? And when is the wedding? (Cough, cough, The Wedding Parts 1 and 2 coming soon as Chapters 35/36!)_

 _I really hope you have enjoyed this so far, and it only gets more dramatic from here. At this point we have 30 characters all fleshed out and only more to come. This story isn't going to slow down any time soon so please, if you've been reading each chapter but haven't reviewed show me you enjoy my story and leave a review. It would mean a lot to be able to hear all of those who read. I love hearing theories, or just what you guys think about the plots and characters. Or just to answer the Question of the Day. Speaking of which..._

 _QotD: It's a three parter so get ready. 1. Who do you think Ray discovered sent the picture of Espio around? 2. Who do you think is Locke's other child and Knuckles' sibling? 3. Are you on team Mighty or team Scourge?_

 _Next time on SH:EL Part 3: Death's Door_

 _Eclipse encourages Ray to ask Clove out, who is still skeptical on Mighty and Ray's sexual orientations_

 _Sonic stumbles upon a new face who is looking for somebody. But why?_

 _Julie starts interfeering with Spike and Breezie's study sessions and Spike begins to break down_

 _After dealing with Amy, Fiona enlists Rouge, Mighty and Mina to deal vengeance on Scourge next_

 _And Shadow reveals the truth to Knuckles_

 _...All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 32: Welcome Back_


	32. Chapter 32: Welcome Back

_A/N: Hey everybody, 31 chapters down and 34 to go. We're almost half way there! And now we are at Part 3: Death's Door. Remember the main character death teaser back in the very first chapter? Well, somewhere in these next 17 chapters one of our main 28 students will end up in a coffin! Anyway, please enjoy the new chapter and new part :)_

* * *

PART 3: Death's Door

Chapter 32

Welcome Back

 _The low lying clouds rolled overhead, grey and thick with precipitation which only added to the gloomy ambiance of the field. The rows of black fold out chairs had been neatly arranged, all facing the lectern, every kid in the school and some family members taking their seats. All the guys wore their fancy blacks and the girls all donned black dresses and some even had black veils to cover their faces. All was silent. No birds were chirping, nobody was conversing and not even the wind dared to howl and ruin the somber moment. The only time the silence was broken was for some stagnated coughing or the quiet wails of some of the attendees. Razor finally stood from his chair in the front and walked over to the lectern, his fin protruding out the back of his black blazer._

 _"Thank you all for coming," Razor began in a somber voice. "I'm sure the deceased would have appreciated how you have all taken the time to come and pay your respects," he continued, addressing the saddened crowd as he held out his arm, gesturing to the closed casket that lay behind him._

 _"_ _It was a real tragedy, one that nobody could have seen coming," Razor continued, eyes scanning the sea of faces. Some crying, some distant and some seemingly emotionless. Each student dealt with the death their own way. Some mourned in groups, whilst others grieved alone and some were indifferent to the whole ordeal. The death only serving as a reminded of their own fickle mortality. Time had passed since the death, but the physical funeral and seeing_ _his_ _body in the casket was enough to rattle even the coldest of hearts._

 _"_ _Now I would like to invite somebody very special up to the stand to read their eulogy," Razor announced finally, stepping aside._

…

The sun shone brightly down on the luxurious, sprawling grounds of Mobius High's Emerald Lake campus. The doors fully opened back up and the parking lot was once again littered with activity. A non-stop stream of cars barreled in and out of the main gate, the air stinking of the putrid smell of petrol and the atmosphere plagued by the constant sounds of screeching tires and blaring horns being honked by stressed parents and guardians.

"Bye mum, bye Steve," Silver waved happily as he grabbed his bag out of the boot.

"Now Silver, where is my goodbye hug?" His mother asked, stepping out of the car.

"Muuum, not in front of my friends," Silver whined.

"You hug your mother right now young man," Steve instructed, hands still gripping the steering wheel. Silver snorted. He didn't like his mother's new boyfriend. He acted like a petty child when he had arrived home and finally met the man that his mother had fallen for after she divorced his dad. He knew it was dumb that he would hold a grudge, but anybody who was with his mother that wasn't his father seemed wrong. But Steve made his mother happy, and that was good enough for Silver.

"But Steve-"

"No buts. Your mother raised you for eighteen years and went through agony to bring you into this world so the least you can do is give her a goodbye hug," he instructed.

"Steve, gross, I don't want to hear about how she brought me into the world," Silver rolled his eyes. Steve could be a dick sometimes, but if his mum loved him, maybe he could too.

"I can give you a complete description of childbirth in excruciating detail if you would rather?"

"No, I'll hug her, it's cool," Silver quickly mouthed before walking around to the other side of the car. He quickly glanced left and right, making sure nobody was looking before he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick hug.

"Aww, how cute," he heard a feminine voice giggle from behind him. Silver quickly retreated and spun around to see who was mocking him, relieved to see only Blaze.

"Blaze, it's so nice to see you again," Silver's mother beamed giving her a welcoming hug.

"You too Mrs. Hedgehog. It's been too long."

"My, you look wonderful. You really do look like you have a new lease on life after the accident."

"Mum, ix-ne on the accident-k," Silver whispered.

"Silver, don't worry. I'm feeling much better now thank you, but my skin is still very irritated and, as you can see, my hair is still quite short," Blaze replied politely.

"I think it looks stunning, dear. Anyway, don't let me keep you two. Ta, ta."

"Sorry about them," Silver apologized as the two teenagers watched his parents reverse out of their parking spot and speed off out of the gate and down the road back to the city.

"It's okay. I like them. Also, that's not how you speak in pig Latin, you doofus" Blaze chuckled, laughing only harder at Silver's awkward blush.

Meanwhile, on the other side of campus, Zonic accompanied Gold back to her office.

"So how was your holiday?" Zonic asked politely as he leant on her desk.

"It was fabulous. I've never been backstage at a concert before and Espio was absolutely perfect," Gold beamed happily as she set up her stuff on her desk in the office.

"Ah, so you were with Mr. Chameleon. Isn't that a bit taboo, a student and teacher seeing each other outside of school?" Zonic asked with a sneer.

"Oh, shut up Zonic. It's not like that and you know it. I helped him get the record deal and he invited me to come with him on his road trip with Thrash to help him out. Nothing more."

"If you say so."

"I do," Gold finalized, changing topic. "Anyway, how was your vacation?"

"Boring. I had to stay at school and keep an eye on everything. It's just not the same without you here," Zonic chuckled.

"I bet it isn't. So, we still up for darts tonight? Winner has to buy the other coffee for a week."

"You're so on," Zonic said with determination. "But, speaking of our little bets, I had a talk to Razor about our proposition…"

"And did he say yes?" Gold asked, excitement in her voice.

"Yep! We now have a pool table!"

"That's amazing," Gold cheered, wrapping her arms around Zonic. "You're the best," she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, much to his pleasure.

"But there is one catch," Zonic replied. Gold raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Razor set it up in the student's lounge instead of the teachers' lounge, so we can only play it after curfew."

…

"Hmm, how did I know that I'd find you here?" Mephiles grinned, chuckling darkly to himself as he stepped around the corner of the dormitory.

"You know me. Too much hustle and bustle out there for me," Shadow replied, opening one eye. He sat comfortably on the small hidden table, elbows probed on the table with one leg crossed over the other, black sneaker resting on his knee. He craned his neck back, enjoying the shade, peace and quiet.

"So…" Mephiles responded awkwardly, not sure to act since their last, loud encounter. He recalled the last time he saw his ex, the way he saw Shadow's heart break as he talked overlooking Mephiles' infirmary bed and the last word he uttered. 'Yes.' Normally he would quietly sneak over and sit next to Shadow, no words needed to be uttered as both just appreciated the other's company. But not this time. Shadow turned his head, staring at the nervous teenager.

"Why are you here? I thought you didn't want to see me again." The words hurt, cutting deeper than any blade ever could. He felt his heart beat slower, each beat more painful as he looked at Shadow. He could see the pain he had inflicted. Mephiles wanted nothing more than to console him, but he couldn't. He didn't want to make it any harder. Open any new wounds. Awake any new demons that had been slain and leave their ghosts to rest.

"I did it."

"What?" Shadow tried to remain distant, but his voice was strained. He looked away, unable to keep facing Mephiles. He knew he shouldn't be mad, but he just couldn't deal either way.

"I proposed to Sonia… and she said yes." Shadow's breath caught in his throat as he froze. His mind raced, but no thoughts leaked through.

"And?"

"And?!" Mephiles almost screamed, breaking down inside. "Didn't you hear me?"

"I did. And?"

"How is that all you can say? After everything, that's your response…"

"What do you want me to say?" Shadow asked simply, his eyes finally meeting Mephiles. Mephiles opened his mouth to say something, raising a finger to speak but no words came out. He had no response. Nothing. His finger drooped as the corners of his lips dropped. He knew Shadow was right. He didn't know what he was expecting. Deep down part of him wanted Shadow to fight but realistically he knew it would only lead to more pain. It was too late.

"Exactly. Now, unless you came here to say anything else I'm gonna go."

"Wait," Mephiles shouted. Shadow paused, waiting. "There is something else." Shadow said nothing, just turned back expectantly. "I… I just wanted to know if you… maybe… wanted to be my best man at my wedding?"

Silence. Shadow just stood there, not saying anything. He didn't know what to say. The boy he fell in love with, the boy who made him feel special… The boy who dumped him. The same boy whose father killed his and who knocked up his ex-boyfriend's sister and then proposed to her. How could he be asking this?

"Shadow? I know I shouldn't ask after everything but, it just wouldn't feel right asking anybody else. I always imagined you at my wedding anyway…"

"Okay."

"What?"

"I said okay. I'll do it."

"Oh, thank you, thank you," Mephiles smiled, rushing over to hug Shadow but he just put his arms up, signaling Mephiles to stop.

"Please, no hugs. I… I just can't. I'll be your best man and I'll give you the wedding you deserve but no hugs," Shadow said emotionlessly, looking down at his shoes. He could feel himself fading, he needed to get away. "I'll see you around," he whispered before turning to walk off, leaving the saddened boy behind.

"Okay…"

…

The week had seemed to fly by for most students, everybody slowly getting back into their usual daily routine. Some happily met up with friends over lunch, whilst others avoided one another after the holidays. Two such people happened to be Mighty and Clove, who still acted awkwardly around each other. To say it screwed up their group dynamic would have to be an understatement, but nobody felt this chasm more than Ray.

"I just don't know what to do. I feel like if I do it then I'm betraying Mighty, y'know?" Ray lamented, lying on his bed. Across the room, on Scourge's bed sat Eclipse. Scourge had explicitly told Ray many times that nobody was ever allowed to sit on his bed if they came over but part of the knowledge that Eclipse was made Ray smile. He never really was a rebellious kid, but the thought of secretly sticking it to Scourge made him smile.

"But he broke up with her, not the other way around, which means he doesn't love her anymore so why would it be betrayal?" Eclipse asked helpfully. Ray sighed, falling back in his bed, his arm falling limply off the bed. Eclipse frowned, tilting his head to look at the thin arms.

Eclipse could have sworn he could see bruises evident on Ray's arms, or at least the fading purple colouring. He thought back to each time he saw Ray at the start of semesters and terms. He always seemed to happy and vibrant if he was off with Mighty the whole time. Like one wasn't happy without the other. But whenever he stayed at home, he came back looking even more depressed than when he left. And Eclipse couldn't help but notice bruises, but another loud sigh from Ray snapped him out of his thoughts. He shook the thought away and smiled.

"Well, I think you should ask her out. You and Mighty have like, the greatest friendship I've ever seen. He'll be happy for you, I just know it," Eclipse asked wisely, although he knew deep down Mighty wouldn't. However, after seeing how close Mighty and Tikal had gotten, he couldn't control himself. Eclipse wanted something to distract Mighty. He knew it was wrong, but before he could stop himself, the words were already uttered.

"Okay, okay. You're right, I will. I'll ask Clove out!"

…

Julie looped the strap of her sports bag over her shoulder, zipping up the main compartment before stepping out of the gym. She sucked in the fresh, cool night air. She slipped her black hair tie off her wrist and tied it around her pink locks, shaping them into a ponytail. Julie looked down at her wristwatch which doubled as a heartrate monitor. Ten minutes to curfew. She cursed softly under her breath as she broke into a sprint back towards the dormitory, not wanting to get another scolding from Gold when something made her stop in her tracks. Two voices talking softly, laughing.

Julie tiptoed up to one of the grand trees, hiding behind it and peered her head out to see what the commotion was. Julie's eyes lay upon Spike and Breezie, laughing together. Julie could tell by Breezie's flirtaceous, fake motions that she was toying with Spike. Fluttering her eyelashes, talking with her body, touching his shoulders and stomach often. Julie clenched her fists, knowing this was all one big charade. A façade lacking veracity, all as a ploy to get Spike to do her assignment.

Julie crouched in her hidden position until Breezie hugged Spike goodbye, leaving her things with him as she walked off back to the dorms. Once Julie knew the coast was clear, she stepped into the artificial luminescence of the school lamps and called out to him.

"Spike, hey, over here," she beamed him a gigantic, fake smile as she jogged over to him, pretending to have just left the gym.

"Julie! Hey, what are you doing out here so late?" Spike enquired happily.

"Oh, nothing much, just coming back from the gym when I saw you and thought I'd say hi."

"Okay… so, hi then," Spike chuckled awkwardly as he shifted Breezie's bag onto his shoulder. "Wanna, I don't know, walk back to the dorms together or something?"

"Sure, sure, sounds good," Julie nodded as she joined in step with her companion, making the trek back to the dorm. She waited a few moments before trying to steer the conversation to one about Breezie. "So, that bag seems a bit too girly to be yours."

"Haha, yeah, it's Breezie's," he replied nonchalantly.

"What you doing with her bag?"

"I was just helping her with that big History project she has due. She managed to get a months extension by showing her teacher that she had made a lot of progress and I really think we can do this," Spike beamed.

"All the progress she made, or all the work she made _you_ do," Julie announced accusingly. Spike paused, turning to shot her a confused glare.

"What do you mean? I'm helping her but it's her project. I don't wanna have to have this talk with you again, Julie."

"Spike, c'mon you're not fooling anybody. It's so obvious that she is just using the fact that you like her to get you to do all her work for her. It's uncool and you can't let her walk all over you like this."

"Julie, I'm so sick of this conversation. She want's help and I'm giving her help. That's it, nothing more."

"I've seen the way she treats you! You've constantly complained about her secret relationship with Silver and how that affects you yet you let her do this?" Julie began to get worked up.

"Julie, just fucking drop it, okay? I'm not a little wimp. I know what I'm doing and I don't need you mothering me this whole time so why don't you deal with your own shit instead of having this sick obsession of me," Spike exploded, chest heaving. Julie's mouth dropped open, bewildered.

"Oh… Julie… Julie please, I'm sorry I didn't mean-" Spike tried to apologize, realizing he went too far after seeing the hurt on her face but her expression changed. Shock turned to anger as she furrowed her eyebrows, and ugly scowl plastered on her face.

"Fine, you know what? I will. Don't expect me to try to help you ever again. Have fun letting her walk all over you," Julie shouted, throwing up her hands as she turned to storm off and ignored his pleading shouts.

"Maybe she is right…" Spike announced aloud, looking down at his shoes, not knowing what to do.

…

The sun beamed high in the sky, bathing the school below in its warming glow. A lone car drove down the dirt road, clouds of dust disturbed and billowed up behind the spinning wheels of the vehicle. The black sedan screeched around the corner, driving underneath the gate and slowed to a halt in one of the car parks.

The door opened slowly, a new face stepping out. She closed the door behind her, stretching her aching, sore limbs. She had a petit body, skinny limps and small wings protruding from her back. She glanced down at her phone, opening her notes to make sure she had the right place.

"Mobius High, Emerald Lake Campus," she read aloud, looking up to the main building. "This is where he should be." She locked her car and made her way over to the main entrance, ringing the small, silver bell situated on the mahogany desk in the center of the room. No response. She rang it again, but still nothing.

"Gold and Razor are out at the moment." The girl gasped, shock taking over as she quickly turned to see a cobalt quilled boy smirking at her from the entrance, a sapphire jacket thrown over a white t-shirt. "There is an assembly going on right now so that's where everybody is," Sonic explained.

"How come you're not with them?" The girl enquired. Sonic simply shrugged, hands deep in his jean pockets.

"Just kinda tired I guess."

"Well, maybe this is my lucky day finding you here. Must be fate."

"I wouldn't say that. I was just walking by when I saw the new car and heard the bell. Thought I'd let you know, y'know?"

"Thanks, I guess," the girl thanked before reaching into her pocket to pull out a folded up picture. She handed it to Sonic. "Have you seen this boy?" Sonic furrowed his brow, studying the picture. It was of a dark creature with short, green hair and an indigo outfit. His eyes seemed to look back at Sonic, a deep cosmic lavender.

"Sorry, haven't seen him," Sonic apologized as he handed back the picture. "Who is he?"

"Just somebody I'm looking for," she dismissed him, retrieving her picture. "I heard he came here."

"If you ever need any help or want me to show you around, don't hesitate to ask," Sonic offered. "By the way, my name is Sonic."

"Thanks, Sonic, you're sweet but I'll be alright for now. Maybe I'll see you around," the girl waved as she pushed passed Sonic. As she made her way back to her car he called out to her.

"Wait, who are you?"

"Lumina," she smiled as she stepped back into her car. "Lumina Flowlight."

…

"So, what was the real reason you wanted to meet up?" Tails asked as he took a swig from his beer bottle. Shadow frowned, placing his own bottle on the soft grass below them as he stretched out his body.

"Why do I need an ulterior motive to hang out with a close friend?" Shadow asked politely, though the cynicism in his voice was not lost on Tails. He rolled his eyes before sighing, letting more of the cooling liquid pour down his throat.

"Okay, sorry. It's just that we haven't hung out in ages and I figured that since you found Mephiles you didn't want me in your life of something," Tails explained, wrenching up a fist full of grass and hurling it upwards, watching the individual blades get caught by the prevailing winds and soar off into the air. The two sat alone in the small clearing, enjoying the afternoon sun. Tails had wanted to be at the assembly, feeling weird that he was playing hooky but Shadow had expressed a dire need to see him and he still was weak to his ex's advances.

"I'm sorry too. I know it's been a while but I still do care deeply for you," Shadow began before quickly adding, "As a friend. It's just, I don't know, things have been very busy recently. And don't think it is because of Mephiles. We broke up anyway."

"Yeah I figured. I heard about the wedding and everything."

"Oh, about that, Meph wanted to know if you and Sonic would like to be groomsmen with me?"

"Wait, are you serious?" Tails' eyes grew wide, a large grin slowly sneaking onto his face. Shadow nodded, unable to hide his own smile as Tails agreed excitedly.

"But," Shadow continued, the real reason he invited Tails out to talk weighing heavier on his conscience. "This isn't the real reason I asked to see you. You were right, I did need to speak to you about something. I just need advice."

"What about?"

"Well… I kinda, sorta, found out who Knuckles' sibling is the other day and-"

"Wait, Knuckles has a sibling? I thought he was an only child," Tails interrupted.

"Didn't he tell you?" Tails shook his head. "I guess he didn't really want it spread around until he found out who it was. Apparently his dad had another kid that he never knew about."

"Him and Sonic should have a talk. Or him and Manic. Or all three. I'm sure they could help cheer him up," Tails offered helpfully.

"No, you don't understand, this isn't about being cheered up because I know who it is," Shadow tried to explain.

"I don't follow. Why is this a problem?"

"That's just it. I don't think Knuckles will like the answer he's been so desperate for. I don't want to ruin his life."

"Shadow, you can't keep this from him."

"But I don't think he wants to know the truth."

"Why did he ask you to find out who it was then?" Tails pushed further.

"Because he thinks he wants to know but he really doesn't. Trust me!" Shadow yelled frantically.

"That's not your call! Look, Shadow, I know you think you might be doing him a favor but keeping secrets is never going to help. It only ever leads to more heartache further down the line. I spoke to Sonic after he found out about Manic and Sonia and he was destroyed at first but look at the three of them now. They are inseparable. You can't take that away from Knuckles. If you know who his sibling is then he has a right to know whether you like this person or not."

"But Tails…" Shadow trailed off, letting his words sink in. "No… no, you're right. I should tell him. This isn't going to be easy."

"It's the right thing to do. Oh, and by the way, who is Knuckles' brother?"

"That's the thing. I don't know why he keeps saying that because Knuckles doesn't have a brother at this school. He has a sister!"

…

Sally sprinted into the bathroom, wrenching open the door to one of the cubicles and dropping her bag to the floor as she narrowly avoided having an unhappy accident. She sighed in content as the building urge finally left her body.

"He seemed really shaken up today, it was kind of cute," a judgmental voice sounded. Sally could hear the door to the bathroom open and heard two sets of footsteps echoing on the tiled floor. She peered through the small slip in the cubicle, noticing Honey and Rouge place their handbags on the bathroom counter. Honey opened her purse, grabbing out a small portable make-up kit and began applying another layer to her face as the two continued to gossip.

"I wonder what his deal was. Zonic is normally pretty level headed," Rouge replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah, that's what I like in a man," Honey giggled seductively as she twisted the bottom of her crimson lipstick, puckering her lips into the mirror.

"Zonic? Seriously?"

"What? You can't say you haven't thought about taking a ride on that. I hear your aunt enjoyed it," Honey smirked, smacking her hip against Rouge's.

"Who hasn't Zouge taken a turn on, though," Rouge sighed, thinking to her flirtaceous aunt who Rouge had long since given up trying to control.

"Anyway, did you see Espio today?" Rouge changed topic.

"Yes, girl! I don't know what he did over the break but damn that boy has really gotten into shape."

"Probably because of all the concerts he performed. You've really gotta get fit to do some of that stuff."

"Speaking of bodies, have you seen Sally since she got back?" Sally froze, catching a breath in her throat after hearing her name. She strained her ears, trying to better eavesdrop on Rouge and Honey's conversation.

"No, why?" Rouge asked obliviously.

"Girl has let herself go a bit. Like she used to be smoking but last time I checked humans were only supposed to have one chin," Honey laughed but Rouge didn't join in. She turned, perplexed. "Rouge, babes what's up? Usually you love this kind of gossip."

"Sally is my friend," Rouge stated plainly.

"And? When has you being friends stopped us from gossip. Knuckles, Sonic, Jet. They are your friends but we love to talk about them. What's changed?" Rouge looked at herself in the mirror, seeing an image of the leather clad hedgehog manifest, smirking back at her. His taunting eyes daring her to come have another round with him.

"N-Nothing," Rouge lied quickly. "Look, I'm late. I'll catch you at dinner," she called before scurrying out of the bathroom.

"What's her problem?" Honey shrugged, gathering her things before leaving too. Sally finally let a sob out. One that she had been choking since Honey's taunts. She looked down at herself, never really thinking that she had been fat. But as she looked down, the thought plagued her and she noticed that she had put on more weight since when she moved to Central City. Quite a bit.

Sally looked down, lifting the toilet lid and closed her eyes. She knew she shouldn't do this. Knew she was stronger but she had no choice. Sally took her hand, her index finger outstretched and gently pushed it to the back of her throat, triggering her gag reflex.

…

Breezie sat alone in the cafeteria, waiting for her best friend, Mina, to come join her. She dug into her salad, a freshly brewed cup of Emerald Coffee next to her. The minty taste tingled her tongue, tantalizing her taste buds just the way she's gotten used to.

"I'll have to put my own peppermint leaves into my coffee back in Mobius," she lamented aloud.

"This seat taken?" Julie asked, letting her tray table drop down onto the bench. She kicked her legs under the table and began stuffing her chicken sandwich into her mouth feverishly without waiting for Breezie's response.

"I guess," Breezie replied sardonically, rolling her eyes. "Since it looks like you're here to stay, how have you been, Julie?" Breezie continued politely.

"Preffy goff," Julie spoke indecipherably with a mouth full of chicken.

"Wonderful," Breezie groaned, wiping morsels of chicken off her face.

"Oh, sorry about that," Julie apologized after swallowing. "I guess I'm just pretty hungry today."

"It's okay," Breezie sighed. "It's nice to have the company."

"Where is everybody?"

"Wish I knew. Mina is coming soon."

"How come you're not eating with Spike?" Julie queried, noticing the posture shift in the girl beside her.

"I'm, um, seeing him tonight to… work on a project so I don't really need to be with him now," Breezie mumbled, knowing how close Julie has become to Spike and how invested she has seemed in her relationship with him as of recent.

"How come he is still helping you out? It's been over a month and he tells me you guys are almost half done," Julie pried further, pushing her luck. "You should be able to do the final bits on your own without Spike."

"Why don't you just mind your own business," Breezie shot back defensively.

"Look," Julie began cautiously, as calm as she could. "Spike is a really good friend of mine. He is like a little brother to me, almost, so when I see him getting hurt I want to try to stop it. I can see you are just using him and, as a friend, I'm asking you to stop toying with his feelings."

"Don't pretend he is your friend! Spike is my best friend, and I'm his. We have something special and you are just jealous. I'm not using him for anything," Breezie protested.

"Breezie, please, c'mon you know what you are doing is wrong," Julie urged.

"No, you know what. I don't need this. I'm not going to hurt him, I've been helping him his whole life and have never hurt him. So why don't you just back off!"

"Breezie, don't," Julie pleaded.

"Leave me alone," Breezie said with finality as she got up and stormed out of the cafeteria.

…

Mighty lazily lay on one of the indigo couches littering the lounging room, enjoying the lunchtime peace. It was a beautiful, sunny day outside and most students were either lining up to get the delectable lunches served or were sleeping under the golden sun.

He lay back, head resting on his hands as he let out a contented sigh, completely at peace for the first time in months. The thought of needing to hang out with Clove wasn't clouding his mind. The knowledge that Ray was being kept busy in his lab lifted the weight off his shoulders. He was at complete peace. A peace that was shattered by a book being hurled at his face and the unfortunately familiar grunt coming from above him.

"Get up, I need your help." Mighty opened one eyelid, sighing in annoyance when he saw the angered figure of Fiona Fox.

"Not now, Fiona, I'm sleeping," Mighty waved her away. Fiona scowled, gripping the pillow underneath his sleeping frame tightly and ripping it out from underneath him. Mighty howled out in pain as he tumbled off the couch and slammed face first into the floor below.

"What the hell was that for?" Mighty cursed, clutching his pained nose.

"I said I need your help," Fiona repeated angrily.

"Oh, why didn't you say so? Of course I'll help you after you bruise my nose," Mighty replied sarcastically.

"I bet you'll beg me to help one you know what I want to do," Fiona mused, tossing out her line.

"What do you want to do?" Mighty asked curiously, taking the bait like a greedily fish drawn to Fiona's lure.

"I want to get revenge on somebody. Teach them a lesson," Fiona danced the bait in front of him.

"No thanks. I don't do vengeance. It only leads to pain and regret."

"Okay, I guess I'll go find somebody else to help me take down Scourge!" That was it. Mighty had bit down and Fiona cast her line skywards, capturing Mighty.

"I'm in. What do we need to do?"

"I have a plan, but we need two more recruits. Follow me," Fiona smiled devilishly.

…

"I can't believe he did that. That's so romantic, I wish I had somebody like that in my life," Cream sighed as Sonia recounted her proposal story.

"He was sweet, but it's not the same when I know he was only doing it because he had to. Mephiles told me about his past… about his dad," Sonia sighed. "At least I know he only has my child's best interests at heart."

"Yeah, and I'm sure he'll fall in love with you in time," Cream offered.

"Exactly. Maybe we can have another kid, one we both want later," Sonia looked off, lost in a day dream. She imagined a beautiful two story house. A large back garden with an oak tree providing shade. Sonia would lie in a hammock, book in hand. Her child off at day care. Mephiles would come home, kiss her on the head and ask if she wants to go upstairs before they should go pick up their child. The dog barking in the background, her stomach already swelling up with a second baby.

"I don't think that will happen," Cream frowned, dragging Sonia out of her perfect day dream, cracking the façade.

"Why not?" She pouted.

"Because Mephiles is… y'know… gay," Cream finished plainly.

"Yeah but he proposed to me. So maybe, I don't know, he could be bi or something?"

"I don't think that's how it works. If he is attracted to guys, he likes dick. Nothing you can do will change that."

"Then why did he propose?"

"For the baby…"

"But…" Sonia sighed, letting out an extended, disappointed breath. "I guess you're right. I'm in over my head, aren't I?"

"Sonia, no it's completely reasonable. You are taking a giant step in your life, both of yours. You have to grow up before you are ready. It's understandable," Cream soothed, grabbing Sonia's hand in her own. "But I'll be here every step of the way to help you."

"Thanks Cream. I don't know what I would do without you," Sonia smiled as she hugged Cream. Cream quickly whipped out her phone, an idea lighting in her brain as she shot off a quick text.

Cream: _Hey girls. I need to talk to you ASAP about Sonia when you can. Meet me tomorrow?_

Sally: _Sure, I'm in_

Wave: _Count me in. Anything for our girl_

Cosmo: _I'm down_

Cream: _Good, see you tomorrow_

…

"This is so boring; can I go yet?" Mina groaned loudly, rolling her eyes. "I promised Breezie I'd go meet up with her for lunch."

"We need to get this done," Rouge growled, letting the textbook in front of her collapse loudly onto her desk. She rubbed her temple, trying to block out the annoying complaining of the girl next to her.

"We've been at this for like a whole hour. That's like, a year in teenage times. I think we deserve a break," Mina continued to complain.

'How did I get stuck with her on this project? Of all the girls…' Rouge cried inside of her head, asking a benevolent being in front of her what she did wrong. However, like a sign, the door to their room flung open and Fiona strolled in, Mighty in toe.

"Excuse you, this room is private," Mina shot indignantly but Rouge quickly stood up, an evident smile on her face.

"Yeah, what's up. Something I can do for you? Anything?" Rouge eagerly asked, earning a chuckle from Fiona.

"Just doing some recruiting," Fiona smiled.

"For what?" Mina and Rouge asked simultaneously, shooting each other a confused glance.

"To take down Scourge, of course."

"And what's in it for us?" Rouge asked, her stance guarded.

"Well, you and I both know that you and Scourge have some… history," Fiona smirked, much to Rouge's horror. Before Mighty or Mina could ask what Fiona was alluding to, Rouge quickly agreed, wanting to avoid the topic all together.

"Why would I ever help you after all that shit you pulled with Spike, Manic and Sonic to me last term?" Mina fired.

"Well, I wouldn't have done that if Scourge hadn't pushed me. But if you help me take him down and make the whole school see his true side then I'll never have to take my rage out on you again. Ever."

"You've backed me into a corner. I don't really have a choice, do I?" Mina sighed. Fiona nodded.

"Why are you here, Mighty?" Rouge asked.

"Let's just say that Scourge is a dick and him and I have our… differences."

"What about you, Fiona? I thought you and Scourge used to be an item. Is this all because he dumped you?" Rouge pursued, hitting a nerve. Fiona flinched, her eyes twitching slightly before she gathered her composure, that menacing smirk returning to her face.

"I'm doing this for Void, not for me."

"Who's Void?"

"Fiona's ex," Mighty supplied helpfully, enjoying her scowl.

"We are still together. Scourge was just jealous and got him sent to jail," Fiona defended her absent boyfriend.

"How did he manage that?" Mina asked.

"Well, he kind of broke out of jail for me. I met him in the penitentiary when little miss princess got me arrested and Scourge just couldn't let me have anything good."

"So why aren't you going after Amy instead of Scourge?" Rouge asked, confused.

"Because our little pop star wannabe over here helped me deal with her," Fiona laughed. Mina shrunk down, ashamed that she let herself be played so easily.

"So, you all in?"

"Yep," Mighty replied, determination and pleasure in his eyes.

"Sure," Rouge nodded.

"Like I have a choice," Mina sighed.

"Good. So, here's the plan…" Fiona began deviously.

…

Breezie sighed, her eyes glazing over the library sign that hung above her head. Her backpack was slung lazily over her shoulder, the laptop with over half of her gigantic project concealed inside.

'Here we go again,' Breezie frowned as she pushed open the doors and took the elevator up to the top floor. As she stepped out, she noticed Spike lounging about in the private room that the two had rented out most days for the past month. Breezie paused, taking a deep breath in as she let all her muscles relax. She forced a smile onto her face and strode confidently into the room.

"Hey Spike," she beamed happily, keeping up her charade as she wondered over to him, wrapped her arms around his middle and kissed him on the cheek, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Hey Breezie," he replied distantly, his spirits not lifting like usual when she made her extravagant entrance.

"Spike? What's up?" She cooed sweetly, dragging her arms across his shoulders as she sat in the stool next to him, crossing one leg over the other.

"Why are you still doing this?" Spike replied.

"What are you on about this time?"

"I was talking to Julie earlier and-"

"Yeah, she came up to me too. Just ignore her, she is just sticking her nose into things that don't concern her. Now c'mon, let's get to work."

"That's all you care about, isn't it? When we used to hang out, there were no ulterior motives. It was just you and me, having fun but now it's always 'Spike, can you do this please.' Or 'Spike, can you summarize these readings for me,' and you know I'll do it," Spike cried out exasperatedly.

"Spike, I just thought you wanted to help me. I don't want to take advantage of you."

"Oh, are you sure? Then why do you just ignore the elephant in the room?" Spike narrowed his eyes, taking Breezie of guard.

"What elephant?" Breezie asked, perplexed.

"Are you kidding me? Don't pretend like we both don't know. Breezie, I'm in love with you!" Breezie froze. She knew this was coming, part of her expected it long ago but not now. Not now, of all times. "Are you not going to say anything?" Spike shook, trying to keep his composure. "After I confess this to you, your gonna say nothing."

"I… I never knew but-"

"Cut the crap. After Julie came up to me I went to see Mina. She told me you figured it out. And if Julie is right about that, maybe she is right about you using me for this project."

"Spike I-"

"Don't. I know your dating Silver. I've seen it, seen you."

"Spike, don't. Don't try to take the moral high ground here! I admit it, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? I flirted with you so you would help me out on my project."

"I knew it!" Spike and Breezie were both yelling now, both fueling the other's anger. "You know if you just asked me and acted normally I still would have helped."

"Would you? Because when you didn't know I was flirting with you for my gain, you were using me. You thought that helping me out with this project would make me like you more!"

"Breezie I…" Spike trailed off, not knowing how to respond.

"So yeah, I'm sorry you're my best friend, okay? I'm sorry I don't love you too but you can't get mad at me because I don't."

"You think that's why I'm mad? It's not because you don't reciprocate my feelings. It's because you are with Silver!"

"Jealous much," Breezie crossed her arms, guarding herself from him.

"No, I'm just disappointed in you. He's already in a relationship and you're ruining it."

"He is not. He told me he broke up with Blaze," Breezie responded obliviously with stubborn intent.

"You really are slow, aren't you? He lied."

"He wouldn't."

"Oh, wouldn't he? Is he Mr. Perfect? Well then how about I just go up to Blaze and have a little chat with her."

"Fine."

"Fine!" Spike screamed, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat as he stormed out of the room, leaving a conflicted and saddened Breezie behind to stare at the stack of books Spike had brought with him. She felt horrible.

…

Mighty was exhausted, his little meeting with Fiona, Mina and Rouge taking a surprising amount out of him. He dragged his heels across the carpet, exerting the last of his energy to get up the small flight of stairs, his shoulders sagging. He collapsed onto a couch, face down.

"Hey bro, you okay?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, just dealing with Fiona," Mighty replied with a thumbs up, his face still buried in a pillow.

"I completely understand. It's almost curfew, you'll be good to get up to the room?" Sonic asked, concerned.

"I'm good. Just need a minute. See you up there," Mighty's voice muffled by the pillow. Sonic shrugged as he grabbed his bag and climbed the stairs.

"Mighty!" A feminine voice pierced through the now empty lounging area. He groaned, rolling over onto his back. He was at the end of his rope, not able to deal with the vixen for one more minute.

"What do you want Fio… na," Mighty asked agitatedly but slowed to a stop when instead of Fiona standing before her, his eyes fell upon his now ex-girlfriend, Clove the Pronghorn.

"What? I'm now like Fiona to you because we broke up?" Clove asked, clearly more hurt than she was when she entered.

"No, no, not at all. I'm so sorry I thought you were Fiona," Mighty apologized, swinging his legs over to bring himself into a sitting position, facing Clove. "What's up?"

"Mighty, are we just going to pretend like nothing has happened between us?" Clove asked, pointing out the growing awkwardness that draped around their conversation like unsettling mist.

"Well… kinda," Mighty admitted. "What is there to say about it?"

"Maybe why you broke up with me after a year out of the blue?" Clove complained, her heart still recovering.

"Clove, please, don't do this. I'm sorry but I just wanted us to be friends instead. Can we at least try to be friends?"

"That depends. Can you stop lying to me?" Mighty shot her a perplexed look, confusion swimming in his eyes. Clove sighed before continuing. "I know you've been lying to me about all those times you were busy."

"No, I wasn't."

"You sure? Because on Parent's Day Cassia told me she saw you hanging out with Ray all day instead of being with your parents. Then there was that Friday late last term when you promised to take me on a date but instead Amy said she saw you and Ray lying by the lake when she went stargazing with Sonic. Do I need to go on?" Mighty said nothing, his gaze focusing and body stiffening. He didn't know what to say.

"Mighty…" Clove began cautiously. "I still love you and I want you to tell me the truth. I've heard the rumours running around school but I always ignored them because you were with me but now… Did you break up with me for Ray… because you and Ray are gay?"

"Clove…" Mighty sighed, not wanting to lie to her any more than he had to. Although she was technically right, he did break up with her for Ray, it wasn't for the reasons she thought. He chose his words carefully, wanting to tell Clove the truth but also not breaking the promise he made to Ray. "I didn't break up with you so that I could be with Ray. We are not gay with each other, I promise."

"Then why?"

"I… I can't tell you," Mighty admitted, his heart breaking as he saw the frown grow on her face and her eyes sink into her skull.

"Why not? Why can't you just be truthful to me?"

"I just can't, Clove. I promised I'd never tell!"

"Promised who? Couldn't tell what?" Clove probed.

"I just can't," Mighty stood up, dodging past the inquisitive teenager and marching over to the stairs.

"Mighty! Why can't you tell me the truth? If you walk away, then I don't want to see you again!" Clove gave him an ultimatum, wondering how he went from loving her to wanting nothing to do with her in such a small time frame.

"Sorry Clove… I don't love you," Mighty whispered, just loud enough for Clove to hear his lie as he walked up the stairs, never looking back. Never letting her see the sadness in her eyes.

…

Jet: _Hey everybody. I was thinking we could all start a study group together. After all the shit that's happened, I'm sure class is the last thing on our minds so maybe this could help us all pull our grades out of the gutter?_

Jet stared at his phone, reading the responses over as he sighed.

Sonia: _Sorry, Cream and I are having girl time this afternoon_

Cream: _With Sonia, sorry. Some other time, I promise_

Wave: _I can't do today_

Jet rose and began packing his books into his bag when the door to the library room he had rented out for the hour swung open and Cosmo strode in happily, dumping her bag onto the table. Jet's eyes flew open with surprise, assuming that he was on his own.

"Oh Cosmo, glad you could make it," Jet beamed.

"You seem surprised I came?" Cosmo replied innocently.

"I just thought everyone bailed," Jet admitted.

"Where are the others?"

"Cream and Sonia are busy doing girls stuff and I have no idea where Wave is but she can't come. I guess it's just you and me then," Jet smiled.

"Good, we'll get more done that way," Cosmo giggled as she took a seat right next to Jet, placing her bag on the table as she dug through the contents to find her laptop and textbook.

The time ticked by quickly, both Jet and Cosmo sharing in laughs, stories and snacks that Cosmo had packed for the group to eat. They got a surprising amount of work done and were getting ready to start the next chapter when there was a tap on the glass door. Jet turned his head to see Breezie, looking quite disheveled, at the door knocking.

"Oh, is the hour already up? Is it Spike and your time now?" Jet asked politely.

"No… just me tonight," Breezie sighed.

"Sorry Cosmo, looks like our time is up," Jet turned to the girl beside him, frowning.

"That's okay," She smiled although she felt the disappointment fill up inside her. "It was fun, though."

"Yeah. Who would have though studying could be fun? How about I book the room tomorrow and we just, y'know, don't invite the others?"

"Okay, sounds good," Cosmo giggled, shielding a blush the threatened to creep across her cheeks. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Actually…" Jet began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe we could go grab a snack before curfew?"

"Sure, it's a date," Cosmo confirmed happily, throwing her bag over her back and following the ecstatic teenager out of the room.

"At least some people are happy," Breezie sighed as she threw her bag harshly on the table, immediately pulling out her phone to scroll social media.

…

Lunch time. The torrential downpour staining the world outside the reason so many students filed into the cafeteria, packed in like sardines. The dark clouds shrouded the campus in a dreariness that was starting to get to the students. Knuckles grabbed his tray of food, handing over his lunch card for it to be scanned by the lunch lady before he made his way out of the crammed cafeteria into the spacious senior room with the rest of the year twelve students. He spotted his group of friends over at one of the larger tables and sat down to join them.

"Hey Knux, how's it going?" Sally began making conversation.

"And where's Julie?" Tails added.

"No idea, probably practicing in the gym," Knuckles assumed, his eyes scanning the group. He was ecstatic to see most of the group back on good graces again, especially with the new faces that littered the table. Tikal and her new boyfriend, Eclipse. Blaze and Silver, newcomers Mighty and Ray, and the two people he was most happy to see sitting next to each other happily, Manic and Sonic.

"Anybody know if Amy is joining us?" Tikal asked obliviously.

"Ames and I aren't really on speaking terms at the moment," Sonic admitted, an air of awkwardness descending upon the table as the girl's name was brought up.

"But one thing I didn't think I'd ever see is you two getting along," he gestured towards Sonic and Manic, both shooting each other a happy grin.

"Neither did we," Manic answered happily.

"Yeah me and my bro aren't going to be causing any more trouble," Sonic beamed. All eyes on the table shifted to Manic, who shrugged with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Whoa, he didn't say half," Blaze gasped.

"Guess they must be serious about it," Silver added with a chuckle.

"I'm just glad that they aren't fighting over me," Knuckles laughed, running a hand through his dreds and laughing. The group continued to talk, enjoying the time they finally had together after avoiding each other for so long when a new presence interrupted everything.

"Oh, hey Shads, come join us," Sonic spoke up, patting the empty seat beside him."

"I can't," he replied standoffishly. "I need to speak to you," Shadow turned to Knuckles.

"Okay, shoot," Knuckles replied.

"Alone." Shadow turned to Tails, who gave him a supportive nod. Knuckles shrugged, standing up to follow Shadow over to a secluded corner of the cafeteria.

"So what's up?"

"I did some digging over the break and using blood samples and medical records, I discovered who your biological sibling is," Shadow began.

"That's great!" Knuckles cheered.

"Before I tell you, I just want to know that you're absolutely sure that you want to know. It might be better to just live in the dark," Shadow warned.

"No, I want to know who my brother is."

"About that… I don't know where you got that idea from but you have a sister, not a brother," Shadow began.

"Really, a sister? Cool, who is she?" Knuckles probed further. Shadow took a deep breath and spoke clearly. The words that would forever ruin Knuckles life.

"Your biological half-sister is none other than… Julie-Su the Echidna!"

Knuckles froze, his eyes bulging wide. His eyes grew fuzzy, all sounds of the outside world being blocked out in a haze as if he was struck with tinnitus. The room around him began to get dizzy and he fell to his knees, a nauseous feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. Suddenly, without warning Knuckles opened his mouth and vomited out the contents of his stomach all over the floor. Gasps from his fellow students filled the room as some of them came closer to make sure he was okay while others backed away, disgusted by the sight.

"Somebody go get Razor, he needs to go to the infirmary," Storm called.

"I'll go get Gold," Honey confirmed as she left to retrieve the secretary. All eyes fell upon him as he choked out the rest of his lunch in a disgusting, orange soup.

"It can't be," Knuckles refused to believe it, repeating himself over and over. "It just can't. It can't be true," he vomited again, completely disgusted with himself and what he had done. Shadow looked up, his eyes meeting with Tails as they exchanged worried glances now that the truth was finally out.

* * *

 _A/N: Did you read the first part carefully? There is a single word in that first exchange that will cut down the list of potential suspects on death row from 28 to 14!_

 _The new character is officially revealed. Who is the new face that will join our main cast, now bringing the number up to 33 (Our main 28 plus Gold, Razor, Zonic and Void) is Lumina! What could her connection to Void be? You'll just have to find out._

 _Shadow and Mephiles, despite everything that has happened and how they feel are now officially 100% broken up, bu that doesn't mean that Mephiles doesn't want to still have Shadow take a big part in his wedding. Best man, to be in fact. Also just to clear up a few things about Mephiles' sexuality. Yes, he is gay. 100% gay. I know what Sonia said, but that was because she is just hoping, holding on to a fantasy that maybe he'll change for her. Maybe he will, who knows? But for now, he isn't marrying Sonia because he loves her, but rather because of his own past. He knows what it's like to have a deadbeat dad and he wants to give his child a perfect life. It's an unfortunate situation but the two are trying to make do._

 _Clove suspects Mighty might be gay, but he can't rely deny her claims properly because of the promise he made Ray and is only incriminating himself further. Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, Eclipse is convincing Ray to finally ask Clove out on a date. Something that would kill Mighty but, remember, Mighty didn't ever tell Ray the reason he dumped Clove because he knew it would destroy Ray so the squirrel has no idea._

 _Spike, Breezie and Julie-Su. A triangle that is only proving more painful than any others in this story. Spike loves Breezie, Breezie sees him as her best friend/little brother but needs him to think he has a chance so that he will do her history project. But Spike isn't completely innocent, thinking that helping her with her project might make her fall in love with him. Both are doing things for the wrong reason, and Julie is here to help. Too bad that the more she tries to help Spike, and make Breezie see the error of her ways, the worse she seems to make the situation._

 _Mighty Vs. Scourge. The two have began a battle of wills and it seems Mighty now has a secret weapon. Fiona Fox. Is he really making the first move or is he just an unwitting pawn along with Rouge and Mina in Fiona's vengeance scheme? And what is Fiona's plan?_

 _Poor Sally, the girl just hasn't had the best run ever since the fire. What will become of the squirrel, only time will tell. However, not all is depressed as an twist of fate have brought Jet and Cosmo together. Are they just friends or will more form out of their little meeting? Will Jet's codependency ruin it or Cosmo's addictive personallity?_

 _Finally, it's been revealed. Knuckles doesn't have a brother but a sister! I knew I'd get a bunch of you. Some weren't fooled but most were. If you look back, you'll see that in my A/N i never, ever mentioned that Knuckles had a brother. I only ever said sibling. Knuckles just assumed brother despite never being told it was a boy or girl. Cheap trick? Maybe but it still fooled most of you :P Now yes, crucify me in the reviews for making Julie and Knuckles related. Because remember... they might have, kinda, sorta had sex... incest :O Gross? Depends how you see it (But yes, it kinda is which is why it made Knuckles vomit uncontrollably.) How will Knuckles deal with this horrific discovery and how will he tell Julie?_

 _Thanks so much for keeping up with this story and I hope you all enjoy the new part. Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you think :)_

 _QotD: Who do you think will end up in that casket?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Knuckles has a horrible confrontation with Julie-Su_

 _Spike tells Blaze the secret truth about Silver and Breezie_

 _Sonic and Tails meet back at their special spot over the lake for a... secret meeting_

 _Fiona and Mighty's revenge prank on Scourge goes horribly wrong_

 _And Sally, Cosmo, Wave and Cream plan a bachelorette party for Sonia!_

 _...all this and so much more, next time on Chapter 33: Devestation_


	33. Chapter 33: Devastation

_A/N: Hey everybody, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the long delay, I've just been so busy with life. I know I seem to start all of these Author's notes with an excuse but life's just been hard recently. I'm well into uni, already drowning in asignments and I'm currently working three jobs. Plus I just stared watching the 100 so that is takin gup a lot of my free time :P Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. A bunch of old plot points and story lines are brought up again, and one which I bet a lot of you forgot about. I hope you like Rouge, because this is a very Rouge-centric chapter. And, once again this is over 10,000 words! Woohoo. Havn't had one under since Chapter 28. The wait is slightly longer but chapters are longer so I hope you are liking it. Anyway, enjoy the chapter._

* * *

Chapter 33

Devastation

The night was anything but quiet. The owls hooted nosily over head and a chorus of chirps erupted from the families of crickets that dotted the sides of the lake, hidden inside the reeds. The blistering winds picked up, howling loudly and chilling Sonic to the bone. He zipped up his jacked and hugged himself for warmth as his eyes glazed over the zaffre lake.

"I'd almost forgotten about this place," A voice remarked in marvel. Sonic turned around, a smirk ebbing its way onto his face as he ushered the intruder over to sit beside him.

"Yeah, I still come here to gaze at the stars or just think about life," Sonic smiled, shuffling over slightly.

"Am I still the only one you've showed this spot or have you taken others here?" Tails mused as he fell to the floor, plopping his arms behind him and glanced over at the lake, instantly noting the gravestone on the other side.

"I've taken Sally and Amy to similar spots I've found nearby but none to this lookout. This was my private place of solace, one that not even Shadow could find. It's reserved for just me," Sonic grinned as he noticed the pride emanate from Tails' face. "Well, reserved for me and my best friend, naturally."

"You still consider me your best friend?" Tails asked incredulously, his voice weak.

"Of course, buddy. No matter what happens between us, it's still you and me against the world." Tails' heart swelled, the way it only ever did when Sonic talked about how much he cared about Tails.

"Oh, I forgot to ask but, well, how are you holding up?" Sonic shot him a confused glare, not understanding what he was referring to. "Like, with the whole Mina, Manic and Amy thing," Tails clarified.

"Oh, that…" Sonic trailed off, his eyes shooting back over the lake.

"If you don't want to talk about it I understand."

"No, it's not that. I just… I've tried to put it all behind me, like I've managed to do with Manic and don't really want it to be dredged up," Sonic admitted.

"I get it. Sorry for bringing it up. It's good to hear that you and Manic are on good terms now. It's about time," Tails joked playfully.

"I know. I'm just so thankful all that shit is behind me."

"Did you try speaking to Amy or… or Mina?"

"Amy, yeah sorta. We just decided it is better if we avoided each other for a bit. Well, I decided and she can't change my mind. But Mina? No, never. As far as I'm concerned, that bitch can rot in hell for the stunt she pulled," Sonic growled darkly.

"Sonic, seriously? That's not like you."

"She crossed way too many lines. A man has limits."

"You're not a man yet, you're still a boy," Tails giggled. Sonic rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a smile plastered on his face. "But remember, it wasn't Mina's fault."

"Can we just not talk about it? Why are you trying to defend Mina anyway?"

"No reason, nothing. I'm sorry for bringing it up." The two sighed as silence descended upon the two until finally, Tails braved a chance to speak up again. "So, I see you and Spike have been hanging around each other a lot recently. Last time you mentioned him, it was how he was a creepy stalker."

"Oooo, is somebody a bit jealous," Sonic mocked, chuckling. "Nah, Spike's cool now. He's much better once you get to know him. "But look who's talking. Don't think I didn't notice how close you and Mighty are now, always hanging out and talking together. Did something happen over the break I should know about?" He winked. Tails blushed.

"Who? Mighty and me? Ha, no, never."

"Never," Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"What? Like sure, he's hot and caring and sweet and definitely my type but he's straight and has his own issues he is dealing with at the moment. Besides…"

"Besides what?"

"There's only one person I want to be with at the moment. Compared to him, Mighty doesn't stand a chance," Tails smiled, locking eyes with Sonic. Before Tails knew what came over him, he quickly leant forwards and crashed his lips against Sonic's before immediately pulling back.

"S-Sorry," Tails mumbled. Sonic said nothing, his eyes searching through Tails' face and body. Sonic leant closer and placed a thumb on Tails' chin, leaning him upwards.

"Don't be," Sonic whispered as he gently and expertly pressed his lips back on Tails', kissing the boy deeply and with purpose.

"I missed you, Sonic."

"You too."

…

Scourge grumbled to himself as he skulked through the hallways, staring daggers at any of the students who dared to stand in his way. The younger years all dodged out of the way. They would all rather get a face full of metal than stay in his path and taste some of his infamous wrath.

"Hey, where are you going?" A seductive voice purred from behind him. Scourge spun around, intent on giving the owner of the voice a piece of his mind for interrupting him when his eyes fell upon the body of Mina Mongoose wearing a very revealing top.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. You're looking fine today," Scourge winked, his eyes scanning her body, following the curves of her figure and pausing at her large breasts and the cleavage that was showing. Mina taunted him, stepping closer.

"I think you know what I want," she purred into his ear, her whispered words tantalizing him.

"I thought you were eager for Sonic's dick only?" Scourge replied firmly.

"Please, we both knew I couldn't resist your charms for long."

"Alright then, let's go back to my dorm room," Scourge mused, grabbing her wrist.

"I have a better idea," Mina hesitated, focusing to keep her charm despite his repulsive grin. "Tonight, meet me at Emerald Lake for a swim."

"Why would I want to do that? Besides, I don't have any swim trunks."

"Who said anything about swimming trunks?" Mina giggled, her lips tickling his ears as she spoke. Scourge froze, a familiar feeling stirring inside of him.

"Okay, I'm in."

"Meet me at eight on the water's edge. Don't be late," Mina concluded, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before turning around and walking off, swishing her butt from side to side to make sure he was watching her leave. Scourge was.

"That was perfect," Fiona cheered after Mina had rounded the corner, out of sight of Scourge.

"He is so gross. What did you ever see in him?" Mina complained, wiping her lips with the back of her hand to get the taste of his skin out of her mouth.

"I don't even know. But go tell Rouge to get ready for phase two and I'll talk to Mighty," Fiona smiled wickedly. "Scourge won't even know what hit him."

…

"C'mon girls. Just keep your chin's up. Think about all the fun we can all have once finals are over and we get months to just lie on the beaches and enjoy life," Blaze daydreamed loudly, trying to coerce any sort of emotion out of the two girls lounging around in their rooms.

"What's the point? I'll just screw everything else up anyway," Amy lamented loudly, picking at her untrimmed nails.

"Yeah, if I can just be discarded to the side so easily then what's even the point?" Clove chimed in sadly, twirling her hair through her finger. Blaze sighed. This same behaviour had been going on for a while and the two girls just seemed to feed off the other's depression in a vicious cycle.

"Screw those guys anyway. They are just dumb boys who don't know anything. Soon you'll be asking Sonic and Mighty who?" Blaze pursued further, just wanting this period of sadness to wash over her roommates so they could all go back to the way things were before.

"That's easy for you to say," Clove moaned. "You still have the perfect boyfriend and have since the start of the year. And you guys were friends ages before so it's a win, win."

"And don't pull that shit on us," Amy snapped. "Don't pretend like you and Mighty aren't good friends and I know that you like Sonic much more than you like me, especially after all the stuff that went down between us two last semester and early this semester," Amy continued poignantly.

"Girls, girls, I know that I'm still friends with them but both of them are moving on with their lives. You both need to too. If you really want to get back at them, show them just how much fun you can have without them. Neither of you need a guy to be happy. You're two of the strongest, independent women I know. You're fighters. So don't just roll over and admit defeat now!"

Amy and Clove exchanged a glance, neither of them knowing how to respond. They were both hurt. They were both sad. However, they both knew she was right. Before either of them opened their mouths to speak, the door burst open and Rouge slunk through.

"We're kinda in the middle of something," Blaze groaned.

"Never mind that for now. Mother's club is cancelled, I need your help," Rouge intruded.

"Can't we do this later?"

"Don't you want to help Cosmo or not?" Blaze's eyes widened as the darted her gaze towards Clove and Amy. Each one knew that Cosmo was having money troubles and instantly the worst possible scenarios found their way into the girl's heads.

"What happened to her? Who did she try to scam money off this time?" Clove asked.

"Really? All three of you fell for that?" Rouge tried to stifle a laugh but to no avail. Amy glared at her. "I just thought you would have been smarter than that. It's all going to Storm and Honey anyway. They are probably just using it on condoms and sex toys."

"One, Gross, I don't want to hear about their sex life," Blaze shuddered, trying to shed that particular mental image out of her head. "And two, how do you know what she is using the money for?"

"Wait… you guys don't know about her gambling problem?" Rouge asked obliviously. Suddenly understanding hit Amy, Clove and Blaze like a tsunami. All the late nights, all the mysterious excuses and how she was always quick to jump at an opportunity to bet on something. It all began to add up. "Wow, you three are dense, aren't you?"

"So why did you come here?" Amy snapped. "Just want to make us feel stupid? Wanna make us feel more like bad friends than we already do?"

"No, I want to help." Amy couldn't help but scoff loudly at her response. Rouge feigned to be appalled, adding inflection on her words. "You really think I would never want to help anybody? I am offended."

"Just cut to the chase, Rouge," Clove asserted.

"Fine. Cosmo is going to be coming back here soon for bed, so it's time for an intervention."

"We've tried that," Blaze stated plainly.

"Yeah, but now that we know her obsession and I know about Nack, it'll work this time. Trust me," Rouge assured them. Reluctantly, Amy, Clove and Blaze all agreed and they sat down to figure out how best to approach the situation.

…

"I really shouldn't be doing this," Gold giggled softly from inside her small office adjacent to the main reception area and Razor's own personal office.

"But you know it's funny," Espio replied cheekily.

"But these are my students who I have an obligation to care for and nurture," Gold argued, more against herself than to Espio.

"It's cool. I'll just keep all the gossip to myself," Espio smirked, knowing that he'd already thrown the hook in the water and sooner or later, Gold would bite. She bit her lip, willing herself to not give into Espio's temptations.

"No. No, I need to stand by this. I'll not partake in any gossip about my students."

"Suit yourself. I'll just go to Mr. Zonic and spill my guts. I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it all."

"As if you had any gossip anyway," Gold retaliated. Espio pouted playfully, fake tears welling in his eyes. "Oh, come here you idiot," Gold laughed, combing some of her golden hair out of her eyes as she leant over and placed her lips gently on his.

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me at this school," Espio whispered after she pulled away.

"Come on, you're just saying that," Gold blushed.

"No, it's true. And it kills me that we need to keep this a secret."

"But we have to! Nobody can know about this. You promised me!" Gold panicked.

"I know, I know. I haven't told a soul and I don't plan to. If anything ever happened to you, or your career because of me… I don't know what I'd do."

"You're sweet," Gold mused and leant in for another kiss when she heard somebody at the door.

"Knock, knock," Zonic sung out like he usually did, knocking on the door at the same time. What Gold used to find charming and innocent almost made her heart stop beating. She wished he would actually knock for real sometimes. "Oh… am I interrupting something?"

"Who me? Him? No, not at all. We're almost done," Gold looked over to him before settling her gaze back on the frozen and sweating boy. "And if I ever catch you doing it again I'll report you straight to the principal. Just because I helped you kick start your music career doesn't mean you get to use that kind of language in class. Do you understand young man?" She bellowed didactically.

"Y-Yes ma'am," Espio swallowed in a charade of fear.

"You may leave." Espio nodded and retreated silently, leaving Zonic alone with Gold. "Sorry about that," she stood to greet Zonic. "Kids these days."

"Hmmm," Zonic hummed skeptically, not buying it. "Are you sure he was just in here for a punishment?"

"Why else would he be? What are you insinuating, Zonic?"

"Nothing, really. It's just… I've seen you and that boy hang around together a lot. You even travelled with him when he did his big concert in the city over the holidays. I'm just saying, from a bystander's point of view, it seems a bit… unprofessional," Zonic pointed out.

"Are you trying to say that there is something going on between me and a student?" Gold protested. "That's preposterous."

"No, of course there isn't. That would be crazy," Zonic assured her, smiling. "And since there isn't, I guess I should get to the main reason I came to see you today."

"I think that would be best."

"I heard about Sonia and Mephiles' big wedding that Razor is helping them plan in the school chapel on Saturday and was just wondering if you wanted to be my date?"

"A date? Oh, Zonic… you're really sweet and I really like you and can't thank you enough but…" Gold trailed off, pausing to think. She didn't have anybody to take and Zonic was already curious about her and Espio. This might be her best chance to throw him off the trail. "Eherm, sorry," she cleared her throat. "What I meant to say is that I'd be glad to go with you."

"Sweet," Zonic's eyes lit up with delight. Gold couldn't help but grin at his childlike happiness. "It's a date."

…

Rouge strode through the halls proudly, her hips swishing to and fro. Many of the guys' gazes gravitated towards her ass and she was loving the attention, taunting them seductively. For the first time in a while, she wasn't still lamenting about her failed relationship with Knuckles or letting jealousy towards Julie torment her. She was happy, and ready for revenge when a voice halter her in her tracks.

"Hey, I need to speak to you."

"What do you want," she spat bitterly, turning to come face to face with her own personal demon, Scourge the Hedgehog. Normally the self-deprecation that always haunted her in his presence would descend upon her but the knowledge of the beautiful vengeance she would attain on him that night kept them at bay.

"I just wanted to say that… well…" Scourge trailed off uncharacteristically.

"Just spit it out. If you haven't noticed I have places to go," Rouge replied impatiently.

"Well I…" he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Rouge cocked her head, curious. She had never seen Scourge act like this. Ever. Nobody had. "I just wanted to apologize." Rouge took a step back, completely flabbergasted.

"Did I just hear you right?"

"Yeah… I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"You, saying sorry? That's a laugh," Rouge dodged his apology.

"Rouge, I'm serious. You know how hard this is for me. I don't do this but… well I don't even know. It's dumb."

"No… hang on, saying sorry is never dumb," Rouge suddenly let her compassionate side shine through, despite the knowledge of who she was talking to reaming at the forefront of her mind, keeping her skepticism at an all-time high. "I know how hard it is to apologize sometimes."

"Yeah. It's just, I don't know. There is something different about you. When your depressed, it doesn't make me happy. Tormenting you doesn't feel good anymore. I don't know, it's dumb. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything I did and said to you. It was a crappy thing. Anyway, I'll let you get back to it," Scourge apologized before turning to walk away, ignoring her calls.

"Scourge…" Rouge whispered, her mind running wildly.

…

"Knuckles, Knuckles I know you're in there," Julie pounded loudly on the door, fiddling with the knob. "You've missed the past two trainings and haven't returned any of my texts. Stop being a coward and talk to me!"

Knuckles sighed, lying on his bed. He hoped against hope that Julie would give up and walk away. He hoped she would just forget about him. Anything would be better than having to face her. Having to face what they had done. It made him sick to his stomach. Every time he walked by that gym and those changerooms he felt the bile rise from his stomach. He got nauseous and the room began to spin. He needed to sit down, but he couldn't anywhere near that gym. Never again. Not after what he did there.

Suddenly, as if his worst fears were coming to haunt him, the sound of a key jingling in the lock filled his ears. The click of the lock opening filled his heart with dread. The door slowly swung open and Julie stepped in.

"Thanks Spike, could you give me a minute alone with him?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, whatever," Spike replied, his mind elsewhere. Julie shrugged and approached the resting teenager, staring daggers at him. "What the hell is going on? Why have you been ignoring me."

"Julie… I think we should see other people," Knuckles whispered. Her eyes bulged open, her mouth falling open. He grimaced. That's not how he wanted to put it. It just came out. Before he knew what he had said, Julie's wrath was upon him.

"Are you fucking serious? You're breaking up with me? Just like that?" She fired question after question, spittle flying from her mouth as her arms stretched above her head.

"Julie, please, it's not like that. It's what's best," he countered softly.

"What's best? Were you just using me for sex?" The word sent shivers down Knuckles' spine as he felt the bile rising up his esophagus.

"Julie, don't say that," he begged.

"What? Sex?" He swallowed, trying to keep it down. "It's true, isn't it? I was just a prize. We do it, then you leave me for the break and when we come back you ignore me completely and then dump me. You're just like everybody else," Julie fired angrily, tears stinging her eyes.

"Julie, no, no I still love you but it just… it's sick. This can't work, ever," Knuckles tried to reason with her.

"What? It's sick? Is being with me really that disgusting?"

"Yes." Julie gasped, slapped Knuckles' angrily across the face and turned to storm out of the room. "Julie, no, wait, I didn't mean it like that. Just, it's not like that. It's not you. It's _us."_

"Oh, cut the crap. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave right now and never speak to you again?" Julie stamped her foot, giving him an ultimatum. Her chest heaved, her head pounding.

"It wasn't a brother."

"What?" Julie paused, perplexed. She barely heard Knuckles as he whispered, unable to meet her gaze.

"My father, when he slept with that other girl. She didn't give birth to a boy," Knuckles continued.

"What are you on about," Julie growled, fed up.

"It was a girl. Julie, don't you get it? I never had a half-brother, I had a half-sister!" Julie opened her mouth to yell when suddenly it hit her. Harder than any tsunami ever could. In that instant, her brain clicked and suddenly she felt a wave of sickness wash over her. She fell to a knee, nausea taking control of her as she vomited.

"You mean… I'm your…" she babbled. Knuckles nodded, finally able to meet his gaze. "And my mother and your father…" more nodding. "And then you and I…" Julie quickly leapt up and ran out of the room, unable to look at him any longer. She felt disgusting. She didn't know where she would go or what she would do but she just needed to run away from him. To deal with this on her own.

"No way…" Spike whispered, watching her flee down the stairs, eyes wide.

…

Mighty reached down to open the door but before he grasped the handle, it was pushed down on its own and the door swung open. To his surprise, Mighty was left standing face to face with his best friend, Ray.

"What are you doing here?" Mighty asked, the two basked in the luminescence of the moon shining through the dusk that shrouded the world outside. "It's past curfew, you should be in your room."

"I could ask you a similar question," Ray fired back playfully. "Where are you going? And why are you dressed in all black?" Ray furrowed his brow as he glazed over Mighty's appearance. The teenager was dressed from head to toe in black. A black shirt, black jeans and black vans. He even donned a black beanie over his head.

"I'm going to rob a bank," Mighty joked.

"Shut up," Ray smirked before his smile was replaced with a frown. Mighty took notice and instinctively took Ray's hands in his own. He rose Ray's arms and in doing so, the boy's sleeves recoiled slightly. Mighty's eyes fell on his lower arms, fresh purple bruises lining them.

"Ray… what happened?" Mighty questioned, concern flooding his voice. Ray quickly retreated, throwing his arms behind him.

"That's not why I came here. I need to tell you something, but you have to promise you won't be mad," Ray dodged the question.

"C'mon buddy, you know I could never be mad at you."

"I doubt you'll think the same after this."

"Try me."

"You promise you won't be mad?"

"I promise," Mighty smiled, knowing he would never break it.

"So… I was talking to Eclipse and… well… I think I might… ask-clove-out-on-a-date," Ray finished in a hurry. He waited, expecting shouts of anger to emerge but all Mighty did was chuckle.

"Slow down, buddy. I could hardly hear you. For a minute it sounded like you said you were going to ask Clove out."

"I… I did." Mighty stood firm, frozen to the spot as his body grew rigid. "Mighty? Mighty, you okay?"

"Are you fucking kidding me!" Mighty suddenly exploded, his face growing red as rage consumed him. Ray stepped back, cowering slightly.

"Dude, quiet down," Sonic groaned, peeking up from his phone.

"Seriously uncool," Mephiles added, peering over the top bunk.

"Guys, why don't you shut the fuck up," Mighty growled uncharacteristically. The two looked at each other before zipping their lip, honestly frightened at the display. Tails looked on from his bed, worry crossing his face for his newest friend.

"M-M-Mighty…" Ray babbled.

"Don't M-M-Mighty me," he scowled, mocking Ray's frightened tone. "How could you do this to me? After everything I did for you!"

"I know… but I thought…"

"You thought what?"

"I mean you broke up with Clove and it's almost been three weeks since you did. I figured it would be okay if I asked her out now but I just wanted to make sure you're okay with it."

"No. No of course I'm not okay with it," Mighty fired back, anger coating each word.

"But why? You broke up with her. You said you just wanted to be friends with her. It's got nothing to do with me so why is this such a problem?" Ray reasoned. "And don't give me that bro's before hoe's shit because we both know you don't believe that's cool."

"You know what. You're right," Mighty exhaled slowly, knowing he can't say the truth. As much as he wanted to, he knew the only way to spare Ray is to lie no matter how angry he was at that moment. "Me breaking up with her had nothing to do with you. So you should be free to ask her out. Who cares what I think." With that, Mighty stepped passed Ray and slammed the door closed, storming down the hallway loudly.

"But-But-But," Ray lamented silently, feeling the piercing gaze of Mephiles, Tails and Sonic in the back of his head. He refused to break down. He refused to cry. "You promised you wouldn't be mad…"

…

 _The cold wind whipped at my skin from underneath my dress. I had bruises on my wrists from where the guards tossed me out. My bottom hurt, aching from where it collided roughly with the cobblestone alleyway. Trashcans lined the graffiti ridden walls. Rats scurried away at the sight of me, descending into the sewers where they dwelled._

 _I turned once alerted to the door behind me opening once again and he walked out, yelling profanities at the guards._

 _"_ _Nice," he turned to me, his lips a horizontal slit, no emotion in his distant eyes. "Now we have to find another place to gamble."_

 _"_ _Of course that's what you're worried about," I rolled my eyes sardonically._

 _"_ _C'mon now Cosmo," he cooed as he placed his thumb under my chin, pushing my chin skywards so my eyes peered into his taunting pools. "We can win it all back. As long as I'm by your side we-"_

 _"_ _No," I pushed him off. "I can't keep doing this. You pretend we are friends but we aren't. You just use me because of my personality."_

 _"_ _Exactly," Nack threw her a devilish smile. "Your amazing personality."_

 _"_ _You mean my addictive personality," I frowned._

 _"_ _Cosmo, come now don't talk like that. Look, forget about the hundred dollars, okay? We will try another place another night and then you can just share your future winnings with me," he cooed sympathetically as he wrapped an arm around her._

 _"_ _R-Really?"_

 _"_ _What else are friends for?" Nack smiled at me. At the time, I thought it was sincere, but I didn't see the glint in his eye. I didn't know he was lying, that he was just using me. If I had known what type of guy he really was, I would never have gone through with what we did next. He used me… and I let him._

"Oh Hun, I'm sorry," Rouge soothed.

"Yeah, you can't let him keep treating you like that," Clove chimed in. Cosmo sat on Blaze's bed next to her, Rouge, Amy and Clove all crowded around her. At first, they had all attacked her but finally, through tears, she opened up and told them her history.

"It's not that easy. We've been friends since I was small. He's always been there for me," Cosmo defended the absent weasel.

"Don't defend him!" Amy snapped. "He's used you for your money your whole life. Cosmo, if it wasn't for him you would have never even adopted this addictive personality."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah, we kinda do," Rouge snorted.

"Cosmo, look," Blaze opened her mouth finally, adding her two cents. "We can sit here all day and criticize you for your life choices, or we can offer obvious advice that you obviously would have taken if it wasn't so hard but I'm not going to do that." Rouge, Clove and Amy all growled but she ignored them, focusing on the girl in front of her. "We are here to help you, every step of the way. Rouge will make sure you don't go to the poker games and the girls and I will always be able to talk or hang out to take your mind off it but you have to promise us one thing."

"Anything," Cosmo said, embarrassed and defeated.

"That you stop asking us for money and using us. You have to be completely honest from now on, okay?"

"Will all of you really do that for me? After everything I did and all the money I took?"

"Of course, Hun," Rouge smiled.

"Only if the money stealing stops," Amy chided.

"We're all here if you need," Clove nodded.

"So, what do you say?" Blaze asked, all four girls smiling down at her.

"I don't deserve you girls," Cosmo replied, tears of happiness now in her eyes. "Okay, I promise. Thank you."

…

The night was still young as Scourge crashed through the beaten forest path, twigs and leaves crunching beneath his boots. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to the annoyed teenager, he emerged at the agreed meeting spot. He glanced forward, his eyes glazing over the still waters of the zaffre lake. Not a ripple in the water. That's when he saw her, the purple haired maiden like a siren, paddling in the middle of the lake.

He started taking off his clothes when he noticed a pile of girl's clothes on the water's edge, including a bra and underpants. He looked out, noticing Mina wink at him and he smirked. He quickly removed his trousers and boxers before diving into the water.

Immediately, as Scourge was swimming out to the banks of the water, Mighty and Fiona emerged from their hidden positions in the bushes and collected his clothes.

"Where the hell is Rouge?" Fiona hissed in a hushed whisper.

"I don't know but why did we have to do her job. I need to make sure the camera is ready," Mighty complained, tossing the remaining clothes to Fiona and diving back into the bushes. Mighty quickly fiddled with the camera, shifting into a comfortable position that would lead to the best footage. Meanwhile, Fiona dashed back into the bushes when she noticed the crafty bat sneak her way around the lake, getting into position, holding fresh clothes for Mina.

Fiona and Mighty waited with baited breath, watching with victorious grins on their faces as Scourge finally approached Mina, trying to seduce her and getting slapped across the face. Mighty held back laughs as Mina swam away to the other side of the lake.

"Fine, be that way," Scourge yelled after her as she took off. "What a fucking bitch. Bringing me all the way out here and then not wanting to do anything," he grumbled as he swam back to where he left his clothes. However, before he began to emerge from the water, he made a sharp left and swam out of view behind some bushes. Fiona shot Mighty a confused glance. He shrugged. Fiona began to stand, annoyed when he reappeared. She quickly crouched to avoid being seen, the smile ebbing its way onto her face.

Yet, as Scourge made it to the banks of the lake, her smile was instantly replaced with a frown. The water fell from his neck, to his waist and finally until only his feet were submerged, but instead of a completely naked boy, Scourge walked with purpose with a fresh pair of board shorts wrapped around his torso.

"Hmm, that's strange," he chided victoriously. "I could have sworn I left my clothes here. Maybe I put them in that bush there," he turned his head to face the alcove Mighty was crouched in, his eyes lighting up. He winked.

"How did you know," a voice rose from the bush as Mighty began to stand.

"What? Mighty? What are you doing here?" He feigned surprise. "And with a video camera? Now what were you planning to do with that?"

"I hate you," Mighty growled. Scourge showed his row of sharp teeth as he strolled over to Mighty and drove a fist deep into his gut. Mighty moaned, falling to his knees and clutching his stomach, taken completely aback by the sudden attack.

"You too. Don't ever try this again." As he turned to walk off, he continued aloud. "Oh, and Fi, leave my clothes outside my dorm. If they aren't there by the morning, I'll have no problem going to Razor to inform him of this little midnight excursion you and Mighty took after curfew." With that, he strolled off without another glance back.

…

Spike waited until Zonic had descended the steps and walked out into the night air, strolling casually over to his room adjacent to the teachers' lounge. Once sure the coast was clear, he left the safety of his room and rushed up the stairs, panting as he skidded to a halt outside the familiar dorm room. He knocked three times before an annoyed voice sounded from inside.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," it growled as the owner of the voice gripped the door knob and the door swung open. "Spike?"

"Silver, we need to talk," Spike looked at him with determination in his eyes. Silver could tell by his voice that Spike was serious. He hesitantly stepped aside and let the teenager into the room. He gave silent nods to Silver's roommates, Espio and Eclipse, before turning to Silver and jumping straight to the point.

"So did you think about our little talk?"

"You mean the one where you blackmailed me," Silver replied poignantly, tonguing his cheek. Eclipse and Espio glanced towards the two boys, intrigued by what they could be arguing about.

"It's hardly blackmail. Breezie is my best friend and you are just toying with her. And I don't know Blaze well but I'm sure she's a great girl and she deserves a hell of a lot better than you!"

"Hey, don't talk to him like-" Eclipse jumped in to defend his friend but he noticed Espio silently shaking his head out of the corner of his eyes and held his tongue. Spike shot him an angered glance before turning his attention back to Silver. "So, which one did you break up with?"

"Neither," Silver stated plainly, standing his guard.

"Silver, you can't do this!"

"I can and will. I like them both and I can't break up with either. I don't want to break their hearts, they mean too much to me."

"Chaos you're an idiot. The longer you keep this up, the worse their heartbreak will be."

"Not if they just never find out," Silver replied idiotically, still convincing himself that this is his only course of action.

"You know what. Fine, be that way," Spike sighed exasperatedly before wrenching open the door and storming out.

"Wait, Spike!" Silver called, rushing out into the hall. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to tell them the truth. Unless you tell them tomorrow, we will have a very interesting conversation tomorrow night," Spike warned and with that, he turned and stormed off.

"Silver… what are you going to do?" Eclipse asked after he slumped back into the room.

"Spike already tried to talk to Breezie once and she got mad at him. He wouldn't tell her and risk their friendship. It means too much to him."

"But he will tell Blaze," Espio chimed in.

"Did I ask you?" Silver growled back.

"Whoa, what's with all the animosity?"

"Everybody else might have forgiven you because you're Mr. Bigshot superstar but I still remember what happened last semester. What you did to everybody… to Blaze." Espio closed his mouth, his eyes falling to the floor in shame.

"He does have a point though," Eclipse pointed out. "What's stopping him from telling Blaze?"

"If he tells Blaze, then it's his word against mine and she'll obviously believe me. I hope…"

…

"Sorry for being so late, girls," Cosmo apologized as she slipped into the room. She wore nothing but a light green pajama top and some pink shorts with little brown elephants on them. "I had to… deal with some things with my roommates."

"Did Gold see you?" Sally warned, inviting Cosmo to sit on her bed next to her.

"Yeah, she's been pretty vigilant with the whole curfew thing recently," Wave added, sitting next to Cream on Sonia's bed.

"Nah, I can be invisible when I want to be," Cosmo smirked. "Speaking of the maid of honor, where is she?"

"Razor gave her permission to take the rest of the week off to go home to her mother to prepare for the wedding on Saturday afternoon," Cream squealed, unable to keep her excitement in.

"I can't believe the wedding is only three days away," Wave added, excitement in her eyes.

"She just sent me this today," Sally spoke up, flicking through pictures on her phone. She turned the screen so that the other girls to see. "How amazing is it?"

"No way."

"She's going to look so beautiful." The four girls all marveled at the pristine white dress that fit Sonia perfectly. It flared out around her ankles and dragged along the floor.

"I almost wish I could get married just so I could wear that," Sally sighed dreamily.

"Sonic's finally asked you to marry him?" Wave chided playfully, coaxing a blush out of the guarded teenager.

"Shut up, you know I'm gay," she laughed, although the thought of marrying Sonic did appeal to her, despite her sexuality. "Besides, guess what he told me."

"Oh, gossip? I love a good juicy rumor," Wave smirked, just happy to have a group of girlfriends that she could feel comfortable around and be herself no matter what, without the fear of judgement.

"He met Tails next to Emerald Lake last night and they kissed!"

"Good for him," Cosmo said, remembering back to when she had the biggest crush on the younger boy.

"Good on them. I say let them be happy," Wave smiled. Cream stayed silent, the colour slowly draining from her face as she remembered her last encounter with Tails.

"Cream… you okay?"

"They… they are getting back together?" she whispered.

"I don't know. It was just a kiss. I think they are just seeing where it takes them. After all the crap that went down with Sonic and Amy I thought he'd just stay single for a bit but if Tails makes him happy, then I'm happy for him."

"They… they are getting back together?" Cream repeated slightly louder, not believing the words that left her mouth. Sally, Cosmo and Wave exchanged worried glances before Wave suddenly piped up, an idea in her head. She knew the one thing that would be able to distract Cream.

"Screw boys, we need to talk about the most important thing. We've only got two days to plan it!"

"What?"

"Sonia's bachelorette party!"

"Oh my Chaos, I completely forgot about that," Sally gasped.

"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't throw her one?" Cosmo asked rhetorically. The three turned to Cream who glanced from one to the other. After moments of silence, she finally piped up.

"We have to throw her one! We can invite every girl in the year level, minus Fiona obviously."

"Thata girl," Sally cheered.

"I'll organize the location. I reckon we could find a place near the lake and set up a massive table with drinks," Cosmo smiled giddily, already planning everything she would need in her head.

"I'll work on the guest list," Sally decided, whipping out her phone and scrolling through all her contacts. They wanted every girl at the party. It would be a night none of them would ever forget.

"I'll figure out the music situation," Wave added.

"We could get Espio to play?" Cosmo offered.

"No, it's girls only! Besides, I'm pretty sure Shadow invited him to Mephiles' stag party."

"The boys are having a party too?"

"Yeah, that's where I got the idea from. They are having it on the same night, too," Wave affirmed.

"Well I'll get the details of their party to make sure we are as far away from it as possible and then help Cosmo with the location and set up," Cream cheered.

"This is going to amazing," Sally laughed as all the girls continued to plan what was sure to be a great party and the last day of freedom Sonia would have.

…

Scourge waited, lying atop the hood of his car. The faint glow of the cigarette acting as the only source of light. Finally, faint footsteps echoing on the asphalt alerted Scourge to the presence of another.

"That was rich," Scourge laughed, smiling as he saw Rouge's illuminated figure stroll towards him.

"You didn't have to punch him," Rouge frowned, hopping up onto the car beside him, taking the cigarette out of his fingers and inhaling deeply.

"It would have been weird if I didn't," Scourge shrugged. "Besides, that fag deserved it anyway."

"I think Mina might be a bit suspicious," Rouge admitted.

"Why? Did she see you hide the extra pair of pants?"

"No, but she complained that I was so late and I don't think she bought my excuse. I also got an earful from Fiona about how it was my fault that it didn't go right because I was late. I'm just glad Mighty defended me."

"Trust him to defend you. I swear that guy gets hard whenever somebody needs protection. It's sick," Scourge spat, snatching the cigarette back from Rouge. "But that's just Fi, trying to blame anybody but herself. It was a dumb plan anyway, like it would have worked."

"It would have if it wasn't for me," Rouge purred.

"True. I guess tonight you were the knight in shining armour," Scourge smirked.

"I'm glad we know which one of us wears the pants around here," Rouge fired back before leaning over to press her lips roughly against his.

…

The knock at the door roused the teenager from his nap. He opened his crusty eyes, wiping sleep out of them as he stretched his limbs skywards and let out a hearty yawn. Tails glanced over to the watch sitting on the bed side table. Ten minutes past twelve. He had slept through both his morning classes. He was thankful he had spares until the afternoon.

More knocks hurried him along. He quickly rooted through the drawer and threw a crisp shirt over his body, jumping into some trousers he left on the floor. He made his way to the door and opened it to reveal none other than Cream the Rabbit.

"Cream? What are you doing here?" Tails asked dreamily, still not fully awake.

"You texted me last night and said you needed to talk to me urgently about something," Cream replied. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Tails stepped aside. She entered the room and sat down on Mighty's bed. Tails' other roommates were all out and about, going through their daily routines.

"Did you just wake up?" Cream asked after Tails sat down next to her, letting another yawn escape his lips.

"Yeah, sorry. I had a really late night last night."

"What were you doing? Did something happen to you?" Cream's tone turned slightly alarmed as worry for her friend washed over her, flushing her features.

"What? No, not at all. Well, I mean something happened but it wasn't bad. Quite the opposite, actually," Tails added cryptically as his thoughts traveled back to the previous night and crimson ebbed onto his cheeks. "I just need some advice."

"Just tell me what happened. You know I'm here for you whenever you need."

"Okay well…" Tails took a deep breath and spewed out all the information frantically. "Sonic invited me out to our special place near the lake and we talked but then he kissed me and then we made out and I don't know I still have feelings for him and I'm thinking of asking him out again but wanted to talk to you."

Cream sat frozen, her mouth falling open like a drawbridge as Tails lifted the weight of his chest. He looked to her expectantly but she said nothing, still unable to speak.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

"Are you kidding me?" Cream squeaked in a hushed whisper.

"What?"

"I said, are you fucking kidding me," Cream raised her voice, anger exploding from within. Tails' eyes bulged as he scooched back, surprised.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Cream, what's wrong?"

"You're such a selfish prick," Cream chastised him.

"What are you talking about? I just want some advice. Why are you so mad?"

"You really are oblivious sometimes. After all that happened between us. You know I like you. You know I always did but you said no and I still helped you out with your father. Do you know what you said to me?" Tails tilted his head in confusion. "You told me you still had feelings for me but didn't want a relationship because you wanted some time to yourself to grow. Meanwhile Sonic goes off to date Amy, things go bad and he gives you a sign and you rush back to him on your knees." Cream huffed, puffing.

"Cream, you are way out of line."

"Am I? Chaos, you are such a hypocrite sometimes. Sonic doesn't deserve you. He only wants you because things failed with Amy!"

"Don't talk about Sonic like that. I love him."

"Yeah, I get it. You love him and don't love me. You want to stay single, unless Sonic shows some interest. Whatever, enjoying dating him. I hope you are both happy," Cream concluded bitterly as she rose and rushed out of the room.

"Cream wait!" Tails called fruitlessly. He fell back onto Mighty's bed with a sigh. "What did I do this time?"

…

Rouge swayed confidently through the crowded halls, expertly dodging around the sea of both familiar and unfamiliar faces. She walked with new-found purpose, the hole that had been steadily growing in her heart after her fight with Knuckles finally began to close. Thanks to Scourge, of all people.

Suddenly, an arm shot out from a nearby room and Rouge was forcibly pulled into an old office. The same small room that Spike and Sonic had laid their trap for Mina the previous term.

"Get off me! Who are you?" Rouge shrieked, batting at the hand that was clasped firmly around her arm.

"Rouge, chill. It's just me," a masculine voice retaliated from behind.

"Sonic? What the hell was that for?" Rouge growled, fixing her hair and slinging her bag back over her left shoulder.

"I need to talk to you. Now," Sonic said with determination, his tone grave. It alarmed Rouge, but she stayed confident.

"I'm kinda busy at the moment, Sonic," she dodged his request. "Maybe some other time."

"Rouge, I'm serious. Don't you walk away from me," Sonic bellowed.

"Don't tell me what to do," Rouge remarked slyly before she wrenched the door open and stepped out into the corridor.

"I know it was you. I know what you did," Sonic stated plainly. Rouge froze, her mind instantly assuming the worst. She thought he was talking about the scheme against Scourge. Somehow, he knew about the two of them. The last thing she wanted was to have to deal with both Fiona and Mighty's wrath. She knew she had to keep him quiet, buy his silence.

"How did you find out?"

"Amy told me. She told me everything. Tails had nothing to do with Shadow's leaving," Sonic growled. Rouge stared blankly at him before letting a small chuckle escape her lips. "Stop laughing. This is serious!"

"I'm sure it is. It's just… never mind, it's nothing," she sighed in relief. "But I've no idea what you're on about."

"I know it was you who tricked Amy into hating Tails. You told her he was the one who didn't want him at the beginning of the end. You blamed Tails for driving Shadow away and tricked Amy into hating him too," Sonic explained.

"Oh, is that what this is all about? Yeah, I did. So what? That was ages ago and Tails and I are cool now since Shadow came back. Stop living in the past," Rouge ignored him, admitting to his accusations.

"It's not that simple Rouge. You instilled a hatred in her. If it wasn't for you, she never would have tried so hard to break us up. She wouldn't have used Mina to strain things with Manic and myself. She wouldn't have done any of it if it wasn't for you."

"Are you kidding me? Yeah, I might have turned her against Tails and I may have planted the idea about using Manic to hurt Tails but it was never my intent to hurt you. And I stopped after Shadow came back so don't blame me for all the shitty things she did to you," Rouge dodged the blame. Sonic clenched his fist, grinding his teeth as he sucked air through them and exhaled loudly.

"You don't get it, do you? You think you are righteous. You think you stand up for your friend, but you don't. You only do it if it suits you. You are the most selfish person I know. You think you're top shit but you're just an insecure bitch!"

"Sonic, take that back now!" Rouge growled, narrowing her eyes.

"No. You… you… you…"

"Me what," Rouge stormed up to Sonic so the two were face to face, barely an inch separated them.

"I don't want to see you at my sister's wedding."

"Fine! Like I wanted to go to that stupid thing anyway," Rouge grunted before she turned and hurried away, slamming the door to the little room closed, leaving Sonic alone to stew in his anger.

…

Blaze sat under the shade of the wilting tree. The leaves in the canopy above her swayed gently in the afternoon breeze. She slurped happily on her smoothie, typing casually away on her laptop to complete her notes for her upcoming classes when somebody cleared their throat above her.

"May I help you?" Blaze asked, glancing up at the teenager towering over her.

"Blaze, I need to talk to you."

"Oh, hey Spike. It's been a while. How have you been?" Blaze smiled up to him, patting the grass next to him in a kind gesture. Spike shook his head, declining.

"Sorry, I'm not here for small talk. I just came to ask you if Silver has spoken to you yet," Spike jumped right to the point.

"Silver? No, I haven't seen him since yesterday. Why? Did something happen between you two?"

"Between me and him? No. But something did happen," Spike alluded gravely.

"Just spit it out."

"Blaze…" Spike began, taking a deep breath in. "I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you this. Just know that despite how I feel about Silver, I take no pleasure in this."

"What are you on about? You're scaring me now. Is Silver okay?" Blaze asked as worry filled up inside her.

"Blaze… I don't know how to tell you this but… Silver is cheating on you. Has been for a while now."

"Wh-what?" Blaze asked, her eyes growing wide. Her voice was shaky. "With who?"

"With my best friend, Breezie." Blaze felt light-headed. She was sure she would have fallen if she was not already sitting on the ground. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't want to believe it. She refused to believe it.

"No, it can't be true. You have no proof," Blaze challenged him defiantly, more trying to convince herself than him.

"Actually… I do," Spike sighed as he took out his phone and opened up his photo gallery, scrolling to photos he took over the holiday. He handed his phone to Blaze and she gasped when her eyes laid upon them. Countless photos of Breezie and Silver walking around the mall. Holding hands. Smiling, laughing… kissing. A tear dropped onto the screen and rolled off onto the dewy grass below.

"I'm sorry, Blaze."

"It can't be," Blaze sniffed, trying to hold back the floodgates. She sat frozen. Spike tried to talk to her, to comfort her in his own awkward way but she remained stone faced, looking out at the school grounds in front of her. Spike eventually sighed and gave up.

"I'm always here if you want to talk. Take care of yourself, Blaze," he concluded before walking away to leave her own her own. Blaze watched him and waited until he was far enough away. That's when the waterworks started. She couldn't control it. The tears just kept coming and coming, cascading down her cheeks like waterfalls. She felt like a blubbering baby, sobbing uncontrollably on the grass but she couldn't help herself. She loved Silver. He was her best friend. He was her first real love. He was her everything.

With a shaky hand, she picked up her phone and dialed the number that she had committed to memory. Her phone rang a couple times before the voice that used to brighten up her day answered. Only this time, instead of chasing away the clouds, his voice only enticed them to hail down upon her.

"Hello? Blaze? Are you… crying?" Silver asked worriedly.

"Tell me… it isn't… true," she choked through tears.

"What isn't true? Blaze, are you okay?"

"Spike… tell me what… he said about you… and Breezie wasn't… true," she begged him through sobs. Silence filled the line for a few moments before Silver finally spoke up.

"Blaze, please. I can explain," he defended himself.

"So it's… true?"

"Blaze, please."

"Silver… it's over. We are through," she growled through her tears before angrily slamming her thumb onto the big red button.

"Blaze, Ple-" She hurled her phone across the grass and collapsed her head into her hands, letting out all her emotions. After all this time, it was finally over. He promised he loved her. He told her he wanted to have a baby with her. To one day marry her. It was all just a lie. And now, it's all over.

* * *

 _A/N: That's right. It finally happened. A lot of you thought this was inevitable but were holding out hope. But it's now official. Silvaze is now over. The OG couple. The one that survived everything. The couple that has been around since the beginning has finally crumbled. Thanks to Spike. If Silver and Blaze can't survive, which couple can?  
_

 _But speaking of couples. Looks like Scourge has won the second battle between the war against him and Mighty. That's 2-0. Mighty better step up his game. Thanks to Rouge, Mighty and Fiona were made to look like complete fools. And a new relationship was formed. How many of you saw ScourgexRouge coming? And Tails and Sonic. Are they going to become an item again? How do you feel about that? Are you happy that the two boys shared a kiss again or do you feel as frustrated as Cream and just wish both of them would move on._

 _And yes, Cosmo is trying to get better. We finally know more about her past with Nack and how he is the main reason for her addiction. Can Blaze, Amy, Rouge and Clove help her? Speaking of Clove, looks like Ray has taken Eclipses advice to ask her out to heart but Mighty is not happy about it. Could Clove draw a wrench between the strongest friendship at Mobius High?_

 _And yes, for those who remember back in chapter 2/3, Rouge tricked AMy into thinking Tails excluded her from the party because she was still bitter towards Tails about Shadow leaving. Becuase of that little grudge she held since Shadow left, it had a snowball effect on Amy which lead to her tricking Mina, who used Manic to get to Sonic etc. etc. You thought Shadow leaving was only to further his story about G.U.N? I had some criticism for having a big thing about Shadow leaving, only to show up after only three chapters into the sequal but it looks like that little time away he took lead to even more consequences. The biggest events that dragged Sonic, Manic, Amy, Mina, Spike, Fiona and many more was all started because Shadow left and Rouge blamed Tails. Looks like it backfired as Rouge is the next to join the list of those uninvited to Sonia and Mephiles' big wedding (Chapter 35!) Also on that list is Fiona and Scourge, naturally._

 _Thankyou for reading and please don't forget to review. I have hundreds of reads each chapter but only about 5 reviews. If you are reading this, it would mean the world if you took a few minutes out of your day to leave comments, praises or criticisms. Who knows, a point you might have pointed out could lead to drastic changes due to an oversight by me. It's happened before. And as always, thanks for reading._

 _QotD: How do you feel about the newest couple, Rouge and Scourge? Yay or nay?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

Sonia has her bachelorette party by the lake while Mephiles hires a party bus for his bachelor party!

Blaze and Breezie butt heads about Silver

Amy, still distraught about Sonic, spills the beans to Blaze and Fiona about who really started the fire

Scourge and Cream stir the pot after Tails and Sonic begin to rekindle their relationship

and Ray reveals to Espio who spread his naked picture around all those months ago

 _...all this and so much more, next time on Chapter 34: The Bachelorette_


	34. Chapter 34: The Bachelorette

_A/N: Hey guys, miss me? Insert obligatory apology here. I just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou to everybody who reviewed the last chapter. It's the most reviews I've recieved yet and it filled me with so much joy, especially since they were all so long! It means so much to read your reviews and that is why I worked so hard despite time constraints to pump out another chapter for you beautiful people. Keep those reviews coming! Okay, now with that out of the way let's get on to the story. Not much for me here, just wanted to point out that this is my longest chapter yet (Over 12,000 words) Hooray! Anyway, I have some important information to relay to you so make sure to read the A/N down after the chapter. Anyway, enjoy reading!_

* * *

Chapter 34

The Bachelorette

"How did you swing that one?" Sally laughed, her hand in Sonic's as the two strolled through the fields, basking in the early morning sun. Although neither one was a morning person, they both had full schedules and busy days ahead of them before the wedding. Sonic being a groomsmen and Sally being head bridesmaid.

"Razor said it was okay as long as both him and Zonic accompanied us and that nobody under the age of eighteen could drink," Sonic replied happily.

"That's insane. That's such a better idea than what we are doing for Sonia," Sally lamented, exhaling loudly.

"Oh come on, I'm sure what you planned will be just as fun," Sonic shot her his trademark smirk.

"It's just a thing we are setting up by Emerald Lake."

"Maybe I could sneak you into the bus?"

"Are you kidding me? And miss my girl's bachelorette party? I'd rather die," Sally and Sonic giggled happily as they enjoyed their morning stroll. Everybody else on campus was still in a deep sleep, none stirring. All except Amy who sat at her window, watching the two happily.

"Sonic broke up with me because of what I did with Manic and Mina, right?" she asked, unsure whether she wanted an honest answer or not.

"You won't go back until I give you an answer, will you?" Clove groaned as she sat up in her bed. "You need to stop thinking about him."

"And you need to stop thinking about Mighty," Amy fired back. A frown slowly grew on Clove's face and Amy instantly knew she crossed a line. "Sorry…"

"No, you're right. We both need to woman up and move on. And I think taking revenge on Sally is not the answer. She is still your friend, right?"

"I thought so but after we broke up she just avoided me and became so close to Sonic again."

"Didn't she give you two her blessing?"

"I know, but any way I see it, me breaking up with Sonic only benefitted her," Amy bargained, unable to shake away the obsessive thoughts that constantly plagued her. Deep down she knew Sally was always on her side, but seeing her this happy with him awakened something dark inside of her.

"Don't do anything, Amy. Last time this happened you turned Manic and Mina against Sonic and it lead to heartbreak. The same thing will just happen again," Clove urged wisely, knowing the look that spread across Amy's face all too well.

"This isn't revenge or bitterness. It's simply letting a good friend of mine know what really happened to her and who's really to blame. And if it gets Fiona off my back in the process I'll count that as a win, win."

"Amy, this will only end badly. You are better than this. You have grown, remember?" Clove begged her friend to reconsider but once Amy Rose put something to her mind, she wouldn't stop until she achieved it.

"I'm doing this for Blaze, not myself," Amy convinced herself forcefully. Clove sighed, groaning loudly as she collapsed back onto her bed. She knew there was no changing Amy's mind and admitted defeat early. She wasn't going to waist another night of sleep trying with that stubborn girl.

'Sorry Sally, nothing personal. They just deserve to know the truth,' Amy said decidedly as she glanced over to Blaze's sleeping body, her pillow still damp from the continuous tears she had shed throughout the night.

…

Espio stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his shirt. An old, navy blue blazer lay neatly on his bed hanging off the side. He held two separate, distinct ties in either hand, holding them in front of him sequentially, trying to determine which one would work best.

"Hmmm, too preppy," he mused aloud as he removed his left arm and brought the right up to his neck. "Not formal enough," he lamented aloud as he tossed both ties back up onto his bunk. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Hello, anybody in there?" An angelic voice sounded from the other side of the door, accompanied by a couple knocks. The voice sent shivers through Espio as he quickly ran to the door and threw it open, his eyes falling on the secretary he had fallen for. He grabbed her around the waist and hauled her inside, closing the door with the back of his foot before crashing his lips against hers passionately.

"Espio, please," Gold said, face flushed as she pulled away from him, her eyes darting around the room. "What about your roommates?"

"Don't worry, Silver is out moping around and Eclipse is helping him out. He just got dumped madly, by both girls he was dating," Espio explained.

"Both girls," Gold raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "That's not okay."

"Don't worry, he got his just desserts. Let's not talk about him, you came here to see me, right," Espio mused cheekily as he snaked his arm back around his waist. This time, Gold put up little resistance.

"You clean up nice. What's the occasion?"

"Just getting my outfit ready for tomorrow. I'm expecting a wicked headache after tonight's party so I decided I'd get all my stuff ready in advance."

"That's awfully responsible of you. What have you done with the real Espio," she joked playfully. Espio pouted, shooting her puppy dog eyes. She leant closer and pressed against her, letting soft giggles emanate from her mouth as she felt him smile during their kiss. She couldn't understand why he made her feel this way. It was so unprofessional, and Gold wasn't anything if not professional. She couldn't put her finger on it. It was just something about Espio that felt… right. She frowned as she pulled away, the sudden sadness not lost on Espio.

"Hey," he soothed, rubbing her back. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… this," Gold sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Like this. Us. What we have. It won't work."

"What do you mean? Of course it can. Don't you want it to work?" Espio frowned.

"No, I do, of course I want it to work. I mean it _can't_ work. I'm twenty-four and you're just a student. It's taboo."

"I'm old for my age, though. My dad is eight years older than my mother and we've only got a five-year difference. Plus, I already have a full time paying job with my music. I'm way older for my age than I should be," Espio complained reasonably.

"Still… it doesn't matter. If anybody found out about this, I would be fired. I'd be charged and probably arrested."

"Gold, Gold c'mon look at me," Espio urged, placing his thumb under her chin and raising it to force her to gaze into his eyes. "I won't tell anybody. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. If anybody finds out I… I'll…" Gold looked at him expectantly, wishing he had a plan so that they could still see each other without any repercussions but she knew it wouldn't work. Couldn't work.

"I'll just say that I sexually assaulted you and you were an unwitting victim."

"No, I can't let you do that! You would be expelled, right before finals. I won't allow it," Gold protested but the look she saw in his eyes was pure, unaltering and true. She knew this to be the case because it was the same look that she was sure reflected from her own eyes.

"Then it's settled. Neither of us will let the other get in trouble. And we won't ever be caught. We can be careful, at least until school ends in December and then everything will be okay."

"I hate how persuasive you can be," Gold giggled.

"I hate how cute you can be," he fired back as he crashed his lips against hers again. A buzzing in Gold's pocket broke the two apart. She excused herself as she check her phone.

Zonic: _I'll come by your room at about three tomorrow?_

Gold: _Yep, all good. See you then, I'm so excited!_

Gold quickly tapped back a brief response before throwing her phone back in her pocket.

"Why is Zonic coming by your room tomorrow before the wedding?" Espio asked skeptically.

"Sorry, I've got to go help the girls set up for Sonia's bachelorette party. I've been instructed to chaperone so it would be unprofessional if I didn't help set up," Gold dodged the question cheekily.

"Answer me," Espio demanded playfully.

"Nothing. Just planning my big date with Zonic."

"D-date?"

"Aww, is somebody jealous," Gold taunted him as she pecked his cheek before turning to leave. "Don't worry. Zonic can't compete with you." With that, Gold slipped out of the dorm room and Espio was left alone once again.

…

"Are you sure you don't want to head over with us?" Cosmo frowned, glancing over at the cat lounging around on her bed in grey sweatpants. Cosmo was all dolled up, makeup caked on her face and a thin, tight-fitting dress that didn't even go down to her knees hugging her figure. Cosmo never thought she'd ever wear something this revealing but Sally insisted that, as she put it, they all needed to dress slutty for the night.

"Blaze, it'll be good for us. The both of us deserve to have some fun," Clove urged, wearing similarly revealing clothes. Earrings dangled from her ear lobes and her hair was done up in a bun, something Clove almost never did. She always liked to let her hair out but tonight was a special occasion.

"No thanks. I'd rather just stay here and wallow in my own pain," Blaze ignored her friend's pleas.

"There won't be any boys there," Clove coerced.

"And Sonia really wants you to be there for her… even though she doesn't know this is happening yet," Cosmo admitted with a smile. Blaze lay on her side, facing the wall with the covers thrown over her. She just exhaled loudly, not offering a response. Clove and Cosmo exchanged a worried glance before shrugging.

"We promise to be quiet when we come home," Clove said finally before the door slamming shut echoed around the room. Not moments passed before the door opened again and Blaze heard footsteps crashing over to her bed.

"Girls, c'mon I said I'm not go-" Blaze began but stopped herself when she locked eyes with somebody she didn't think she'd ever see in her room. Fiona Fox.

"Where's Amy? I'm going to miss the bus Razor promised me but she told me it was urgent and that I wouldn't want to miss it," Fiona grumbled.

"Bus?" That was all Blaze could say, surprised that Fiona and Amy were talking. She never thought Fiona would stomach Amy's presence after the fire stunt she pulled.

"Yeah, part of Razor's apology. I'm aloud any travel to and from the city since he falsely got me imprisoned. Plus, some other perks," Fiona winked. "Now tell me where she is."

"Why do you want Amy?" Blaze replied in a deadpan tone, too depressed to bother answering properly.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to both of you," Amy bellowed from the doorway, strolling in confidently.

"You have two minutes to tell me why this was so important or I swear to Chaos that-" Fiona began but was cut off.

"Trust me, this is important," Amy interjected. "I've learnt my lesson not to mess with you."

"Good."

"Just get on with it so you can both leave," Blaze sighed uncharacteristically.

"It's about the fire. The fire that ruined both of your lives." That got their attention, especially Blaze's. She had put that horrid time behind her, but her skin was still singed in parts, scars lacing her body, never healing. Her hair had grown back, but it wasn't as full or luscious as it used to be and Blaze was told it would never be the same as it used to be. She had accepted this. But as Amy brought it back up, it hit her that the true culprit was never apprehended.

"What about it," Fiona scolded her angrily. "If this is another trick I'll-"

"It's about who set it," Amy continued.

"You mean the person you refused to tell me ages ago when I threatened you?" Fiona growled indignantly.

"I made a mistake, okay. You… both of you," she turned to Blaze who had stayed quiet most of the exchanged. "It was… Sally." Blaze's eyes widened as the words rolled off Amy's lips. She couldn't have heard them right. It couldn't have been the girl that had always been so kind to Blaze, so helpful despite everything that had happened. Fiona, however, had a much different reaction.

"That lying bitch! Of course it would be her. You did it for her, how did I not see it?" Fiona howled loudly. "The next time I see her, she'll regret ever being born!"

…

Sally: _How's it all going?_

Cream: _We're all set up here_

Cosmo: _Food and drinks are ready. Turn at the tree with the pink ribbon_

Wave: _Everybody is ready_

Sally: _Okay, package is on the move._

"Somebody's popular," Sonia mused loudly as she lounged about on the couches, enjoying the serenity.

"Huh, what?" Sally snorted in question as she flicked her eyes from her phone screen to glance at Sonia sitting beside her.

"Your phone hasn't stopped blowing up," Sonia pointed out poignantly. "Is it Sonic again?" she added with a wink.

"Shut up," Sally groaned with a laugh as she stood up, stretching out her back. "C'mon, let's go for a walk."

"Where?"

"I don't know," Sally paused, pretending to deliberate her decision. "Maybe just to the lake. It'll be fun."

"Why?"

"Chaos, you're annoying. Do I need a reason to want to hang out with you?"

"It's kinda late, though," Sonia argued.

"Okay, well I'm going to go. You can go back to the room, alone, with Fiona," Sally said as she brushed past Sonia and walked towards the door. Sonia contemplated her decision before jumping up with a shout.

"Sal, wait up!" Sally hid her smirk as Sonia caught up with her. The two girls strolled through the winding paths that snaked and crisscrossed all around the spacious school grounds until the buildings and grassy fields were replaced with dirty shrubbery and large trees. The canopy obscured the view of the sky above, the shoes squelching through mud and stomping over twigs and leaves.

Sally made a sharp left when she noticed a pink ribbon tied off on an overhanging tree branch, pulling the complaining teenager along with her. The trek was quick as the small path quickly opened up in a small field and Sonia's eyes grew wide, a gigantic smile creeping its way onto her face.

"Surprise!" A chorus of shouts erupted from a group of girls who all stood around a lengthy table that was situated on the edge of the pristine waters of Emerald Lake. Before Sonia could comprehend just what was happening, Cosmo, Wave and Cream all rushed up and threw their hands around Sonia, chuckling loudly.

"Happy Bachelorette party," they squealed with delight.

"Sally?" Sonia turned her head as her friends finally released their iron grips from her, allowing her to take a deep breath inwards.

"Surprise," she mouthed as she strolled over to the table and grabbed a handful of the chips that were placed in a large bowl, ignoring the confused glances from others. All these eyes on her made her nervous, anxiety creeping up on her.

Sonia let herself be led by her friends over to the table where the rest of the girls that she had quickly grown to consider a second family all congratulated her.

"This is so exciting, Sonia. I'm so glad you found the love of your life," Amy beamed happily as she hugged Sonia. Sonia smiled warmly, ignoring the naïve obliviousness of Amy's statement. She wasn't sure if Amy was serious, but enjoyed the gesture either way.

"Look," Tikal placed a comforting hand on Sonia's shoulder as the teenager walked down the line of girls who all wanted to congratulate her personally. "I know Mephiles is gay, but the fact that he proposed to you shows how committed he is. That's hard to find in a guy. I think it'll work out for you."

"Thanks, Tikal," Sally smiled as the two shared a quick embrace.

"Congratulations! Remember, I'm always here if you need me and if Mephiles ever crosses you, don't hesitate to give me a call," Clove smiled.

"This is an exciting new step in your life and I'll be here every step of the way," Julie-Su assured her as she wrapped her arms around Sonia's waist.

"Oh my Chaos, girl, this is so amazing," Mina giggled with delight.

"I know, I can't believe you are getting married. I just know the wedding tomorrow will be completely amazing," Breezie added as the two girls shared a hug with Sonia.

"I can't wait to see both of you there tomorrow," Sonia nodded.

"Sonia, I hope you know that professionally, and also personally, I'm here for you whenever you need. Any hour of any day, my office is always open to you," Gold informed her.

"I'll keep that in mind," Sonia added graciously as she threw her arms around Gold's shoulders.

"Don't think this means I'll be lenient on you. Tonight's a special occasion but curfew rules still apply to you too. No staying over in Mephiles' dorm," Gold laughed.

"I promise," Sonia chuckled, though the irony of the joke wasn't lost on her. Sonia took a step back to really take in her surroundings. The smiling faces of all her friends, all the girls that have helped her along her journey in this new city. Sally, Cream, Wave, Cosmo, Tikal, Clove, Julie, Breezie, Mina, Amy and Gold. Each one there to love and support her. Sonia would be lying to herself if she said she didn't have doubts about this wedding. Mephiles was gay. She knew this, but he still proposed anyway. Sonia had long since given up on her childhood dream of being swept off her feet by her prince charming, but with the knowledge of the baby on its way, and Mephiles being so kind and understanding about the entire process, he started to seem like a knight in his own right.

"Thank you all so much for coming," Sonia addressed the crowd, murmured whispers silencing. "I just wanted to say that I love each and every one of you. You are all like family to me and I can't believe you all organized this party. It's amazing and I can't wait to share my special day tomorrow with all of you. Now, I might not be able to drink but I want you to enjoy yourselves. So, let's dance!" Cheers drowned out the surroundings and echoed over the waters of Emerald Lake as Sonia's bachelorette party officially began.

…

Mephiles let out a long, tired yawn as he inserted his key in the lock and pushed the door open with a creak. He dropped his bag on the floor and grabbed a rung on the ladder. His muscles ached and tiredness enveloped him but he begrudgingly hoisted himself up before flopping down on his bed.

He glanced around, noticing that none of his roommates were there. He assumed Sonic and Tails were off somewhere and Mighty had been missing the past couple of nights so he thought nothing of it. He removed a sock, bundled it up into a ball and narrowed his eyes. His tongue peeked out from the side of his mouth as Mephiles' focused and fired. The sock soared through the air and knocked the light switch, but there wasn't enough force.

Mephiles groaned and tried again with the other. The sock collided harmlessly with the wall a few centimeters from its mark. Mephiles growled in frustration and exhaustion as climbed down the ladder and dragged his heels over to the light switch, turning out the light. Just as he turned to recoil to his bed, three knocks sounded from the door.

"I swear Sonic, if you forgot your keys again I'm gonna stop letting you back in at night," Mephiles grumbled aloud as he opened the door. However, instead of Sonic, the beaming face of Shadow greeted him. "Shads?"

"Hey Meph, how are you?" Shadow smiled, his tone unusually peppy and excited.

"Tired," Mephiles grunted in a melancholy tone. "What's up with you? I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much."

"I have a surprise for you," Shadow replied cryptically.

"Not now, I'm really tired and the wedding is tomorrow. I need to rest up for it."

"C'mon, it'll be worth it. What kind of best man would I be if I didn't have a few surprises up my sleeve."

"Shadow, I said you didn't have to go above and beyond. I just want you by my side when I get married… and have an amazing speech."

"Naturally," Shadow nodded. "But I may have done one other thing and you can't say no, so come on."

"I guess I have no choice," Mephiles exhaled through a smile.

"That's the spirit," Shadow smirked as he grabbed Mephiles' wrist and pulled him along. Mephiles followed Shadow down the corridors and steps and out onto the pavement. They headed over to a lone bus that sat in the middle of the parking lot.

"What are we doing here?" Mephiles asked.

"Just get on." Mephiles shook his head but complied. However, instead of an empty, cold bus he was greeted with a flash of light and a chorus of happy shouts.

"Congratulations!" They all screamed. Mephiles' eyes widened in surprise as he slowly turned his head to Shadow.

"You…" he mouthed, unable to finish a coherent sentence.

"Stag party," he chuckled as he pushed Mephiles forward on the bus.

"Congratulations man, can't say I'd wanna be tied down just yet but I'm happy for you," Spike smiled.

"Yeah sure, if Breezie proposed you would say yes in an instant," Mephiles fired back as he clapped hands with Spike.

"I'm so happy for you," Ray beamed, Eclipse sitting beside him.

"Yeah, who'd have thought that out of anybody in our little group, you'd be the first to get hitched. And to a woman no less. You're full of surprises, Mephiles Dark," Eclipse chuckled as he slapped hands with Mephiles. Mephiles continued down the line. Manic, Jet and Espio and Knuckles all threw some congratulations at him until he finally got to the back of the bus, filing into a seat next to Shadow.

"We saved a special spot for you at the back with the best man and us groomsmen," Mighty chuckled as he bumped his knuckles against Mephiles'. "Although I'm so glad you guys are here. I didn't know how much longer I could deal with these two alone," he leant his head over to Sonic and Tails who were giggling together on the seat adjacent to him.

"So, the rumours I heard about you two being back together are official?" Mephiles enquired. Shadow raised an intrigued eyebrow, unaware of the newest development.

"Let's not put a label on it just yet," Sonic chuckled, sneering when he noticed Tails' frown at his response. "Hey, don't look at me like that, I just don't want it to get complicated again."

"Wow, that's reassuring," Tails rolled his eyes before quickly taking his chance to peck Sonic's lips again. "But I'll take it… for now."

"Eherm, guys," Mighty hissed through his teeth, darting his eyes from them to Mephiles in an incredibly unsubtle way.

"Don't worry, Mighty. I don't care what those two do. My past with them is in the past, we've all moved on," Shadow smiled.

"C'mon, you still love us," Sonic winked.

"In your dreams. Next you're gonna say that you're a faster sprinter than me," Shadow sneered.

"You want a race?"

"Please not this again," Tails groaned.

"Are they always this immature?" Mighty and Mephiles asked in unison.

"You have no idea," Tails giggled as Zonic signaled to the driver that everybody was ready and the bus rolled off to its destination. A grand bar in the city for the night.

…

The taxi driver honked as it flew off down the road and over the crest of the hill, headlights lighting up its surroundings. Aleena huffed in infuriation as she closed her wallet and put it back in her purse. She bent down to pick up her suitcase and trotted up the stairs to the familiar house, ringing the doorbell. Not moments past when the door flung open and a beaming Bernadette welcomed her warmly.

"Aleena, I'm so glad you made it. I've been expecting you," she smiled, stepping aside to let the other woman enter her house.

"How have you been holding up since the kids went back to school?" Aleena asked.

"Pretty busy. I'm in line for a promotion next month so that's exciting," Bernadette mentioned casually as she showed Aleena to the spare bedroom. Aleena tossed her things on the bed and accompanied Bernadette into the kitchen where a freshly baked pie was cooling on the window sill.

"You want any?" Bernadette offered.

"Thank you, I'm famished."

"So, how's the writing business treating you?" Bernadette asked politely as she cut two slices of pie and doused them in fresh cream.

"Pretty good. I've been working away at some ideas for a new series but I've been preoccupied with other thoughts ever since the kids came home for their school break," Aleena lamented.

"I understand," Bernadette frowned, thinking back to all the horrible confrontations her family had to endure when Jules decided to make his surprise visit. "Sometimes I wish I could go back to being a teenager. I'm sick of Jules' drama."

"Did you hear our kids? I think they're dealing with more drama than both of us have had in our entire lives combined," Aleena and Bernadette shared a light-hearted laugh before descending into silence. Minutes passed before Bernadette decided to speak up again.

"You must be excited for your daughter's wedding tomorrow?"

"Don't remind me," Aleena shuddered.

"What? Don't you approve?" Bernadette probed somewhat judgmentally.

"What? No, not at all. I love Sonia and will support her no matter what. But she is still my little baby and she's growing up so fast. I'll be a grandmother next year! I'm not old enough to be a grandmother just yet."

"I hear that. If Sonic ever came and told me he got a girl pregnant I don't know how I would react," Bernadette chuckled.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Aleen amused.

"Oh, I've had a few scares. He had this little girlfriend, Amy, for about a year and he told me she thought she might have been pregnant. It gave me a heart attack."

"Amy…" Aleena pondered aloud.

"Familiar name?"

"Wha, huh?" Aleena snapped back from her thoughts. "No, never mind. It's nothing."

"Also, while you're here and we are alone, we need to discuss our plans. We were kind of interrupted last time it was brought up and there just hasn't been a good time since."

"True. We should iron out the details before we tell the kids. I think it's wonderful that you've invited Sonia, Manic and myself to leave Westopolis and move in with you and Sonic after they finish their studies to get away from Jules and I know they will all be excited to hear the great news. We can be one big, happy family."

"Actually… about that," Bernadette started. "I think we should tell the kids the good news at the wedding tomorrow."

"I'm not so sure. I think we should hold off on telling them for a bit. I've struck up conversations with Claire about trying to wrestle custody from Jules so that when I draft up the formal divorce papers, he won't be able to take them from me," Aleena explained.

"Claire? Claire Fox? You can't be serious."

"She is one of the most renowned lawyers in the whole country."

"Why don't you talk to either Sonic, Manic or Sonia about her daughter. Did you know her daughter was partially responsible for Sonia's pregnancy in the first place? Sonic told me her and her little boyfriend spiked Sonia's drink for entertainment and did nothing when she left with Mephiles."

"I am aware what Fiona did to Sonia."

"And you still want to make deals with her mother anyway?"

"If it will save my children from Jules' clutches then yes… yes I will."

"I'm not so sure about this. The Foxes are dastardly and conniving. She won't help you without an ulterior motive," Bernadette warned.

"That's a risk I'm just going to have to take," Aleena sighed defeatedly. "For my kids."

…

The long bus ride ended abruptly, most of the students surprised at the briskness of the journey. Granted, the free-flowing alcohol that was supplied to students on the bus helped the time fly by. As the doors opened, the eyes of the boys widened at the spectacular, pristine exclusive.

"How did you…?" Mephiles gasped as the group walked through the doors into the completely empty, booked out bar. Red velvet seats lined the walls, a gigantic dancefloor that flashed neon in all the hues of the rainbow plastered the floor. A bar ran along the side, bartenders waiting and ready to make any drink that was ordered.

"I have my ways," Shadow winked as he rushed off to order two drinks from the bar.

"Let's just say I'm a sucker for a good wedding," Elias smirked, whispering into Mephiles' ear as he pushed past him and high-fived one of the men at the bar.

"He never ceases to amaze me," Mephiles smirked as his arms were taken by two of his groomsmen, Mighty and Sonic, and rushed over to the bar to join Shadow. Tails watched on from the door, about to head over to join the rest of them, all eagerly awaiting as the bartender filled up their shot glasses with burning spirits. However, as he took a step forward he felt somebody grip onto his shoulder and haul him backwards.

Tails stumbled blindly behind him, tripping over himself as he was helplessly pulled from the dancefloor into the bathrooms. His attacker pushed him forward and slammed the door behind him, leaning against it so nobody could come in to interfere.

"What the…" Tails mumbled aloud as he found his footing and spun around to come face to face with the person who abducted him. Scourge.

"We need to have a little talk," Scourge mused.

"Look, I might be into guys but you're just not my type, sorry," Tails quipped with a sneer, standing up to the delinquent despite the intimidation he felt inside of him.

"Very funny," Scourge growled sardonically. "I think I have something to show you that'll wipe that smirk right off your face."

"Unlikely. This is Mephiles' day and I won't ruin it by getting all moody. Speaking of which, how did you even get here? You weren't invited," Tails pointed an accusing finger.

"Just snuck on the bus in the luggage compartment," Scourge grinned, showing his razor-sharp teeth. "Had a nice little snooze."

"Whatever, I don't have time for this. The others are waiting for me." Tails pushed past Scourge and went to pull open the door when Scourge mentioned something that peaked his curiosity.

"Wouldn't you like to hear about Spike and Sonic's secret relationship?" As Tails slowly turned around, Scourge knew he had the boy right where he wanted him. "What?" Scourge began feigning shock. "You didn't know?"

"You're lying. I'm not going to fall for more of this bullshit," Tails protested.

"Lying? Me? Never," Scourge continued his charade. "Think about it. All the increased time those two have spent together. How Sonic went to Spike, of all people, to get Mina off his back and then broke up with Amy straight afterwards. The timing just adds up."

"That might be so but Spike isn't into guys. He is in love with Breezie," Tails pointed out.

"That may be true, but Sonic isn't just any guy to Spike, is he? Sonic is Spike's hero. The guy holds Sonic on a higher pedestal than you, which is saying a lot." Tails paused for a moment contemplating Scourge's words before shaking his head, dismissing the whisperings of the demon.

"You'll say anything to screw with Sonic and I. We are finally okay with each other again. I'm finally happy again and you will do anything you want to take that away from me."

"Fine, suit yourself. Don't believe reason. Believe proof instead," Scourge pulled out his phone and opened up a picture he took back before Blaze returned to the school, after Fiona was sent to the penitentiary. There, in the picture, was Sonic, shirtless, hugging Spike. A look of bliss evident on both of their faces.

"Took this less than a week ago," Scourge lied. Tails gasped as he snatched the phone and studied the photo. He knew he shouldn't have believed it. Photos taken at wrong times to falsely incriminate people. Photos framed to insinuate things that were never there. A similar photo had been taken of him and Blaze as ammunition against Cream and Silver.

"Photos. Again? Please, Fiona overplayed that trope last semester," Tails scoffed as he turned to open the door and slip out of the bathroom. However, although his words were dismissive, his tone was anything but. Scourge smirked, relishing in the doubt dripping off every word like poison.

"Seeds of doubt begin to sprout, and as they grow their happiness will go," Scourge hummed to himself. "Anyway, since I'm here, may as well make sure of the free bar tab."

Meanwhile, as Tails entered back into the main room of the bar, he couldn't help but notice two people dancing together with blissful grins on their face in the middle of the dancefloor. Spike and Sonic.

…

The music was blaring loudly, echoing through the forest surrounding the secretive lake. The girls danced wildly, fueled by happiness for their friend and the alcohol that surged through their bloodstreams. Roused by the constant, incessant blaring of the beating dance music, Lumina emerged from her tent. The coals from her fire pit in her little, makeshift campsite near the lake's edge were still warm as she noticed the lights flashing from Sonia's bachelorette party. Curious, Lumina made her way over to the festivities.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" An accusing voice shouted at her as she hesitantly approached the party. Lumina froze, unsure what to say as a girl with long, flowing purple hair dressed in a tightly fitted black sequent dress ran up to her with a red plastic cup in her hand.

"N-Nothing, just-" Lumina began to explain when the cup was thrust into her hand.

"Sorry to yell, I just meant what are you doing over here without a drink?" Mina rephrased her question. "By the way, who are you?" She added plainly.

"My name's Lumina," Lumina replied with a grin, surprised by Mina's positivity and warm welcome.

"I'm Mina. Mina Mongoose, nice to meet you," she took a sip mid speech. "Any friend of Sonia's is a friend of ours. Come and join the party, I'm sure Sonia would be so happy to see that you came," Mina continued.

"S-Sonia…" Lumina repeated, confused beyond her wits. She had no idea what this girl was talking about but blindly followed as she was lead through a crowd of dancing people.

"I haven't seen you around school. I'm assuming you're here for the wedding tomorrow, yeah?"

"Wedding?" Lumina repeated stupidly before quickly regaining her thoughts. "Yes, yes that's right. I'm here for Sonia's wedding. Just camping by the lake tonight."

"Cool," Mina sipped happily as she stopped and pointed over to Sonia, surrounded by three girls as they laughed heartedly. "She's all yours. I'll see you later, I'm gonna go get another drink."

"Hey, Mina, was it?" Lumina called out after her as she waltzed off confidently to refill her cup. Mina spun around, brushing the hair out of her eyes and combing it around her ear as she glanced expectantly at Lumina.

"Yeah?"

"Just a quick question. Do you know who Void is?" Lumina asked, holding up the same picture she showed Sonic when she arrived to Emerald Lake.

"Void? Void, Void, Void," Mina repeated, scratching her head until her eyes lit up and she clicked her fingers. "Oh yeah, I know who he is. He's that creepy guy that hangs out with Fiona a bunch."

"Oh, so you've seen him?"

"Yeah, I saw him. He got into a massive fight with Scourge and then Zonic carted him off to Razor's office," Mina replied nonchalantly as if Lumina had any idea who any of the people she carelessly listed off were.

"Razor… he's the principal?" Lumina queried.

"Yep. If you wanna know where Void is, Razor is your best bet," Mina smiled before waving her goodbyes and heading off to the long fold-out tables.

…

The music blared, filling every inch of the bar. The boys filed onto the dancefloor, dancing embarrassingly, drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces. Everybody was having a good time, grinning stupidly from ear to ear. For once, the daily struggles, immense stress and relentless drama that plagued their lives had been shed for a night of fun before a momentous occasion for the school and, in particular, for Mephiles.

Ray smiled as he walked over to Mighty, tapping his best friend on the shoulder.

"Hey Mighty, wanna dance and have some fun?" Ray asked with childlike delight.

"Hey," Mighty replied distantly, a bandage over his broken nose, newly acquired thanks to his run-in with Scourge at the lake the previous night. "Maybe later, I promised Sonic I'd help him iron out a few details for tomorrow."

"Now? At the stag party?" Ray asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, sorry," Mighty responded as he quickly downed his drink, wiped his hand across his mouth and walked over to Sonic. Ray watched, sadness consuming him.

"Hey Sonic, can you just pretend to look serious like we are having a thoughtful discussion?" Mighty asked.

"Uh, sure… but why?" Sonic asked, turning from Spike and walking over to sit on one of the velvet couches.

"No reason, I just need to look like we are talking about important things, okay?" Mighty pushed further.

"Okay, okay. So, did you hear about-" Sonic began before a vibration in his pocket interrupted him. Sonic curiously pulled out his phone and examined it, noticing that a call was coming. "Sorry Mighty, I should take this," he excused himself.

"Cream? Yeah, I guess I'm free to talk. What's up?"

Ray watched the display, deciding whether he should approach Mighty again now that he was alone again, despite his obvious lie. Before Ray could decide, he noticed Espio sitting alone with a beer in his hand.

'Crap, I forgot to tell Espio what I found,' Ray cursed himself as he rushed over, dodging the hordes of dancing teenagers.

"Espio," Ray smiled as he sat down beside the teenager.

"Ray!" Espio beamed, mirroring the grin. "It's been a while. How have you been, buddy?"

"Not bad, not bad at all. What about you?" Ray replied, partaking in small talk.

"Really good. I had my first concert over the holidays and it was insane. I was so nervous but it was so much fun." The two chatted briefly before Ray jumped to the crux of the conversation.

"So, I did some digging over the holidays and I think I've found out who you accidently sent that picture to."

"You mean you know who the douchebag was that spread that picture around and ruined my life?" Espio replied plainly, his tone quickly shifting from upbeat to serious. His eyes narrowed, his lips flat.

"I think so," Ray affirmed.

"So, who was it?" As Ray said the name, Espio's mouth dropped and his eyes scanned the room, falling on the guilty party. His thoughts ran wild as anger and hatred consumed him. Espio couldn't believe it was him. The hypocrite. The guy who always scolded him for all the hateful things he did. The guy who was always so righteous and who always despised vengeance. The guy who claimed Espio ruined his life once. The guy who now sat at the bar, his head low, his heart shattered and a few shot glasses littered around him.

"You sent it to Silver!"

…

"This is, like, my favourite song!" Sonia gasped as she let the music consume her body, her limbs and torso moving to the rhythm of the infections beat, a big smile plastered over her face. "How did you know?"

"A girl never reveals her secrets," Sally winked.

"Her secret is she got a little help from me," Wave piped up with a smirk.

"Yeah, but don't tell her that," Sally shook her head, giving Wave a weak, playful jab in the ribs. Cream watched on from her perch by the table. She was in a constant, destructive rhythm. She wanted to be happy. Not for herself, but for Sonia. It was her special day and Cream didn't want to ruin it. She'd watch her friends having fun dancing and hate that she felt so bad for selfish reasons. That she felt bad because of a boy. Cream would turn, fill up her cup and drink the liquid inside, only to turn and repeat the whole process again as she watched the blissful smile on Sonia's face.

"Hey Cream, are you okay?" A kind, concerned voice perked up from behind her. Cream swiveled around, nearly falling flat on her face from lack of balance, and peered into the worried eyes of Cosmo.

"Oh, yea Cos… I'm al-alright," Cream hiccupped with a goofy grin, trying as hard as she could to mask the pain she felt.

"Hey Cream… How much have you had to drink?" Cosmo inquired.

"I've had none hardly," Cream responded.

"I think that's enough," Cosmo said calmly as she tried to steal the cup away from Cream. In response, Cream's reflexes kicked in and she quickly wrenched her arm backwards and tipped the cup into her mouth, the burning sensation passing by her lips and washing over her tongue. Cream let out a satisfying sigh before dropping the cup and stomping the plastic into the dirt.

"I'm not as think as you drunk I am," she huffed as she turned to storm away.

"What did Tails do to her?" Cosmo lamented aloud as she watched with sullen eyes as Cream stormed over to the side of the lake, pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Sonic? It's Cream. I wanna… wanna talk to you," Cream began, her words slurred and barely audible.

"Cream? Yeah, I guess I'm free to talk. What's up?" Sonic replied.

"Do you know the power you have?"

"What? I can barely understand you. Are you… drunk?" Sonic asked.

"No, no I only had like a little so why don't you just hurry up and question my answer!" Cream growled into the phone.

"Whoa, calm down Cream. It's okay, just tell me what's up."

"Tails."

"Tails?" Sonic repeated obviously. "What about him?"

"Do you know h-how much power you have over him?"

"What do you mean? I don't have any power over him."

"You're kidding, r-right?" Cream sighed exasperatedly, hiccupping again. "You don't see it? He is in love with you. It's cr-crazy. He was devastroyed after you dumped him and I had to pick… pick up the pieces. And then he said it was g-good for him and he didn't want a relationship. Then you showed him a teeny tiny teeny bit of attention again and he falls right back into a relationship like a dog to his master," Cream complained.

"Cream, don't talk about Tails like that. You just don't understand him. Not the way I do," Sonic responded through teeth, trying to keep his cool. Cream just chuckled darkly in response.

"Sure… you know everything about him, don't you," she responded spitefully.

"More than you."

"Did he go constantly complain to you about his problems? No, because you were his problems. He even fucked Mina at Elias' party because he was so sad. Mina! Of all people. Not Shadow, not me… Mina!"

"Look, I'm sorry that I caused him and you so much pain but…" Sonic trailed off as her statement finally clicked in his brain. "Wait… did you just say…"

"What, didn't you know?" Cream giggled like a school girl. Her vision was cloudy and her brain hazy. All she could think about was how hurt she was because of Tails' actions and how oblivious Sonic was to everything. "Mina… the girl that tried to ruin your life… he fucked her. I saw it happen. Sounded like he enjoyed it much more than he ever did fucking you."

No response came.

"S-Sonic?" Cream spoked into the phone. "Sonic?" Nothing, just a dial tone. Cream looked off over the calming surface of the lake, trying to push through the haze to understand what had just happened.

Meanwhile, Sonic thrust his phone back in his pocket, scanning the room until he laid eyes on Tails. He narrowed his eyes, shooting him an angered glare, mirroring the same one that Tails shot back at him.

'How could he be with Mina?' Sonic thought.

'How could he be with Spike?' Tails thought.

'Dickhead,' they both growled in unison from opposite sides of the bar before turning away from each other to go grab another drink.

…

'You can do this. It's just a bit of fun. If things get too tough you can just turn around and go back to the room. It's not that far. Just walk up there and show your support for Sonia. Don't be such a baby, Blaze,' her thoughts berated her as she walked the lone, quiet path winding through the forest. She glanced down at her phone, reading the directions that Cosmo had texted her.

As pushed past low hanging branches, ducking under the green foliage until she emerged into the clearing. She could see all her friends, drinking, dancing and laughing at the water's edge, still oblivious to her presence. Blaze took a deep breath, gathering her composure before she took a few tentative steps forward.

"Blaze!" A shrill voice peaked. Blaze jumped backwards, startled as a shorter girl sprinted up to her, enveloping the teenager in her surprisingly strong embrace.

"Whoa… what's gotten into you, Cosmo?" Blaze asked warily, not used to the outburst from her most under spoken and quiet friend.

"Who me? Nothing. I'm just happy to see you," she squeezed tighter before taking Blaze by the hand and leading her over to where the party was still going strong. "Amy and Clove came and when you refused I just… I miss our room. I miss all the fun we used to have together, back when everybody wasn't so miserable."

"Don't worry Cosmo, I'm here and I'm not going to let anything ruin…" Blaze trailed off as she locked eyes with the one girl who she dreaded seeing. There, standing by the lake's edge with a cup of punch in her hand and head hung low stood Breezie.

"You!" Blaze snarled under her breath.

"Blaze… hey…" Breezie said shyly. "I… uh… didn't think you would be here."

"You backstabbing, home-wrecking, lying little piece of shit," Blaze bellowed harshly. All faces around them turned to see the commotion as Blaze clenched her fists and stomped over to the shivering girl, petrified. Blaze didn't know what came over her. She didn't like violence. Never did. She always tried to remain passive, take the peaceful route but something had cracked within her. Something inside her had shattered and released the demon that had consumed her, taking control of her body in that moment.

"Blaze… Blaze please can we talk about this," Breezie begged as she began to slowly step backwards, arms raised defensively.

"You thought you could just walk in here and steal Silver away from me. At least have the decency to tell me that you were going to do something so heartless," spittle flew from her mouth as she closed in on the cowering girl.

"Blaze… I didn't know. Silver told me he dumped you and-" Breezie mumbled, her heels now dangling on the edge of the lapping waters of Emerald Lake.

"And what? You didn't… y'know… talk to anybody or see us around ever? Everybody knew Silver and I were going out but nobody knew that you were sneaking around with him too! He was my boyfriend first. He was my best friend first. If it wasn't for that fire, he would have never fallen for you… you slut!"

"Whoa, hang on a minute," Breezie piped up, finding her backbone. She stood her ground, fully acknowledging the audience the two had now accumulated.

"Guys c'mon… can we maybe both just take a deep breath and-" Sally began, trying to defuse the situation for Sonia's sake.

"Stay out of this!" Blaze fired, shooting a horrific glare Sally's way. Sally shut her mouth instantly. Blaze turned her attention back to Breezie.

"Why should I wait a minute? Why should I give any of my time to somebody as worthless as you?"

"Hey, fuck you. You don't own Silver. I was his best friend first. I was his first love way before he even knew you existed so why don't you back the fuck up!"

"Don't give me that bullshit."

"It's true! But don't go blaming me for your problems. It's not my fault that he cheated on you because he liked me better!" Breezie challenged.

"Don't you dare insinuate it was my fault!" Blaze let out a guttural growl.

"I'm not!" Breezie practically shouted in response, throwing her hands skywards. "It's his fault. Don't you see. He played us. He cheated on you and me! We shouldn't turn on each other, we should turn on him."

"I… I… I…" Blaze panted heavily, her chest visibly rising and falling as she tried to think. "I know," she sighed, defeated. "But he was the best thing in my life."

"I know how you feel," Breezie placed a sympathetic arm on Blaze's shoulder. "He was the best thing in my life too. But…" Breezie continued suddenly. "He was the best thing in my life first."

"Why you little…" Blaze snapped, lunging at the unprepared girl and taking her off balance. The two girls stumbled backwards, flying into the freezing waters of the lake.

"That's enough!" Gold yelled, asserting her dominance as she kicked off her heels and stomped into the water after the girls. Blaze stood and sent a fist flying at Breezie. She quickly dodged out of the way, Blaze's fist narrowly missing its mark.

"Somebody help. Get this freak away from me!" Breezie howled. Instinctually, both Amy and Clove dove into the water, helping Gold as they dragged the two girls away from each other and back onto the banks of the lake.

"Blaze, my office right now," Gold bellowed, pointing a finger back towards the school, the tall tower barely visible over the tops of the swaying trees.

"But-but-but."

"No buts, now young lady," Gold said with authority. Blaze lowered her head, shooting an apologetic glance at Sonia before being marched away by the drenched secretary. Gold was not happy.

Clove and Amy both made sure Breezie was okay, scolding her for her behaviour in the process.

"You can't blame me for that," Breezie defended herself.

"The situation was under control," Clove sighed.

"Yeah, why did you have to antagonize her further at the end like that?" Amy added.

"Are you two seriously taking her side?" Breezie gasped.

"Well… I mean he was kinda seeing Blaze before you came back into his life," Clove said.

"I didn't know that!"

"But you should have made sure with Blaze," Amy shook her head. "Cheaters never prosper.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. I-"

"Please, just don't," A voice interrupted her. Amy and Clove stepped out of the way as Sonia stepped through. Breezie tried to apologize but Sonia just shook her head disapprovingly.

"One night. All I ask for is one night and I can't even get that around here," Sonia lamented aloud. "What is wrong with this school? Why does all this stuff always happen here?" She asked rhetorically.

"Sonia… look, I'm really sorry and-" Sonia held up her hand, silencing the blabbering teenager.

"Don't. Just don't."

"I'm sorry. I'll… I'll just go," Breezie sighed in defeat, not wanting to make more of a scene than she already did.

"That would be best," Sonia nodded distantly, waiting as Breezie stood, her head lowered and began to slink off into the bushes. Just when she got to the edge of the clearing she paused, turning her head to face Sonia one last time.

"Am… am I still invited tomorrow?"

"Both you and Blaze are my friends. Despite your behaviour, I still want both of you at my wedding. But if either of you start anything…"

"We won't. I promise." And with that, Breezie turned and fled into the night, leaving a distraught Sonia surrounded by her flabbergasted friends.

"It's always something at this school," She lamented aloud.

…

"He is waiting in bay four," Zector replied with disinterest, his raspy voice like nails on a chalkboard. Fiona brushed past him without an answer, hurrying over to one of the many booths. She sat down and picked up the phone hanging on the wall, staring at the person on the other side of the glass. It was late, visiting hours almost ending at the penitentiary.

"Hey Fi, what's up," Void smirked, oozing his usual calm charm. It was as if he wasn't wearing black and white, stuck behind iron bars all day. If Fiona had learnt one thing about Void, it was that he was resilient.

"How are you holding up in here?" She asked, concern floating on her words. It was an emotion rarely heard in Fiona's voice and Void made note of it.

"It's nice to have people wait on you hand and foot again," he chuckled darkly, grin plastered on his face. "How'd it go with our mutual friend?"

"Horrible," Fiona huffed, blowing rust-coloured hair out of her eyes. "Scourge somehow caught on and played us for fools. Although it was pretty funny to see him break Mighty's nose," Fiona chuckled.

"There's that sick twisted humor I love to see," Void smiled. "I missed that. Nobody else in here is as much fun as you are. Or hot," he added with a wink.

"I miss you too, Void," Fiona sighed, raising her hand and placing her palm up against the glass. Void copied her motion, like her reflection in the mirror until both their palms were pushed up against each other, separated by only a few centimeters of glass.

"I don't think I'm gonna be let out of here any time soon. Not after that stunt I pulled," Void laughed sardonically.

"Why'd you escape?" Fiona asked curiously. "Scourge said your trial was coming up soon."

"He also said that I only liked you because of your mother, so can you really trust a word that comes out of that douchebag's mouth?"

"Fair enough. But since we are on the topic, why did you get put in here in the first place? And don't avoid my question this time."

"You won't quit, will you?" Void smirked as she shook her head stubbornly, determination alight in her eyes.

"Was it because of your brother?"

"No, not because of him. Why would I want to be sent here, of all places, after he died," Void shuddered, the painful memory haunting him. "No, I…"

"Yeah?" Fiona leant closer, intrigued.

"I… well, let's just say I made on really bad decision and it cost quite a few people their lives, and ruined some others," Void admitted.

"Seriously? That's all I get?" Fiona huffed, crossing her arms over each other.

"If I told you the truth, you wouldn't want to see me anymore," Void concluded darkly.

"Void… that's not true. I lo… like you a lot and nothing you did it the past is going to change how I see you now," Fiona said in earnest.

"I really like you too, Fiona, but I wish that was true. Either way, it doesn't matter anymore. This is going to be my home, at least for the foreseeable future," Void lamented, leaning back.

"Maybe not," Fiona thought aloud.

"What do you mean?"

"I know a way to get you out."

"No, Fi… you don't mean…" Fiona nodded. "But I thought you said-"

"Doesn't matter what I said," Fiona interjected forcefully. "You're more important to me than her and if giving her the opportunity to make my life miserable again is the tradeoff for getting you freed, then I'd gladly take that chance."

"You really mean…?"

"Yes… I'll go confront my mother and get you freed!"

…

"C'mon Silver, it'll be fun. Trust me," Eclipse urged, his hand outstretched, urging his friend to take it.

"Sorry Eclipse, I just really don't feel up to it right now," Silver admitted with a sigh.

"Look, you got dumped. Twice in one day. It sucks, I know but you can either wallow in depression or come dance with your friends and have some fun," Eclipse suggested. Silver contemplated his words for a moment before filling up another glass with vodka and throwing it down his throat.

"I guess you've made your choice," Eclipse sighed. "You know where to find me," he added before turning to join Mephiles and the rest of his friends on the dance floor, enjoying the bachelor party.

"You're a piece of work, aren't you," a voice chastised Silver from behind.

"Look Eclipse, I know you disapprove but I'm not in the mood right now," Silver barked back without turning his head.

"Guess again," the voice added. Silver turned to come face to face with none other than Espio, a large frown plastered on his face, his eyebrows angled and furrowed.

"Espio, not now. You are the last person I need to deal with," Silver disregarded him with a wave.

"That's too bad because you're exactly the guy I need to see," Espio challenged forcefully, grabbing Silver's underarm and hoisting him off the seat.

"Hey, watch it man!" Silver cursed, swatting Espio's hand away. "Why don't you just back off, freak."

"Don't call me a freak, dick," Espio fired back.

"Can you just fuck off? Why don't you go ruin more lives?"

"That's right coming from you. Maybe I should go call Breezie… or Blaze, see what they have to say about you."

"What's your problem."

"You!" Espio asserted.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Didn't do anything? You're kidding, right? You are the most despicable, horrible excuse for a hedgehog I have ever met. You're the biggest hypocrite," Espio chastised him further.

"What is this all about? I'm not the one who goes around faking pregnancy tests, blackmailing people and taking fake pictures," Silver retaliated.

"Oh, interesting that you mention pictures."

"Yeah, how's old nerdy-nudey going," Silver grinned, knowing the effect that name had on Espio.

"Don't you dare call me that. Ever."

"Why not, nudey?" Silver chuckled humorlessly.

"Because I know it was you," Espio whispered. Silver froze, his eyes wide.

"Wh-what did you just say?"

"I said I know it was you," Espio shook with anger. "All this time I felt bad because of how I treated you. You took the high road. The brave and mighty Silver. Hallowed be his name. He can do no wrong," Espio continued.

"Espio I-" Silver began but was immediately interrupted.

"Oh Blaze, revenge isn't worth it. Take the higher road," Espio mocked. "Espio, you're a disgrace. You are horrible. Take a look in the Chaos-damned mirror, Silver. You're a piece of shit."

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry? Well I'm not. You ruined our lives. You did horrible things to everybody and you deserved all the pain you got."

"You ruined your own life and your own relationship."

"You were the biggest bully, you and Fiona. Bean was right to leave you guys when he did."

"You leave Bean out of this," Espio shook with rage, clenching his fists.

"No, you blackmailed people. You and Fiona terrorized the school. You used everybody. You were a womanizer."

"That's rich," Espio laughed obnoxiously. "At least I never dated two girls at the same time. At least I dumped the girls before I moved on. Breezie and Blaze were nothing more than toys to you."

"You take that back."

"Make me."

"Don't test me!"

"You fucking spread nude pictures of me, dude! That's illegal," Espio bellowed, turning a few heads.

"What are you going to do about it, nerdy-nudey?" Before Silver could open his mouth to say more, he felt an immense wave of pain wash over him. Espio panted, reeling back his arm, rubbing his knuckles and Silver stumbled backwards, rubbing his face where Espio's fist made contact. Silver narrowed his eyes, rage building inside him but before he could act on his impulses, he stopped and sagged his shoulders.

Confused, Espio took this opportunity to send his fist into Silver's gut. Still, Silver did nothing to retaliate. He just took it.

"Fight back!" Espio yelled, punching Silver again.

"No… I deserve this," Silver admitted, lowering his head and clenching his muscles, ready for Espio's wrath and onslaught.

"No, you don't get to do this," Espio grunted as he hit Silver again, his knuckles bloodied and Silver's skin bruised. "Fight back. You ruined my life. You made me the laughing stock of the school. I need you to fight back. I need to conquer this. I need to win," Espio growled, sinking his fist into Silver's gut again and again.

"Fight back!" Espio commanded as he punched again and again and again.

"Espio, that's enough!" A loud, domineering voice echoed from behind him. Before Espio knew what was happening, he felt a large hand come down on his shoulder, spin him around and grab his wrist.

"Mr. Zonic?" Espio questioned.

"You, young man, are in a lot of trouble," Zonic growled. Finally, his actions finally dawned on Espio as he finally took the chance to look around. He hadn't noticed that the music had quietened down and the eyes of all of his peers were on him. Judging him disapprovingly. He locked eyes with Mephiles, his gaze filled with sorrow.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know what came over me," Espio admitted regretfully.

"Gold will be so disappointed in you," Zonic said. That was it, the final nail in the coffin. "Let's go outside. I don't think you should be able to enjoy the rest of the party," Zonic decided, leading Espio towards the exit.

"Espio, wait," Mephiles piped up, rushing over before the two left out the main exit.

"Meph, I'm so sorry. I just… Silver was the one who sent around those pictures and I-"

"Please Espio. Just don't. I know what he did to you was horrible but that's no excuse for violence. There is never an excuse for violence."

"I'm sorry," Espio repeated again like a broken record before being escorted out of the bar.

"Are you okay?" Shadow asked, snaking up behind Mephiles. "C'mon, let's go dance and forget this ever happened," he offered.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just…" Mephiles sighed.

"It's just what?"

"It's always something at this school," he lamented aloud.

* * *

 _A/N: It is always something with these teenagers, isn't it? Looks like neither party ended up the way Mephiles and Sonia wanted it but... really... did anybody expect it to be all rainbows and sunshine? Poor Espio, he finally discovered who sent around those pictures and it was Silver of all people. The one who berated him for everything he used to do. And the hypocrite of the century goes to... but his vengeance was short lived. (Hint, hint, if you haven't picked up on it yet one of the main themes going around recently is revenge) Did you want Silver not to fight back or was his complete defeat satisfying. Did he get what he deserved or did you want to see more pain inflicted to the troubled hedgehog? And Mephiles... his stag party ruined by Espio of all people. It speaks volumes that it was Mephiles too. The one who doesn't like violence after everything that happened with his dad. He just took abuse from Manic back when people discovered about him and Sonia and now he is seeing a similar pummelling with Espio and Silver. And with Zonic's final comment about Gold, it looks like Espio got hurt a lot worse that Silver did. Poor guy can't catch a break._

 _Speaking of parties gone wrong, it looks like Blaze has snapped. Breezie wasn't in the wrong in that fight, but she really shouldn't have pressed Blaze's buttons further. Sonia didn't look to happy, poor girl. Hopefully her wedding will cheer her up. And for those who don't think I can let people be happy for once and already think this wedding is going to end in disaster, may I direct you to chapter 16 of the original Sonic High were some people got a happy ending. I want this to be realistic. Yes, there is a lot of heartache but there is also happiness sprinkled in there. And honestly, wouldn't dealing with married teenagers be a super interesting thing to explore? Or maybe somebody will ruin the wedding, I don't know._

 _Sonic and Tails... where do I even begin. I've gotten some harsh feedback about our little foxy friend and I just want to adress that. Yes, to those who have PM'ed me and I didn't give a good response it's because there were a few people concerned with how Tails is acting and I wanted to adress that here. His current arc is molded after things I have personally witnessed. He is a guy who is head over heels, desperatly in love. Obsession is the real word. You know those relationships that ended badly and the person knows that the other is bad for them and they try to break away but just one word and they go running back despite what's best for them. That's Tails. He can't help it. He's severing friendships, hurting Cream and himself but he can't help it. Even with this Spike and Mina fiasco. Tails will get over it, beacuse that's just the effect Sonic has on him. The real question is, can Sonic put this behind him?_

 _Fiona, looks like she has finally found more of the emotion that we rarely see from her. Is she really going to go up against her mother for Void? Speaking of Fiona's mother (Who I named Claire because I couldn't find a cannonical name for Fiona's parents and I thought Claire fit nicely.) looks like Aleena is going to seek out her expertise in a custardy battle against Jules. Claire will become a slightly bigger member of the cast, about as prevalent as the other main parents such as Bernadette, Aleea, Locke and Amadeus but not quite as main as Razor, Gold or Zonic. Just keep an eye out for her, some fun things are lined up._

 _Anyway, I hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter, a lot of stuff is bubbling to the surface. Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought, they mean the word to me. And straglers who read but don't review, consider doing so, I'd love to interact with you beautiful people :) Even if it's just to answer the question of the day. Speaking of which..._

 _QotD: Do you think Silver got what he deserved? And what do you think will happen in the wedding next time?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Tensions rise at the wedding between Ray, Clove, Tikal, Eclipse and Mighty_

 _Jet asks Cosmo to be his wedding date while a new (VERY MINOR) character is introduced_

 _Spike approaches Julie about her and Knuckles_

 _Sally and Wave run into each other in vulnerable situations_

 _and Mephiles starts to get cold feet_

 _...all this and so much more, next time on Chapter 35: The Wedding (I)_


	35. Chapter 35: The Wedding (I)

_A/N: I'm getting faster at updating, right? Right?! Anyway, it's finally time for the fabled wedding. I thought I'd never get here but we are past the halfway point by now so that's exciting. A bit of a shorter chapter today but there's a bit of necessary set up. Hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 35

The Wedding (I)

The sun washed over the horizon like a tide, advancing confidently with warmth and white light, eliminating the retreating shadows. The plants danced in the warmth, the vibrant hues of the roses, daffodils and dandelions bathed in the tepid air. The bitterness that had drowned the students had eased thanks to the encroaching event, satiating the ravenous appetites of the students and faculty alike.

The morning faded in like a disorganized stage production. The cast stomped about loudly, disrupting the serenity of the theatre hall, projecting their voices from their lips but getting drowned out in the chaos. The directors, Sonia and Mephiles, and the rest of the cast popped pills to soothe their aching heads, drowning themselves with water to curb the pain. It was going to be a long day and nobody was ready for it. And yet, as early as eight in the morning, the first guests arrived.

Razor stood outside the front of his office, a crisp white shirt adorned with a navy-blue over shirt and blazer wrapped his outsides. His right hand clasped his left wrist, hands falling gently over his pelvis as he stood at ease, watching with calculating eyes as the driver clutched the hand break and stepped out of her car.

"Mr. Razor, it's so nice to see you again," Bernadette waved with glee.

"Mrs. Hedgehog, likewise I assure you," Razor nodded courteously as he strode over to help her collect her things from the boot of his car. Soon afterwards, Aleena stepped out of the car, her dress trailing behind her. "Aleena, our guest of honour, how are you this fine morning?"

"Please Razor, we don't need all these formalities," Aleena smiled as she shook his hand. "I just want us all to enjoy my little girl's special day."

"It shall be quite the momentous occasion. The students have helped us all plan this day out so that everything should go without a hitch. The welcome lunch and drinks should start promptly at one, followed by the ceremony at three and dinner afterwards," Razor affirmed.

"Thank you so much, Razor. I can't even begin to explain how thankful I am that-" Aleena thanked the principal but was interrupted by a delighted squeal from afar.

"Mum!" Sonia yelled as she barreled across the cemented carpark, her converse shoes clattering against the pavement as she collided with her mother in a happy embrace. She wore grey sweatpants and her brother's red hoodie.

"Sorry ma, I tried to stop her but she was just too fast," Manic replied as he jogged up behind her, followed closely by Sonic.

"Sonic, are you telling me you can't even outrun your own sister?" Bernadette tutted facetiously as she opened her arms for a greeting.

"They left before I even had my shirt on," Sonic complained.

"Do you have it? Do you have it?" Sonia repeated frantically like a child begging for candy.

"Calm down, Sonia. It's in the back," Aleena chuckled. Manic and Sonic groaned, shaking their heads with a smile as Sonia pushed past her mother and wrenched open the car door. Her heart stopped as she cast her eyes on the wedding dress hung from the roof by a coat hanger.

"This is beautiful," Sonia grinned from ear to ear as she carefully but expertly retrieved the dress, examining it in the new light. "C'mon, I need to go try it on and make sure it fits," Sonia urged, grabbing Aleena's hand and hauling her over to the room allocated to Sonia adjacent to the school chapel.

"I could have sworn she wasn't like this over the break," Aleena giggled.

"I can tell we're in for a long day," Sonic laughed happily as he, Manic and Bernadette left to help get preparations made as Razor skulked back to his post, waiting for more guests to arrive.

…

The loud bang of the door slamming shut roused Cosmo from her slumber. She snapped her eyes open, pupils darting around the room in a hurried state. She sucked the trail of drool back into her mouth, wiping her lips dry with the back of her hand as she sat up. Cosmo reached over and unplugged her phone from the charger and brought it up to her. The screen glowed, displaying many missed messages and the time. Ten past ten.

"Oh my Chaos, I over slept," Cosmo gasped aloud, leaping out of bed, the covers falling haphazardly off the top bunk of her bed as she stumbled to the floor, unable to stick the landing. "Ow," she groaned, rubbing her knee as she took to a standing position, glancing over to the door.

Cosmo considered a shower. The warm, running water trickling over her skin, the mist cleansing her pours and the soap rinsing the grime from the previous night's festivities. She wished for nothing more than a moment of peaceful serentity but she knew time wasn't a luxury she could afford. She was one of the bridesmaids. Her, along with Wave, Cream and the head bridesmaid, Sally, had an obligation to Sonia today.

Cosmo had no time to put on make-up, do her hair or make herself look presentable in anyway. They all had promised each other to meet in Sonia's dressing room kindly organized by Razor where they would be able to see the dresses that Sally's Grandma kindly offered to bring with her from the city. She wrenched open her drawer, opening her backpack and throwing lipstick, lip gloss, mascara and anything she could find, along with her trusted brush inside. She quickly threw on an old grey pair of tracksuit pants and a tank top and hurried to the door. However, as she pulled the door open she wasn't met with an empty hallway like anticipate. Instead, she was met but a nervous teenager, arm raised as if he was about to knock on the door.

"J-Jet, what are you doing here?" Cosmo asked, flustered as she quickly raked a hand through her hair, combing her short, tangled locks in a futile attempt to look somewhat presentable.

"H-Hey Cosmo," he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Are… are you okay? You look… I don't know… flustered?"

"Yeah, I overslept so I don't really have time to talk," she dismissed him as she pulled the door closed behind her, inserting her key into the lock as she talked. "Why are you here? Can you make it quick?"

"Oh… yeah, well…" Jet paused, thinking about his words, analyzing each one carefully so he wouldn't screw it up like he always seemed to do.

"Quick spit it out," Cosmo said hastily.

"Look, you're in a rush and, I, well, I shouldn't keep you. I'll just talk to you after you get ready," Jet sighed in defeat as he stepped aside.

"O…kay…" Cosmo furrowed her brow, confused by his strange behaviour. "Well, I'll see you at the wedding then," she concluded as she took off down the hall. Jet clenched his fist, mentally scolding himself for being such a coward. He never used to be this way. He used to be confident around girls. Around everybody. It wasn't until he became friends with Sonic and dated Sally and Cream. He had changed… for the worse. Jet was fed up with it. He didn't want fear and regret ruin his life, like it had ruined any sort of relationship he could ever hope to have with Wave.

"Cosmo wait!" Jet called out as she got to the stairs. Cosmo turned her head expectantly, their eyes locking from opposite ends of the hallway. "Do you wanna go to the wedding with me? Like, as a date?"

Cosmo coughed, sputtering air before chuckling to herself as Jet chased after her. Jet frowned, concerned why she was laughing.

"Did I say something funny?" He asked as he caught up to her.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just thought you were asking me out. Like that would ever happen," Cosmo shook her head with a grin.

"Why… why's that so funny?" Jet sulked.

"Because guys just don't ask me out."

"But… I just did."

"Wait… my ears weren't playing tricks on me?"

"No."

"Oh…"

"So," Jet swallowed the lump in his throat. "Do you wanna be my date to Sonia and Mephiles' wedding. Cosmo did little to hide the massive smile that crossed her face. She didn't even have to think, the answer was obvious to her.

"Sure, meet me at twelve when the lunch begins and we can hang out then. I'll have to go check on Sonia and be with her when the proper ceremony starts at three though," Cosmo affirmed happily.

"Sweet. As long as you save me a dance after the wedding," Jet grinned, some of his lost charisma returning.

"It's a date," Cosmo laughed as she turned and took off down the stairs, hiding the blush that had crept its way onto her face. Jet stood at the top of the stairs, stunned as he just let the goofy grin stay soldered to his face.

Meanwhile, Rouge, who was peeking out the door, closed it angrily with a huff.

"Ugh, screw this wedding. As if I wanted to go anyway," she sighed as she collapsed back onto her bed.

…

Knock, knock, knock, knock. Four swift knocks, Mephiles' telltale sign that his best man was at the door. It was a silly thing that most people would just shrug off but to Mephiles and Shadow it was like a secret call sign. When those three knocks were heard, they knew they could open the door safely and be at peace. However, when Mephiles opened the door and Shadow saw his face, everything was certainly not peaceful.

"Meph, you okay?" Shadow asked as he strode into the room and placed his arms on Mephiles' shoulders, kicking the door shut with the heel of his boot.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mephiles sighed. An obvious lie. "Just getting ready and stuff." Shadow shot him an inquisitive look. The bags under his eyes and doubt evident on his face was hidden poorly but Shadow wasn't sure whether to probe further. It wasn't until Shadow received a text that he knew he had to make sure everything was certain before proceeding.

Sonic: _Sonia's mum arrived and kicked Manic and I out of the room. She's so happy. Heading over to Meph now_

"Mephiles…" Shadow began, inhaling deeply before speaking. He recalled the last couple of times he tried to have a serious talk with his ex-lover. He blew it every time, but not this time. Not when everybody else was counting on him not to make things worse.

"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow.

"It's just… are you getting cold feet?" Mephiles' eyes widened. He raised a finger and opened his mouth, ready to respond but instead of any words emanating there was merely just a long sigh. Mephiles slumped over, staring at the floor.

"I'm pathetic."

"What? Meph, no, no you're not. Everybody gets cold feet. It's natural to be scared on the big day," Shadow comforted him but to no avail.

"Yeah but not everybody marries the gender that they aren't attracted to. Not everybody gets super drunk and fucks a girl without a condom. Not everybody forgets about creating life!" Mephiles steadily grew louder and louder, stress and frustration dripping from his words like blood off a knife.

"Meph… I…" Shadow tried to think of the words but none came to him. He just stood there frozen stupidly.

"Exactly… What am I even doing? Why should I sacrifice my life to be with somebody I'm not attracted to? What kind of life would that be for me… for her?" Mephiles asked rhetorically.

"I… I don't know," Shadow admitted. "But I do know something."

"What?" Mephiles asked reservedly.

"I know what kind of person you are. I know you care for Sonia and her baby. I know that you will be a wonderful dad and where other guys would run away with their tails between their legs, you stand tall and face whatever problem comes your way. You are stronger than anybody I've ever met and I know you might be having second thoughts but I know you are doing the right thing because you are a hero, Meph. You're Sonia's hero and you're my hero, and my best friend," Shadow poured out his heart. Shadow wrapped his arms around Mephiles' middle and hugged him tightly, bringing his lips up to peck Mephiles' cheek.

"I love you, Shadow. You're the best, best man a guy could have," Mephiles smiled, squeezing Shadow. "Thanks… I really needed that."

"Anytime."

"Hey Shads?"

"Yeah, Meph?"

"For the welcome luncheon, I know that Sonia and I should stay in our dressing rooms until the ceremony at three but could you stay with me until then?"

"Of course," Shadow nodded warmly as the two stood still in an embrace. "Gives me time to perfect my speech."

"Did we walk in on something?" A familiar, confident voice bellowed from the doorway.

"We better not have walked in on something if you two both know what's good for you," a similar yet younger sounding voice emanated. Shadow and Mephiles quickly broke apart and turned to look at the two intruders, Sonic and Manic.

"Just talking," Shadow brushed away his accusations. "And where's Mighty?"

"You better have," Manic warned. "And who knows with him these days."

"Cut it out, bro," Sonic shook his head with a laugh as he walked up to clap Mephiles on the shoulder. "So," Sonic continued, "where are the tuxes at? Time to get this wedding started!"

…

"If everything is okay with you girls, I'm going to go meet some of the other guests who are coming," Aleena added cheerfully.

"I think we are fine here Mrs. Hedgehog," Cream replied politely.

"Please, call me Aleena."

"Sonia is in good hands with us, Aleena," Sally confirmed with a smile, emerging from behind a privacy screen dressed in her magnificent, violet bridesmaid dress. The dress fit snugly around her waist and flared out at the knees, accentuating each curve of her thin body.

"Thankyou Sally, and again it was so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you over the break," Aleena winked.

"Really?" Sally smirked knowingly towards Sonia. "Like what?"

"Well-"

"Thanks mum you've been a real help," Sonia interrupted before Aleena could say another word. She grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her towards the exit. "Love you I'll see you just before three."

"Okay, okay I'm going," Aleen a stifled a laugh, as did Sally as she was pushed out of the room. "Have fun, girls."

"Bye Aleena," Sally and Cream sung out goodbyes. Sonia closed the door, exhaling loudly as she leant against it.

"She can be so frustrating sometimes," Sonia sighed.

"I think she is wonderful. I wish my mother was more like yours," Cream shouted as she took her own dress and hid behind the privacy screen set up in the corner of the room.

"So…" Sally sneered. "What kind of things have you been telling your mother about me?"

"Don't think about it like that," Sonia rolled her eyes. "I'm not into you that way."

"You won't know until you try it," Sally teased. Sonia laughed off her embarrassment.

"I'm sorry but I don't swing that way. I wouldn't be getting married today if I did."

"That isn't stopping the groom," Sally retorted but froze, a tingle rushing up her spine as she realized what she had just said. She whipped her head over to peer into Sonia's eyes, bewilderment and anger evident on her face. "Sonia I… I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"Seriously, Sally. You're going to talk about him like that now, of all days," Sonia ground her teeth, trying to calm herself.

"Sonia I'm sorry it was just a joke."

"Yeah, a joke about the one thing that I'm scared about the most," Sonia replied bitterly. Before the argument could get any more heated, the door quickly swung open and Cosmo rushed in wearing her unsightly tracksuit pants.

"Sorry I'm late," she panted.

"And where have you been?" Sonia turned and yelled much louder than she meant to like a fiery demon dressed in white.

"Sorry I overslept," Cosmo shied away into her shell with a whimper.

"Girls, girls let's all just take a deep breath," Cream emerged, dressed in her own violet outfit. "Sally didn't mean what she said, Cosmo overslept and Sonia is just a bit stressed, understandably but that doesn't mean we should all turn on each other."

"A bit stressed?! Seriously," Sonia turned on Cream.

"Look, it was my fault," Sally piped up. "I said something dumb and I shouldn't have. I'll just go… check on things somewhere else to make sure everything is okay," Sally added as she hastened out of the room in a hurry, blaming herself for the output. Her nerves were heightened and stress tickled her skin. She needed a smoke, but she had promised she wouldn't smoke anymore. She needed some comfort food but she was already struggling to fit in the dress as it was. She knew what she had to do.

"And where the hell is Wave, anyway?" Sally could hear Sonia call as she dashed down the hallway.

…

The usually barren field of grass was teaming with life and entertainment. White tents had been erected at the edge near the dormitory, long tables set up underneath for the groom, bride and their party to sit at. Circular tables fitting up to ten people lined the perimeter whilst the middle was left barren and bare. That's where all the people now resided. Standing, chatting and laughing together as the few guests began to arrive. Students, teachers and some parents who were invited intermingled happily. The cafeteria staff walked around with trays off food and drink, offering them to everybody who took it thankfully. Everyone was happy and eager anticipation laced the air.

"And that's when it completely broke in half," Zonic concluded enthusiastically, his mouth open and expecting. Gold couldn't help but giggle at the frankly idiotic story. It was something unexpected. She never thought Zonic would be capable of something like that, even in his younger years. It was endearing.

"So what happened to that bad boy?" Gold propped with a mischievous grin.

"What are you talking about? He's standing right in front of you," Zonic stood proudly.

"Right…" Gold scoffed.

"Hey," Zonic pouted playfully but couldn't hide his smile. "I'm just as bad as I used to be."

"Okay then, prove it," Gold challenged.

"What should I do?"

"How about you…" Gold trailed off in thought, thinking what embarrassing thing she could subject Zonic to. Her eyes darted around the busy field, looking for something to spark an idea when her eyes lay on Espio, wearing the clothes she had found him in the previous night. He turned to her, their eyes locking across the busy area. He smiled at her before turning to join back in the conversation he was having with the equally spiffy armadillo standing next to him.

"Gold, you okay, who are you looking at?" Zonic asked, following her gaze until he saw Espio and Mighty chatting together. He furrowed his brows.

'Him again,' Zonic thought.

"Nothing, just trying to think of something you could do," she waved away his worries. "But we are teachers so maybe at school isn't the best place to play these silly games," Gold continued.

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Zonic replied, not taking his unrelenting gaze off Espio.

"Zonic, hey," Gold said soothingly, snapping him out of his daze.

"What's up with him?" Zonic asked without fully knowing if he thought or said it aloud until Gold responded.

"Zonic, look, I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"Yeah… you… are…" he trailed off as he stared deep into her eyes. Her beautiful, sparkling eyes that weren't obscured by the glasses she often wore. Zonic wanted to lean in. He wanted to kiss Gold more than anything. She was standing right there, so tantalizingly close…

Zonic leant forward, wrapped his arms around Gold's shoulders and rested his chin on her shoulder, bringing her into an embrace. Surprised, Gold smile and hugged him back.

"I'm having a good time," Zonic said, his words muffled.

"Me too," Gold smiled. "Me too…"

…

"M'lady," Eclipse said suavely as he passed Tikal a drink full of champagne.

"Why thank you," Tikal bowed courteously as she raised her glass. "To Sonia…"

"And Mephiles," Eclipse finished her sentence as the two clinked their glasses and took a sip of the bubbled beverage. Before either could say anymore they both broke out into laughter.

"Let's agree never to do that again," Tikal said through gasps for breath, holding her side with her free hand.

"Couldn't agree more, m'lady," Eclipse chuckled.

"You two make me sick," Clove said sarcastically, unable to hide the slight curvature of her lips.

"C'mon Clovey, you love us," Tikal smiled as she draped her arm around Clove.

"Yeah, besides I've had to deal with you and Mighty acting like that for ages so it's time to get a taste of your own medicine." Tikal shot him a disapproving look. Eclipse shrugged.

"Ugh, don't remind me about him," Clove spat bitterly.

"Things between you two still haven't gotten any better?" Tikal asked with concern.

"You think they would? Even after how horrible Mighty was?" Eclipse growled, his hidden animosity towards the absent armadillo shining through.

"All he did was break up with her, don't get so shitty," Tikal glared at Eclipse. "Sorry, no offence."

"None taken," Clove sighed. "It's just… I don't know. I know we should just try to be friends. Lots of exes can do it but it's just… it's something Cassia told me over break that has me seeing things slightly differently."

"Really, what did she say about Might?" Tikal probed, intrigued by this new development. Clove opened her mouth to answer but Eclipse interrupted standoffishly.

"Speak of the devil," Eclipse whispered.

"Hey guys…" Mighty greeted awkwardly, standing cumbersomely and rubbing the back of his neck. He felt completely out of place next to Clove. Things were always weird with her after his conversation with Ray a couple nights ago.

"Hey Mighty," Tikal replied with a smile whilst both Eclipse and Clove looked the other way, adding to the rising tension gripping the air and choking Mighty.

"Tikal, can I… um… can we talk, just for like a second?" Mighty asked uncertainly.

"Sorry Mighty but-" Eclipse began but was interrupted by Tikal.

"Sure, thing Mighty." Mighty and Tikal walked off and sat down at a vacant table, beginning a discussion.

"Can you believe him?" Eclipse ground his teeth together.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," Clove sighed, an image of both Mighty and Ray together that was implanted in her head by Cassia plaguing her thoughts.

…

Fiona groaned as she lay on her bed. The mellow vibes from the melodic tunes blaring throughout the wedding coupled with cheerful voices pained Fiona. She tried to block it all out, tried to ignore it but the task proved impossible. With an annoyed growl, she hopped off her bed and stormed over to the window. She wrenched it open with force and took a deep breath, ready to bellow a warning to the unwitting guests but something caught her eye. Or somebody…

Sally emerged from the clock tower and main office building where Sonia and her bridesmaids were getting ready for the event and sprinted across the field. Fiona traced her path, realizing that she was heading towards the cubicle block where the toilets were. A fire raged within her.

"There's the bitch that threw me in prison," Fiona muttered under her breath as she grabbed her black leather jacket off her bed, draped it around her and set off down the hall, intent on confronting the unknowing teenager.

Fiona descended the stairs and stormed across the winding paths over to the toilets. She was almost there, barely meters away from teaching Sally a lesson she deserved when somebody blocked her path with arms outstretched.

"Fiona, stop," Blaze bellowed forcefully.

"Get the fuck out of my way," Fiona roared with vengeance and purpose.

"No, don't do this," Blaze challenged, standing steadfast in her way, the last line of defense between Sally and the bushfire that was fast approaching.

"I won't ask you again," Fiona warned.

"Not like this," Blaze shook her head.

"Why are you defending that bitch? She almost killed you, you should hate her."

"On list of people I hate, she doesn't even crack the top three."

"Oh boo hoo, your boyfriend cheated on you with another girl and his best friend or the girl didn't tell you about it. Who gives a fuck," Fiona rolled her eyes, frustrated with this blockage.

"Eclipse isn't his best friend."

"Oh, my mistake. I guess you're still his best friend, aren't you," Fiona sneered bitterly. Blaze paused, her eyes cast down as the pain that had enveloped her heart continued to plague her. "Just get out of my way," Fiona took another step forward.

"Wait," Blaze snapped out of her trance, pushing her charged thoughts about Silver and Breezie aside. "Look, I know how you feel about Sally right now but this isn't the way to go about it."

"Blaze, this isn't a television show. This won't all end with us holding hands and singing kumbaya. Don't be an idiot like you were at the dance. You let Silver-"

"Don't mention his name!"

"Whatever, the point is you let _him_ talk all about karma and that revenge is never the answer and all that bullshit and I walked all over you. And guess what, he was the one that sent around the nude picture of Espio."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, so he did take revenge," Fiona smiled as Blaze clenched her fists, visibly shaking with rage.

"That fucking hypocrite!"

"Exactly, so step aside and let me pay Sally a little visit," Fiona demanded again.

"No."

"Are you kidding me? After that you're still gonna stop me?"

"No, I'm not going to stop you, but I have an idea. Don't just go fists flying, that will only end badly. I have a much better idea," Blaze grinned maliciously.

"I'm liking the sound of that. What's the plan?" Fiona smiled with glee, enjoying this new Blaze.

"Did you know that Sally has a serious tobacco addiction? Well, she's been trying to curb this addiction with other things…" Blaze trailed off, deep in thought.

"I think I understand."

"Hey!" an annoyed shout echoed from behind them. Fiona turned around to be met face to face with a disgruntled teenager.

"The fuck do you want?" Fiona muttered angrily.

"You're not welcome here," Manic stated plainly.

"I'm just going to the toilet."

"Use the ones in the dorm," Manic gripped Fiona's wrist forcefully. "Now get out before things get ugly."

"Fine, whatever," Fiona recoiled her arm out of Manic's grasp. "Come by my place tonight to discuss further," Fiona called to Blaze before waltzing back over to the dorm with newfound purpose. Manic turned to glare at Blaze.

"What?"

"What were you and Fiona talking about?" Manic inquired judgmentally.

"Why don't you just fuck off, Manic."

"Whoa… Blaze, what's gotten into you?" Manic asked with concern.

"None of your fucking business," Blaze scowled, walking away and ignoring Manic's shouts.

…

The school was a buzz with excitement. The few stagnant clouds had floated away, making room for the radiant sun to shine happily down through the magnificent blue of the sky. Birds sung from the tree tops, bees buzzed around the bouquets of baby pink flowers and yellow dandelions. However, not all the guests shared the same optimistic outlook as the earth.

Ray slumped over, his head in his hands as he watched how cold Eclipse and Clove acted as Mighty tried to talk with Tikal. He couldn't help but blame himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he was responsible for their breakup, but Mighty had assured him that he wasn't. Ray let out an exasperated sigh, pondering whether to approach Mighty again or not.

"Hey, you okay?" A young, chipper voice illuminated from behind Ray. The voice was unfamiliar. Curious, Ray lifted his head and turned to come face to face was a smiling teal fennec. She was short with a slender figure, purple eyes and a bushy white-tipped tail. She sported a black hoodie over a pink shirt with black leggings that gripped her skin tightly. Her short hair bobbed as she spoke.

"Who… who are you? Do you go to this school? I don't recognize you," Ray dodged her question.

"Oh, no, I'm just here for the wedding. I'm only in eighth year but we were invited to the wedding and Razor was nice enough to offer up a spare room so we could explore the school. I was kinda offered a scholarship here," Sonar giggled, blushing slightly as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

"Modest, aren't we," Ray smirked. Usually he was anxious about meeting new people but there was something different about this girl. She was innocent, bubbly and easy to talk to. "Well I'm Ray, nice to meet you."

"Sonar," Sonar grabbed Ray's outstretched hand and shook it forcefully. "Sonar the Fennec."

"So, you said you were invited here… how do you know Sonia?" Ray probed.

"I don't. I'm actually just at the wedding because it happened to fall on the same weekend and Mephiles said that we could stay. He's very nice."

"Yeah, that's one way to describe him," Ray chuckled.

"So, you're in year twelve, right?" Sonar asked suddenly. Ray nodded. "So, do you, like, know Tails… or Spike?"

"Tails and Spike? Yeah, I have classes with both of them, why do you ask?"

"Tails is actually my cousin and Spike is an old family friend. It was through Tails' dad that I even got the chance to apply for a scholarship here. I really must thank Tails for his dad's kindness."

"Maybe hold off on doing that for a while," Ray replied awkwardly.

"How come?" Sonar tilted her head in confusion.

"Just… just don't. So, I guess I should let you get back to your family, or back to Spike or Tails."

"Nah, I'll stay here if that's okay. I like you," Sonar shot him an innocent smile. Ray could feel the blush creeping on his face.

"O-Okay… sh-sure"

"You're funny," Sonar giggled as she took a seat next to him. "So, what were you staring at?"

…

Sally tried to hold back the tears, her anxiety sneaking up on her. She could feel a shortness of breath, a constriction in the throat. All she could think of was how badly she needed a smoke, but she refused to give in to her urges. She knew what she needed to do. Something that would cleanse her. Something that would stave off her addiction and make her less ugly both inside and out.

Sally could have sworn she could hear somebody snarl her name but she ignored it as she darted into the bathroom, rushed into a cubicle and lifted up the seat. She cursed herself, her thoughts berating her.

'How could you say that? How could you say that to Sonia? How could you say that to Sonia on her wedding day?' her thoughts growled at her.

"I'm sorry," Sally whispered.

'Honey and Rouge were right. You're horrible, you're ugly. No wonder Amy didn't love you back. No wonder Sonic doesn't want a relationship with you.' Sally choked back her tears as she stared at her open palms. The shook violently.

She closed her eyes, brought her finger up so that it was hovering in front of her mouth and began to stick it down her throat. The sound of vomiting filled the stall, gags echoing through the bathroom. Sally opened her eyes, her finger frozen in her mouth. Before it could resonate with her, the sound occurred again. Sally removed her hand and peered underneath the barricade. She could see knees on the floor. Somebody was slumped over the toilet adjacent to her.

Curiosity kept the nagging thoughts at bay. She had to know who else was purging. Silently, Sally rose and tiptoed to the next stall. It wasn't locked. She quietly pushed open the swinging door.

"Wave?" The words escaped Sally's mouth without her realizing. She put her hands over her mouth in a futile attempt to catch the words but it was too late. In a fright, Wave whipped her head around, her shocked eyes staring deep into Sally's.

"S-Sally…" Wave murmured softly, more in surprise than anything. She quickly snapped back into reality, realizing where they were and how she looked. "It's not what it looks like," Wave defended herself.

"Wave, it's-" Sally began but was interrupted by the feisty girl.

"What, you going to tell me that it's bad? That I shouldn't be doing this?" Wave chastised Sally. "You going to tell me that purging is wrong? You going to go spread this around and make me the new laughing stock of the school?"

"Wh-what? Wave, Wave calm down," Sally tried to sedate her anger soothingly. "I was just going to say that it's okay to be bulimic."

"Oh yeah, get it all out right now. Why don't you… wait… did you just say it's okay?" Wave questioned. Sally nodded with a smile.

"I understand."

"Bullshit."

"No, seriously. I… um… I'm actually…" Sally couldn't admit it. She couldn't say the words. She didn't want to tell herself what she already knew she was. She thought she could fight it, but admitting it to somebody else and herself was a step she wasn't ready to take yet. Instead she just squirmed past Wave, stuck her finger deep down her throat and triggered her gag reflex. Wave shielded her eyes and Sally gagged, vomit rushing up her esophagus and pouring into the dirty toilet bowl.

"You're also Bulimic?" Wave asked, bewildered. Sally nodded. Both girls just looked at each other… and smiled. They knew they shouldn't smile now that they knew the other's secret. They both knew how horrible they felt and how destructive they are acting but just the thought that they aren't alone was comforting. Sally didn't feel as alone anymore and Wave didn't feel as ugly. It was unhealthy, but it was exactly what both of them needed. Not somebody to judge their behaviour, just somebody who understood what they were going through. Wave was exactly who Sally needed and Sally was just who Wave was looking for. Somebody who wasn't Jet…

…

"Why do we have to be on finding Mighty duty?" Manic grumbled as they exited out of the hallway, their skin suddenly bathed in the warming rays of the sun.

"Because Shadow promised Mephiles he'd stay with him until it was time for the ceremony," Sonic explained. "Besides, you don't get to complain. You're only here because you're the brother of the groom."

"So are you," Manic fired back indignantly.

"True, but Mephiles also picked me as a groomsman. He was pondering between Eclipse and Tails for the last spot but you got it by default," Sonic countered with a sneer.

"Wow, thanks for not rubbing it in," Manic rolled his eyes sarcastically, snorting.

"What else are big brother's for," Sonic patted his chest exaggeratedly with pride.

"Don't go thinking you can be the shit eating big brother now. But, speaking of Tails…"

"Please don't," Sonic groaned.

"Why, did something happen already? Again?"

"Can we just not," Sonic snapped.

"Fine, just help me find Mighty and… oh no," Manic slapped his face with the palm of his hand.

"What is it?"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it. You just go find Mighty," Manic shook Sonic away as he rushed over to the cubicle and the place where Blaze and Fiona were deep in argument. Sonic called out, deciding that he'd go help his brother when suddenly Tails stepped in front of his path.

"Oh, hey Tails," Sonic said with inflexion, a fake smile plastered his face.

"Hey Sonic," Tails replied bitterly adopting a falsified charade. "How's Sonia going?"

"Yeah, not bad, just a bit nervous," Sonic replied distantly. The two continued to make small talk like two strangers in a slow-moving elevator. They had finally gotten back together after their first massive fallout but it seemed like they were more detached than they had ever been before.

The animosity between them was palpable. Each word uttered was laced with hidden malice and passive-aggressive undertones. Nothing was sincere, everything was bitter but masqueraded as sweet.

"Sorry I couldn't dance with you last night but I had groomsman stuff I had to do," Sonic apologized.

"No, it's fine, I understand," Tails nodded. Sonic smiled but it was instantly wiped off his face after the next words that escaped Tails' mouth. "Spike is a much better dancer than me anyway."

"Seriously, you're gonna do this now?" Sonic groaned.

"Do what? I'm just saying I get why you ignored me to hang out with your new best friend all night," Tails crossed his arms.

"Yeah, it's not like you and Mighty hung out all night or anything. It's such a double standard with you," Sonic growled poignantly. "You and Mighty hung out all holidays and he's your new best friend but I can't hang out with Spike?"

"Mighty can't compete with you, Sonic. You're my best friend and you know it so don't pretend like this is the same thing," Tails argued.

"Exactly! Spike can't compete with you, either!"

"But I didn't hug Mighty while shirtless," Tails lashed out.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Scourge showed me the picture. You and Spike."

"Seriously, Tails? A picture? You still believe all that shit. You and Blaze, Rouge and Shadow and countless others, they all turned out to be misunderstandings. I thought you'd have more trust in me."

"I thought you'd be more truthful to me!"

"You know what, Tails, you can go fuck yourself." Sonic turned and stomped off

"Oh, so now you're gonna walk away?" Tails called after the disgruntled teenager but Sonic simply raised his middle finger without even looking back.

"Sonic!" a voice called from behind.

"I said fuck off!" Sonic turned and bellowed into her startled face.

"S…Sorry…" she trailed off in shock and pain.

"L-Lumina?!"

…

"Surprise!" Julie-Su shouted as she dived onto the back of Spike's back. "Guess who?"

"Julie, quit it," Spike swatted Julie's thighs fruitlessly in a futile attempt to throw her from his back. Julie grinned, ruffled his hair and stepped down.

"Not funny," Spike pouted playfully but his innocent tone only lead to a fit of laughter as Julie's response.

"C'mon Spike, cheer up. It's a wedding after all, so why you so glum, chum?" Julie poked her index finger into Spike's ribcage.

"It's just that…" Spike sighed, staring down at his feet. He kicked the grass, a clump of dirt dislodging.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing… it's nothing really. It's dumb," Spike waved away Julie's probing but she wasn't going to give up so easily.

"You know me. That will never work," she shot him a cheeky grin. "So, tell me, is it about Breezie again? I heard that she finally broke up with Silver. Shouldn't you be happy?" That was the question. The question that plagued Spike's thoughts. He should be happy, he knows he should but something didn't feel right. He finally made Breezie realize that Silver was cheating on her but the knowledge that he was the one that made it all happen didn't sit right.

"I know I should but…"

"But," Julie urged him forward supportively.

"But it's not the same. It's like Breezie is a different person to who she was before. Sure, she broke up with Silver but only after I stepped in and did something."

"But now she is single. That's what you wanted, right?"

"I don't even know. I just wanted her to be happy but when I see her she is miserable, and I heard about her and Blaze's fight at Sonia's party last night," Spike let out a groan.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad," Julie agreed as she lead Spike over to one of the vacant tables so the two could sit down and discuss further.

"It's just her. Like, how could she be so sad about somebody as horrible as Silver?"

"Love makes you think and do stupid things," Julie said.

"And she had the nerve to flirt with me and coerce me into doing her project for the prize of her liking me, which turned out to all be one big masquerade anyway!" Spike steadily got louder and louder as he clenched his fist. Spittle flew from his mouth, staining the pristine white tablecloths.

"Spike, you need to calm down."

"It's just… just… ugh!" Spike threw his head skyward and let out a growl, turning the heads of a few guests who shot him quizzical and judgmental glances.

"Spike, people are staring," Julie whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Let them stare," he replied stubbornly. Julie pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing until an idea struck her.

"Okay, how about this. You pretend to be happy, at least just for today and I'll make sure neither Silver nor Breezie will come anywhere near you," Julie offered helpfully.

"Thanks Julie, that would be really helpful," Spike admitted. "And I'll make sure Knuckles stays far away from you." Julie froze, her spine grew stiff and rigid as she gaped at Spike.

"Why would you need to do that?"

"Well… you know…"

"Know what?" Julie's heart was beating fast as fear gripped her insides.

"Because he dumped you the other day," Spike stated plainly like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Julie let out a huge sigh of relief, relaxing into her chair. "And the whole you and him being half siblings and everything," he added indignantly.

Julie could feel her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. Her eyes bulged wide and her jaw fell loose, unhinged by his blatant and frankly blasé remark. Words couldn't find her and she began to choke on the lack of air.

"I… but he… and you… how… how did you…" Julie-Su mumbled incoherently. Spike noticed her sudden breakdown and apologized profusely for his rudeness, cupping her hand between his on the table.

"Julie, I'm sorry I didn't mean to say it like that. I can't even begin to imagine what you must be going through right now."

"How…" she repeated, blubbering like a fish out of water.

"Knuckles is kinda my roommate. I heard him tell you about your mother the other day."

"Spike please, please don't tell anybody," Julie begged, snapping out of her daze in an instant and gripping Spike's shoulders, her sharp nails digging into his flesh.

"Ow… Julie you're… hurting me," he hissed in pain.

"Promise me you won't!"

"Julie, of course I won't tell anybody. What kind of person do you think I am?" Spike responded calmly. Julie visibly relaxed, releasing her iron grip on his shoulders.

"Thanks… and sorry about that."

"No problem. But Julie, you are one of my closest friends and I would never tell anybody anything about you if you didn't want me to," Spike assured her.

"Thanks Spike, you're a true friend."

"You too, Julie. You too."

…

The air was filled with the smell of burning rubber and the sound of screeching tires on the hot pavement of the open road. The bus continued along its path, swerving around corners and stopping at each stop to pick up more passengers. They squabbled loudly going about their morning routine.

Scourge growled, holding his pounding head. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out more aspirin, plopping another tablet down his throat. His aching head thumped in rhythm with his head making the entire ride almost unbearable.

"I shouldn't have had so much to drink," Scourge rubbed his face, wiping the sleep out of his crusted over eyes. He combed a hand through his messy, unkempt hair as he lounged backwards. He closed his eyes, allowing the soothing sun to warm the skin on his face as he thought back to the morning.

Scourge had woken up on one of the red velvet couches of the bar. An angered bartender was poking him with a stick. The place was a mess but apart from the two of them, there wasn't a soul in the whole place. He stumbled out onto the street, the rising sun burning his retinas as he blocked out the prevailing light. He searched around for the bus but saw neither hide nor hair of the large vehicle.

'Fucking Zonic,' he thought, assuming that the teacher had left him there on purpose. Scourge found his way to a chemist and bought himself a box of aspirin before strolling down to the local bus stop. Since then he had changed several busses and finally found his way onto one that was heading all the way out to the local town that was the closest to the school.

Hours past as the sun reached the apex of its ascent when the bus rolled into the local town.

"Final stop," the bus driver called out to the snoozing teenager.

"Yeah whatever," Scourge groaned as he picked himself off and made his way to the local convenient store. He browsed the food, buying himself a packet of chips and an energy drink from the fridge, along with a phone charger. He slapped the money on the desk and walked out down the street.

Eventually he came across the only hotel in the small town. He pushed open the doors and crashed down on one of the two seats in the lounging area. He made use of the free power points and plugged his phone in, waiting until the battery flared to life and his screen illuminated. Scourge cracked open the can and gulped down the energy drink in a hurry, scoffing down the chips shortly afterwards. He let out a satisfied burp.

"Sir, this is a private place. You can't just come in here off the street," a disgruntled, overly polite woman who was previously situated behind the desk strode up to him.

"I'm sorry miss," Scourge put on his most innocent voice. "My mother is just upstairs. I was supposed to come down and order a taxi for us but I got hungry waiting."

"Oh, are you two also going to that wedding over at Mobius High?" she asked.

"Yep," Scourge gave her a grin. "Except I got so sidetracked I forgot to order the taxi. Mum is going to kill me," he continued his façade with a frown.

"Don't worry son, I'll call one for you. It's complimentary service for all guests attending the wedding today who stay with us."

"Thank you miss." Scourge waited until the taxi rolled up out the front. He dusted off his crumbs, unplugged his phone and grabbed the charger from the wall and pushed open the doors.

"Sir, wait. Where is your mother?" the attendant asked.

"Mother? I couldn't give two shits where she is," he grinned maliciously at her, showing his rows of sharp, glistening white teeth. "But thanks for the free place to chill and ride back to school."

"Wait, what?" The hotel attendant just stared in awe and confusion as he waved over his shoulder, climbed into the back of the taxi and sped off back to the school.

It wasn't a long ride and by the time the taxi pulled up in the familiar parking lot and Scourge stepped out, it was almost time for the ceremony to begin. Guests were still socializing on the grassy field but Razor prepared himself to usher them into the chapel to take their seats.

Scourge scoffed at all their happy faces and made his way back to the dorm, ready for a nice, long, undisturbed sleep but as he got the door and unlocked his room he was met by somebody he wasn't expecting.

"It's about time you returned," Rouge purred, lying on his bed.

"Rouge? What are you doing here?" He asked in confusion.

"I got banned from the dumb wedding," she shrugged.

"No, I understand why you wouldn't wanna be caught dead anywhere near that chapel. I mean, what are you doing in my room. How'd you get in?"

"Oh, I stole your key the other day while you were sleeping," she chuckled.

"That explains a lot. I knew I shouldn't have let you sleep over," Scourge growled playfully.

"That's fine. I just won't come around here anymore," she huffed.

"Now, now, let's not do anything too drastic," Scourge smirked as he kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the bed, snaking his arms around Rouge's midriff.

"Now that's more like it," Rouge giggled as he kissed and licked her neck.

"While those two are saying their vows and get married, why don't we do some consummating of our own," Scourge said as he removed his jacket and threw off his shirt, exposing his bare chest.

"I thought you'd never ask," Rouge replied in delight as she traced her fingers over Scourges abs and pulled the covers over the two of them.

* * *

 _A/N: So I'm not sure if any of you cared about Scourge's little excusion back to the school but I thought it was a nice little break from all the wedding scenes. Besides, Scourge will only become more and more prevelant in the upcoming stories and I know he is high on everybody's least favourite lists so hopefully you learn to like him. His backstory will finally be revealed soon but the most devestating part of it won't be until part 4._

 _Shadow talked Mephiles out of cold feet and Sonia is becoming a bit of a bridezilla (I just love that word :P) but to be fair, Cosmo was late, Wave was absent, Sally said something she shouldn't have and Cream was... well it's Cream. She isn't in the best state of mind at the moment. Eclipse and Clove are distant and Mighty just needs help. Jet and Cosmo are going on their first date, as are Zonic and Gold._

 _Has Blaze finally turned to the dark side? Silver was the one to keep her on the righteous path back at the dance but now that he has shown his hypocritical side, Fiona's temptations at the girl who almost burnt her alive is knocking on Blaze's door. Who's excited for a darker Blaze? Or would you like somebody to show her that this isn't how she should handle things. Meanwhile, Wave and Sally have found unlikely comfort in the other. If only their actions weren't so destructive to themselves and, now, others._

 _Also the new minor character is Sonar the Fennec! Tails' cousin and Spike's old family friend! She isn't that main and won't stay around here for long, I think she is leaving chapter 38 but I don't have my plan in front of me so don't quote me on that. However, I know she will appear two more times after she leaves for big events that will occur, along with in the finale for a brief cameo, along with other old characters such as Vector and Charmy, naturally._

 _I hope you all enjoyed the first part but there is still much more to happen before this wedding is done. Make sure to leave a review to let me know what you thought of part 1 of the wedding and answer the question of the day if you feel so inclined. I love reading your reviews. I went back and read a bunch the other day to give me more motivation for the story and it is funny to see how opinions of characters have changed so much. Everybody thought Spike was a creep and Silver and Cream were the two sweetest, best characters. Oh how the tables have turned. Sonia seems to be the only consistent character. Everybody likes Sonia :P_

 _QotD: How do you want to see this wedding end?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Fiona stumbles across Lumina and finds out about her mysterious connection to Void_

 _Eclipse and Sonar convince Ray to finally ask out Clove_

 _Manic and Amy have an ugly encounter_

 _Silver tries to fix his mistakes but only seems to make things worse_

 _...And Sonia and Mephiles get married!_

 _All this and so much more in the (hopefully) exciting conclusion of the wedding in Chapter 36: The Wedding (II)_


	36. Chapter 36: The Wedding (II)

_A/N: *Insert my apology for lateness* *Insert general statement about life, how busy I am, something about the word count and a nice greeting and the wishing of enjoyment* :)_

* * *

Chapter 36

The Wedding (II)

The sun soared high in the sky, directly overhead. The only shadows cast by its relenting glare were those directly underneath the students and guests' feet.

Jet lounged back on his seat, his face thrown skywards and his eyes closed as the hot sun beat down and baked his skin. He could feel the hot, dry air brush against his skin. Occasionally a gust of wind would billow across the grassy field. Jet's skin would softly shiver before returning to its warmed state. It was calming, alone in the sun. Jet blocked out the sounds of the other guests mingling and focused on the sun, like a silent lullaby discreetly blowing his mind out of consciousness.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I just had to help deal with some things with Sonia," an apologetic voice rung through Jet's ears. He peeked one eye open, his mind still foggy. It wasn't until he fully understood who was sitting next to him did he snap awake and sit up straight and stiff.

Cosmo giggled at his strange, erratic behaviour. His eyes widened as Jet finally got a good look at her. She was adorned by the magnificent, flowing violet bridesmaid dress that she now wore.

"Oh, h-hey Cosmo, didn't hear you sit down," Jet laughed awkwardly, offering her a grin. Cosmo couldn't help but smile. She hadn't known Jet for long, and only met him through less than ideal circumstances. She had been told about his behaviour, how he had been cutting himself. She was told about his parents' death; how close he was to them. She had always felt sympathetically towards him, a frown consistently plastered on his face, especially when he was alone. However, today wasn't the case. In fact, ever since their study date he seemed in higher spirits.

Jet watched her, deep in thought. He smiled to himself. The way she just lost herself was endearing. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about her was different. His heart was small, fragile and floating around in endless darkness. It had been beating purely to continue the cyclical motion of his blood flow and nothing more. It didn't beat for anyone, not even himself emotionally. He had been down, depressed and saw little reason to keep moving forward. That was until he was introduced to Cosmo that fateful day.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry I zoned out there for a second," Cosmo blushed in embarrassment.

"That's okay. It was kind of cute, anyway," Jet replied sheepishly, his compliment only worsening the flush of crimson on her cheeks.

"So… how's everything been out here? I haven't been able to see anybody at all," Cosmo lamented.

"Pretty lame, honestly. Although it's not like I have anybody to hang out with anyway," Jet sighed, looking down at his palms on the table. Cosmo snaked her hand across and placed it on Jet's, her fingers wrapping around his. Jet felt the warmth of contact spread up his arms and into his body. He rose his head and stared into Cosmo's eyes, as she stared back.

"Well I'm here now," she assured him. Overcome with these newfound feelings, Jet closed his eyes, tilted his head and began to lean forward. Cosmo froze. She didn't know what to do. Her eyes darted around, her pulse was racing and her anxiety flaring up. Suddenly, she noticed Sally and Wave emerge from the bathrooms and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You said you were lonely," Cosmo spoke up, grabbing Jet's wrist as she rose. "Well let's go hang out with Wave and Sally." Jet's eyes snapped open as he felt himself being tugged out of his chair by the surprisingly strong girl. He felt his heart sink after being denied the kiss he so desperately wanted but her childlike glee and innocence didn't keep it submerged in sadness for long.

As Jet followed obediently behind, allowing himself to be pulled a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before, but it struck him like a truck. He finally understood why Cosmo stood out to him more than any other girl at the school.

'She's so much like Cream…' he thought.

…

"I just don't know how much longer I can take this," Mighty continued, the same conversation again. Tikal didn't mind. She knew how to be patient and knew how hard Mighty was taking things these days. She understood first-hand how somebody close to you having suicidal thoughts was. However, the conversation had just been going around in circles and neither one was getting anywhere.

"Mighty, I understand how hard this is for you," Tikal began delicately, choosing each word very carefully as not to upset her troubled friend. "But we can't keep having this conversation."

"What do you mean?" Mighty asked obliviously. "Are you taking Clove's side?"

"Mighty!" Tikal snapped exasperatedly. "I told you, there are no sides. I'm not going to stop being your friend and I'm not going to stop being Clove's friend either."

"I'm not asking you to choose, I just need somebody to talk to."

"About the same thing over and over," Tikal finished forcefully, getting slightly worked up. She took a moment's pause when she saw the hopelessness in Mighty's eyes. "Sorry," Tikal apologized. "Look… we've had this same conversation so many times we are just going around in circles at this point. I don't know what else I can do to help. Have you considered maybe going to the school psychologist?"

"Tikal, I don't need to see a professional, okay?" Mighty replied stubbornly almost instantly. "I just need to vent."

"But Mighty I-"

"No, you don't understand," Mighty interjected. "Firstly, I can't go talk to a psychologist because I promised Ray I wouldn't tell anybody. Secondly, this isn't about him this time. Well, I mean it kinda is, but, like, it's just… Arg!" Mighty growled to himself, dragging his fingernails through his tangled fur.

"Mighty, just take a deep breath," Tikal placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him and stared into his frustrated eyes. She could see he was breaking down and she knew she needed to help him. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose, urging Mighty to mirror her actions. Slowly, he closed his eyes and drew air deep into his nostrils. "And breath out," Tikal concluded as the two of them expelled the air loudly out their mouths.

"Better?"

"A bit," Mighty admitted, a weak, faint smile crossing his lips.

"There's that Mighty smile we all know and love," Tikal chuckled. "So, tell me again what happened."

"Ray he… he said he was planning to ask Clove out," Mighty admitted defeatedly.

"Oh Mighty…" Tikal sighed with such empathy. She knew how hard that must be for Mighty, she could see it in his eyes. The eyes usually filled with such care, love, happiness and optimism now devoid and soulless. She knew nothing she could say would help make him feel better so she did what any friend would do. She simply stood up, hoisted him to his feet and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.

Mighty put up little resistance before melting into the hug, throwing his arms around her waist and letting Tikal's warmth flow through him. He felt like he was going to cry, like he needed to let out the anger and sadness he felt before it exploded out of him but he didn't want to show weakness. He didn't want to feel defeated, so he held back the tears and he held Tikal close.

"That son of a bitch," Eclipse swore under his breath as he watched the two with an angered, envious glare. He could feel his blood boil and an urge overtook him. A thought that had taken root in his subconscious had sprouted and taken control of his thoughts. Now the one thought consumed him and nothing could get rid of it. The thought that Mighty was trying to steal Tikal away from him.

…

"L-Lumina?!"

"Hey Sonic, it's been a while," Lumina replied with a smile.

"Yeah… yeah it has," he stopped and thrust his hands into his suit pocket. "So, not to be rude or anything… but, why are you here?"

"Wow Sonic, you sure know how to make a girl feel welcome," Lumina replied in jest.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean-" Sonic began to get flustered but was cut off as Lumina placed a finger over his lips to silence him.

"Don't worry, I'm just teasing," she chuckled. "I'm here because Sonia invited me."

"You know my sister?" Sonic asked, bewildered.

"Wait, you're her brother?" Lumina paused, studying his face. "Nope, I don't really see it."

"Technically she's only my half-sister."

"That explains it."

"You'd think so but I think she's just different to the rest of the family. Like her twin brother and her look nothing alike. I look more like him than he does," Sonic explained.

"That makes sense. You are both guys. Unless there's something about her she's hiding," Lumina snickered to herself.

"Please don't make me think about that," Sonic shuddered as his thoughts wondered. "Anyway," he quickly tried to change the topic of conversation, and more importantly, his own thoughts. "Did you find that guy you were looking for? Can't remember his name."

"That's because I never gave you it."

"Why? Is he some big secret or something?"

"Void always did enjoy his secrets," Lumina shook her head with a smile.

"Wait, Void?" Sonic exclaimed loudly turning a couple heads around them. Most importantly, it garnered the interest of Fiona who was being roughly escorted away by Manic.

"Yeah, you know him?"

"I haven't met him but I've heard stories about him, Fiona and Scourge."

"Hmmm," Lumina thought, rubbing her chin. This was the second person who has paired Void with those two. She had to know who they were and figure out what happened. She needed to know… for Veronica. "Who are Scourge and Fiona?"

"Well I can't introduce you to Scourge because we ditched him in the city," Sonic sniggered.

"Why?" Lumina raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Because he's a dick head," Sonic stated plainly. "And Fiona wasn't invited to the wedding…" Sonic trailed off as he saw Fiona standing a few feet away, staring at the two and listening intently. "Actually, there she is right now," Sonic pointed.

"Stop stalling, let's go," Manic growled into Fiona's ear, pushing her onwards. She turned her head as she walked, glaring at Lumina. She stared back as the two's gaze met and their eyes locked in a fierce contest, trying to figure out who the other was and what their relationship to Void is. Before either could say anything, Fiona was already gone.

"I'll have to have a word with her," Lumina muttered under her breath. "Curiouser and curiouser."

…

"I don't know if I can do this," Silver lamented aloud.

"Look, despite the fact that I don't agree with what you did. Like, at all," Knuckles continued as he sat opposite Silver, arms resting behind his head in an inclined position. "You can do this."

"How can you be sure?" Silver queried.

"Okay, sure, you did break her heart," Knuckles admitted as Silver's head dropped, his gaze fixed to his black boots. "But she's your best friend. She has been your best friend for years, way before you started liking her and even longer before you two became an item."

"And you really think she will forgive me?" Silver remained unsure.

"I know she will. I've known her for ages and it's not in her nature to hold a grudge."

"You've known Breezie for ages?" Silver furrowed his brow.

"Breezie? Wait, aren't we talking about Blaze? Dude, don't tell me…"

"No, no you're right, we were talking about Blaze," Silver quickly spat out, covering his tracks. "And you're right, I should talk to her," he added, quickly standing up. Knuckles watched skeptically, not satisfied until Silver begrudgingly made his way over to Blaze and the two girls she was sitting with.

'You can do this,' Silver's thoughts urged him forward, one small, hesitant step at a time. It wasn't until he suddenly stopped at the table and the sing-song voices all suddenly stopped did he realize it was too late to back out. He felt the piercing gazes of all three females examining him judgmentally did he find his voice.

"H-Hey Blaze," he croaked.

"That's all you are going to say?" Amy stepped in angrily.

"Amy," Blaze whispered. "Let him speak."

"But-"

"It's okay," Blaze nodded. "I can handle this. You've got two minutes, what do you want,' Silver?"

"How are you?" he asked.

"Not great," Blaze responded bluntly. "Is that all you wanted to say, because if so then you can leave," she concluded bitterly. Silver could feel her resentment but he knew her better than anybody else. He knew when she was putting on a brave face and the one that stared at him practically screamed all the feelings that welled inside her. Sadness, regret, pain, anger, resentment, hurt, and longing. Despite everything, he could see she still loved him.

"No, that's not all," Silver admitted. "I just wanted to say I'm so sorry. For everything. I never should have gone with Breezie without telling you about our past. I should have been more lucrative. I should have-"

"Yeah, you should have," Clove butted in. "But you didn't and now it's too late. Now get lost."

"Blaze… please," he stared into her eyes pleadingly. The eyes that used to gaze back at him with such love. The love that he could see still existed slightly.

"Times up," she replied coldly as she turned her head.

"Blaze…"

"She said time is up," Clove confronted him as Amy moved protectively between Blaze and Silver, throwing daggers at him. "I suggest you leave now."

"Blaze I… Okay," he sighed before turning to walk off.

"Farewell… Silver," Blaze whispered to herself through hidden tears as her two friends watched him walk away. It didn't take long for Silver to catch a glimpse of Breezie. He began to head her way, wanting to apologize to her as well but as soon as she turned to look at him, she quickly tried to run away.

"Breezie!" Silver called, racing up and grabbing her arm before she could break free.

"Silver, let go of me," Breezie squirmed, trying her best to keep a straight face.

"Breezie please, just let me talk. Let me apologize," he begged.

"No, Silver. You don't get to clear your conscience," Breezie glowered at him. "You're a scum bag. You've got no integrity. You wanted your cake and ate it too. You had to make a choice and you didn't, and now it's cost you dearly. I really loved you, Silver, and you took that love and crushed it beneath your boots," Breezie continued, her words drenched in pain and regret.

"But Breezie, I do love you too."

"You really don't get it, do you?" Breezie bellowed. "It's not about that. It's about you being with me and Blaze at the same time. I can't trust you, Silver. And I can't ever look at you the same time again. You ruined my life, and to top it all off you made my best friend hate me!"

"I don't hate you though?" Silver replied in confusion. Breezie couldn't help but scoff humorlessly.

"Spike! Spike is my best friend, not you. He tried to warn me about you but I didn't believe him. I used him, I treated him horribly I…" her eyes widened as she trailed off. "I treated him the same way you treated me. Oh no, Spike," she sighed as she wrenched herself free and barreled away from Silver intent on finding her best friend and giving him the best apology of her life.

"Breezie, I'm sorry," Silver called but after receiving no reply, slumped his shoulders and kicked at the ground beneath his feet.

"You've gone and done it this time," Knuckles remarked from behind him.

"I know…"

…

Eclipse stood motionless, watching with eagle eyes at Mighty and Tikal as they conversed. She had managed to calm him down and moved on. It had been a while. He didn't know how long he had been standing there but it was enough to make his eyes sore and his blood boil.

Mighty was giggling again. Something Tikal had said as she batted her eyelashes. They looked so happy together, and despite all the pain Mighty was in earlier it was like it was nonexistent. Eclipse knew the kind of effect Tikal had on people. She had the same effect on him when she captured his heart.

Mighty's muscles shook and happy tears washed from his eyes and rolled down the contours of his face as he laughed. Eclipse held his breath behind pursed lips just to steel himself from the anger that threated to bubble over his rouge skin which was proving to be the only shielding between his inner darkness and Mighty's vulnerabilities.

Now Mighty's telling a story, one of past merriment. Eclipse could tell he was doing it without even understanding what he was saying as words rolled off his tongue as fast as bullets, laughs choking the barely audible story. His face was brighter than the sun, more radiant in his joyous new mood. It made Eclipse want to hurl.

Eclipse and Mighty used to be such close friends. Mighty was the one who helped Eclipse finally work up the nerve to ask Tikal out. He only had Eclipses best interests at heart, right? Eclipse tongued his cheek and balled his fists, his nails digging deep into the soft skin on his palms. Eclipse didn't want to admit it but to him, in this moment especially and in recent memory he could shake the fact. He hated Mighty. With a passion. The armadillo's presence buzzed around him like an annoying fly he couldn't swat away.

Eclipse turned, he couldn't watch it any longer. He needed to get away. That's when he spotted Ray out of the corner of his eye. Sitting and laughing with… a girl. Eclipse had to investigate. He had to know why Ray was with a girl that wasn't Clove.

"Hey Ray," Eclipse butted in as Ray was mid-sentence. Ray shot him an annoyed scowl but it was replaced with a frown as soon as he saw the anguish evident on Eclipses face. Ray peered behind Eclipse and saw Mighty and Tikal laughing together. He sighed, knowing exactly what had just happened.

In that split second, Mighty turned his head and accidently locked eyes with Ray. Ray smile and waved but all Mighty could do was give him a weak smile before turning back to Tikal.

"So, when are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" Eclipse asked.

"My what?" Ray spluttered, mortified at Eclipses suggestion. Sonar could do little but giggle at how embarrassed and uncomfortable Ray looked.

"He asked when you would introduce me to him," Sonar added helpfully in a sarcastic tone before grinning at Eclipse. "My name's Sonar."

"Nice to meet you, Sonar."

"She is not my girlfriend," Ray huffed cutely, eliciting more fits of laughter from both Eclipse and Sonar.

"Stop acting like a twelve-year-old," Sonar chastised him.

"You'd like it if I was twelve. Then maybe we would be going out," Ray quipped back.

"So, you're admitting you do like me, but the only reason we aren't together is because of age?"

"What? N-no that's not… I mean it's not that I don't like you but… I mean," Ray babbled, his cheeks practically glowing red. Eclipses uncontrollable laughter didn't help either.

"She got you good," Eclipse clapped him over the back, thankful for the necessary distraction.

"It's okay Ray. I only have my sights set on one boy at the moment," Sonar sighed dreamily as she watched the object of her desires sitting and talking to Julie-Su on a table on the other side of the grassy field.

"Spike, seriously?"

"You don't know him like I do," she defended him.

"If you want some ammo, Ray is crazy about a girl called Clove, over there," Eclipse whispered into Sonar's ear as he pointed to the pronghorn laughing with Blaze and Amy.

"Eclipse!" Ray groaned.

"That's wonderful news," Sonar clapped with childish innocence and naivety. "Oh my gosh, you should go ask her out right now!"

"No I… I can't. It's complicated," Ray responded.

"Not really," Eclipse retorted, shrugging at Ray's judgmental glares.

"But-but-but," Ray babbled.

"I have an idea. Why don't we have a friendly bet. Nice ice breaker for us and Sonar," Eclipse suggested with selfish intent. "Ray goes to ask Clove out and Sonar will go ask Spike out. Whoever gets a yes, wins."

"That's not fair," Sonar pouted, knowing from experience that she'd be rejected again. Eclipse shot her a knowing glance and immediately she understood what he was trying to do. "I mean," she coughed. "I'm in. C'mon Ray, it's just a bit of fun."

Ray's eyes darted between Eclipse and Sonar. Sonar urged him on with glee, excited for him without knowing the extent of what their relationship would mean. Eclipse watched him with calculating eyes, confusing Ray. He didn't know why Eclipse was pushing this so hard when the disastrous results seem almost inevitable in their obviousness.

"Ray, I know it might seem weird but you like her and she likes you. Mighty already dumped her and it's been a month. There is nothing wrong with you two going out. If Mighty has a problem, then he isn't the guy we think he is," Eclipse explained to coerce Ray.

"I guess you're right…" Ray said. "Fine, why not. Let's do this!"

…

"So, do you girls think it's kinda ironic?" Amy blurted out of the blue. Blaze and Clove turned to shoot her confused expressions. The three girls sat together at one of the tables lounging away the afternoon in wait for the impending ceremony that was mere hours away.

"That Zonic is giving us a surprise test worth five percent of our final grade the exact same day that Mr. Ash's essay assignment is due?" Blaze asked, perplexed.

"What? No, how is that ironic?" Amy responded.

"I don't know!" Blaze retaliated. "You said it was its ironic!"

"No, not that," Amy shook her head. "I was just thinking that, like, all three of us are here together… hanging out like nothing happened… at a wedding."

"Do you have a point?" Clove added sarcastically.

"Just that we were all in deep, long, meaningful relationships and we were all dumped around the same time, right before a wedding," Amy explained.

"I didn't get dumped," Blaze huffed poignantly, trying her best to stop the feelings of depression and betrayal from consuming her. Especially on this day of all days. She wouldn't have another break down. Not at Sonia's wedding.

"Besides, Blaze and I had long relationships. You and Sonic were together for like, a week," Clove added rather nastily, annoyed that once again Amy decided to bring up Sonic, Mighty and Silver.

"Yeah but him and I first got together back in year ten, so it's like we've been together for over two years with some speed bumps in the road of our love," she added dreamily. Clove groaned loudly and obnoxiously on purpose.

"Amy… I'm saying this as your friend," Blaze began delicately. "This obsession over Sonic needs to stop. He moved on. He's with Tails now."

"He moved on and was with Tails once before. And Shadow, too. But he came back to me. He'll come back around again once he realizes that the road is a one-way street, leading straight to my heart." Clove openly began gagging deliberately loudly.

"That actually makes me sick."

"Says you and the little scavenger hunt Mighty did for you."

"There's a difference between romantic and obsessive."

"You'd know a lot about obsessive, wouldn't you," A cocky voice piped up behind the three girls. Blaze was the first to notice his presence but it took Amy and Clove a second to realize that neither one of them had made the remark.

"Manic, what are you doing here?" Clove asked.

"Please don't make this any worse than it already is," Blaze begged, shooting a concealed pleading gaze at Manic who shrugged it away, eyes narrowly focused on Amy. She met his gaze, their eyes locked in an intense, wordless contest.

This was the first time since the incident that the two had seen each other. Each one blamed the other for their failed relationship. Each one blamed the other for a lot of bad things that had happened in their lives. Blaze and Clove exchanged worried looks, feeling the palpable tension between the two.

"You can't really make anything worse when it comes to Amy," Manic mumbled unblinkingly.

"Guys… maybe we should all just take a breath and-"

"Not now, Blaze," Amy interrupted, continuing their staring contest.

"It's brave of you to come to my sister's wedding," Manic shot first.

"It's brave of you to come to this wedding looking like that," Amy fired back.

"You here to ruin more relationships in your delusional quest for anybody to like you?"

"Tell me, how's Mina going?" Amy asked with a falsified smile

"Tell me, how's Sonic going?" He smirked.

"Take that back or else I… I'll…" Amy fumed, her chest rising and falling.

"You'll what?" Manic taunted. Amy ground her teeth, clenching her fist as tight as possible but uttered no response. Claiming victory, Manic turned to walk off. "Didn't think so."

"Get back here!" Amy called after him but the teen simply raised his hand and continued walking. She rose from her seat and pounded after him.

"Amy, don't," Blaze yelled.

"He's not worth is," Clove added but Amy ignored their calls. "Ugh, she's so annoying," Clove complained. "I honestly can't believe her sometimes."

Manic continued, aware that Amy was storming behind him, gaining on him. He quickly took a left, dodging around people and heading into the empty boy's toilet on the far side of the cubicle. Without thinking, Amy barged in behind him.

"Amy," a voice called to her. "You can't go in there, that's the boys!" Amy was too narrow minded, too focused on Manic that she didn't even hear the warnings and followed him in.

"What the hell are you doing?" Manic chastised her as she followed him in, slamming the door behind her.

"We're not done!" She growled.

"Yes, we are," he said in a decided tone. "Now get out, if you haven't noticed, this is the guy's toilets and I need to take a piss."

"You infuriate me so much!" Amy lamented aloud

"You piss me off too," Manic countered.

"I can't stand you!"

"I can't stand you either!"

"You make me sick!"

"The sickest!" Manic repeated before suddenly an impulse overtook both of them and they collided into each other, their lips pressing firmly together. Neither one knew why, just like previously, but they were both plagued by a sudden urge. Their tongues wrestled in a violent game for dominance as Amy jumped onto Manic, wrapping her legs around him as he stumbled backwards and smashed his back.

"Close the fucking door," Manic whispered through anger kisses as he relentlessly attacked Amy's lips. He pushed her backwards so her back collided against the bathroom door, holding it shut so nobody could interfere as Manic undid the zipper to his pants.

"Ouch," Mina whined aloud as she rubbed her nose. The sudden force from the bathroom door, previously pushed open slightly so Mina could peer through the slit, slammed against her face as Amy fell against it.

'Was that Amy with… Manic?'

…

Ray glanced back over his shoulder, unsure of himself. Sonar had already wondered off, catching sight of her family friend, Spike, and Julie-Su leaving only Eclipse to flash him a helpful smile. He threw Ray a thumbs-up gesture of encouragement, ushering him forward without needing to say anything.

He caught sight of Clove, along with Amy and Blaze. They seemed to be arguing. He gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat as he tried to steel his nerves. It looked like he would have to ask her out in front of her friends. He took another tentative step forward before freezing in his tracks. Without warning, Manic stormed up to the table and began arguing with Amy. Ray hesitated, he couldn't do it in front of that many people. He just stood there, biting his nails as anxiousness and embarrassment overtook him.

"Ray!" A friendly voice called out as he felt a hand clap him on the back. Ray nearly jumped out of his skin in fright, taken completely aback by the sudden intrusion. "Whoa, sorry didn't meant to scare you," the boy behind him chuckled.

"Espio?" Ray breathed a sigh of relief as he turned around to face the teenager behind him. "What are you doing? Don't just sneak up on people like that."

"Sorry," Espio grinned with eyes shut as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Didn't mean to, I just saw you and wanted to come thank you."

"Thank… me?"

"Yeah, for the other night," Espio stated plainly. Ray tilted his head in confusion. "You helped me find out who sent around those pictures of me."

"Oh, that… it was nothing, really," Ray waved the sentiment away bashfully.

"No, it wasn't. It was something to me. Those pictures were ruining my life, and my career. I've had my ups and downs at this school. I was a loser with few friends, to one of the most desired guys who slept with so many girls at the school, back to a loser who nobody would give the time of day. The photos only cemented that status, a status that my budding music career was finally erasing but I could never get closure. Not until you helped me," Espio explained passionately, opening up to Ray. "I meant to thank you last night but I just got a bit carried away."

"Espio… really, it was nothing," Ray said.

"So, what's made you so jumpy today?" Espio asked randomly.

"Wh-what? Jumpy, it's nothing really," Ray dodged the question but the piercing gaze Espio shot him showed that he wasn't very convincing. Ray didn't want to admit why he was so scared but after Espio had opened up to him about his past, Ray knew Espio was somebody he could trust.

"Okay, I'm going to ask Clove out," Ray admitted.

"And Mighty is okay with this?" Espio asked, his knowledge about Mighty and their situation taking him by surprise.

"How did you…"

"Mighty and I might have some mutual friends who came to talk to me after one of my concerts. Have you met Charmy or Vector?" Espio asked, the names sparking a recognition in Ray's brain.

"Oh yeah, they are some of Mighty's best friends. He used to always talk about them, but I haven't heard him bring them up recently."

"Anyway, does he know?"

"He said he was fine with it," Ray replied, knowing in his heart that it wasn't true, but he still didn't fully understand why Mighty had such a problem with it.

"So go up and ask her," Espio said encouragingly.

"But there's too many of them."

"Really? All I see is Blaze." Ray quickly whipped his head around. It was true, Manic and Amy were nowhere to be seen. "How about this, I'll go distract Blaze so you and Clove can have some privacy," Espio offered.

"You'd really do that?"

"Sure, what are friends for?" Espio asked rhetorically as he strolled over to the table.

"I honestly can't believe her sometimes," Clove shook her head as she complained to Blaze, the two watching Amy storm away in pursuit of Manic.

"Can't believe who?" Espio asked, interrupting the two girls.

"Espio? What do you want?" Blaze asked bitterly, still not his biggest fan but finding some newfound empathy for the boy after learning what Silver had done to him. As far as she was concerned, karma had hit both of them and she wanted to do her best to try to mend their failing friendship. She instantly regretted her tone.

"Blaze, I really need to talk to you. It's super urgent," Espio lied expertly.

"If this is about Silver," Clove jumped to Blaze's defense instinctively, picking up on Blaze's reservations.

"Why would it be about Silver? That dickhead ruined my life, remember."

"Clove, it's okay. I got this handled," Blaze confirmed as she stood up. "So what's up?" She asked as Espio lead her away from the table, making up some story to keep her engaged. As the two strolled past Ray, Espio gave him a hidden wink, urging him forward. Ray gulped as his legs instinctively brought him forward, all the way up to Clove.

"Ray, what a pleasant surprise," Clove beamed a happy smile as he waltzed up to the table. "Please, have a seat," she offered. Ray's hands were clammy and sweat began to bead on his forehead. Clove noticed his nervousness and leant over to grab his hands. "Is everything alright?"

That did it. Her kindness radiated his heart, filling him with warmth and joy. He couldn't turn back now, thoughts of Mighty diminishing in his head. The inkling of Mighty's presence that never strayed far from his thoughts was being blocked out just thanks to Clove's smile. She didn't have to do anything to be the most beautiful girl in the world.

Before Ray knew what came over him, his head was forward, eyes closed and lips puckered. Miraculously, Clove put up no defiance as she eagerly returned the kiss, beaming that same joyful smile when he opened his eyes.

"Clove… I really, really like you," Ray admitted, unable to cast his eyes away from her intoxicating stare.

"I really like you too, Ray," Clove responded, brushing some hair out of her eyes. She was convinced that Mighty and Ray were gay, especially after Cassia's words and all the evidence that piled up against them. She never expected this, but as soon as it happened, she knew it felt right.

"But… Mighty," Ray sighed, the thoughts of his friends rushing back into his mind like a descending fog, blocking out his sun again.

"I know," Clove sighed. "I know Mighty is still your best friend, and a part of me will still love him. But we can't let him stand between us. He'll be happy for us, I just know it."

"Yeah…" Ray lied, knowing too well that was far from the truth. "So… what now?" Ray asked. He had planned this out in his head and acted it out a thousand times but never did he think it would actually work. Now that his recent dreams were becoming a reality, he didn't know what to say.

"How about we just see how things go between us. If things work out, great. If they don't then we promise to stay friends?" Clove offered.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Ray smiled. "…so that means…"

"Yes," Clove chuckled, his nervousness endearing. "I will go out with you, Ray."

…

She stared into the partially cracked, dirty mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, peering past her makeup-caked faced and into her soul. Amy could feel the judgement, see the shame plastered on her features but couldn't help herself. It was something about him, something she just couldn't shake.

Amy straightened out her dress, pressing down the crinkles and folds that had been created when Manic carelessly lifted it as she was pressed firmly against the door. She combed her fingers through her messy quills, trying to make herself look presentable again.

"It took me so long to do my hair this morning," she grumbled to herself.

"You and your damn hair," Manic called as the bathroom was filled with the sound of a toilet flushing. Manic zipped up his pants as he pushed the stall door open and waltzed over to wash his hands, letting the slightly turbid water pool in his palms.

"Gross," Amy remarked aloud, shuddering.

"You weren't complaining about how gross I was five minutes ago," Manic fired back.

"Shut up. You're disgusting."

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"As a matter of fact, I have, and I hate who I see staring back at me right now," Amy complained.

"Ditto."

"Don't pretend you know how I'm feeling," Amy snapped.

"Well excuse me, princess. I didn't want to do that either."

"Don't call me princess!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist."

"Manic, this is serious," Amy said gravely.

"I know," Manic replied, severity in his voice. "Look, I don't know what came over me-"

"And you think I did?" Amy interrupted.

"Will you let me finish a thought for once, princess?"

"Manic, I swear to god if you call me princess one more time," Amy shook with such annoyance, something only the shaggy-quilled boy in the red hoodie could do to her.

"I was going to say before I was rudely interrupted," Manic continued undeterred. "Is that we can't tell anybody what happened. Especially not Sonic."

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

"Good, then there's no other reason for me to be here. Hope I don't see you soon… princess," manic winked as he left the bathroom.

"Manic, get back here!" Amy screamed after him, sprinting out of the bathroom. She grabbed his arm and span him around but before she could give him a piece of her mind, another voice stalled her train of thought.

"Manic, sweetie, there you are," Aleena called happily as she strode over to the two teenagers with finesse and grace. Amy turned and instantly froze. Her eyes lit up, her heart pounding as she saw Aleena walk over to them. Amy was stunned, she couldn't find her voice. Her idol, her favourite author at the wedding. She didn't understand why.

"Sorry, now's not such a great time," Manic addressed Aleena standoffishly.

"Oh, and why's that?" Aleena asked, taking note of the uncertainty in his voice.

"I said not now, ma," Manic growled.

"Wait…" Amy croaked, suddenly found her voice. "Did you just say… ma?"

"Yeah, what else would I call my mother?" Manic asked frankly.

"Aleena is… your mother," Amy gasped aloud. "Which means she is also Sonia's mum. And that means Sonic…"

"I'm standing right here you know," Aleena chuckled as she extended her hand. "Hello, my name's Aleena. Pleasure to meet you."

"Please, the pleasure is all mine," Amy tried to hide her excitement. "But we've actually met before, about three years ago when I went to one of your book signings. You gave me a lot of advice and signed my book with words that I live by. You told me to never give up on love," Amy explained as Manic's jaw slowly fell open in astonishment.

"Ah yes, I thought you looked familiar. I remember. How did it go with that boy… what was his name again?" Aleena thought.

"Sonic," Manic sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please don't tell me-"

"That was it," Aleena snapped her fingers. "How'd it go with… with… Sonic… Oh."

"Yeah… about that…" Amy began.

"You're _that_ Amy, aren't you? The one Manic, Amy and Sonia talk about? The one Sonic was going out with but broke up with over break?" Amy nodded, shame on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry for bringing that up, darling."

"Really ma, you were the one that convinced Amy to start this obsessive determined quest to make Sonic hers? You realize how many lives you inadvertently ruined, right?" manic rolled his eyes.

"Manic," Aleena snapped. "That's not nice."

"No… he's right," Amy sighed. "I had Sonic, then I lost him and then I did everything to get him back again. I did, for like a few weeks but I screwed it up again."

"Amy… honey…" Aleena sighed. "When I said to never give up on love, I didn't mean to pursue him relentlessly. Look, I know this might be hard but sometimes things just don't work out. Don't try to push things and don't hold love on this impossibly high standard. We can't force love, with other people and especially not ourselves, trust me, I've tried. A lot of the time, love comes when we don't look for it," Aleena lectured didactically but her words were laced with care.

"Thanks…" Amy sighed. "I know, you're right. I think I took things a little too far."

"You think," Manic jabbed, earning annoyed scowls from the two women. "Jeez, sorry," he said sardonically, raising his hands in the air. Amy ignored him and continued.

"I took your advice too seriously. I tried to force love on myself and on others. I just… I don't know, had these delusions."

"Amy, you're a beautiful young woman who has her whole life ahead of her. Maybe you and Sonic just aren't meant to be, but that doesn't mean he is the only one for you. I'm sure there's another guy even better for you. Who knows, he might be closer than you think," Aleena smiled, and so did Amy.

"Thanks, I really needed to hear that. And coming from you, it means so much more."

"The day Amy Rose stops chasing Sonic is the day hell freezes over," Manic added in jest.

"Wait… your last name is Rose?"

"Mmhmm."

"My publisher was telling me about a new book she was publishing for a young Amy Rose. She said it had a lot of promise."

"Zouge said that?" Amy asked.

"Mmhmm," Aleena nodded. "And look, how about I help you out by promoting your book to say sorry?"

"Please, it wasn't your fault, your advice helped shape me as a person and was good advice, I just took it a bit too seriously," Amy chuckled. "But I would be honoured."

"Good, then it's settled."

"Are you serious? I have to tell the girls!" Amy squealed with child-like excitement as she sprinted away.

"I can't believe it was you," Manic mumbled under his breath.

"What, sweetie?"

"You created Amy Rose… Do you know how much you ruined Sonic's life? Do you know how much you ruined _my_ life, and my relationships with girls and my own brother?"

"What are you on about?" Aleena asked, perplexed.

"Never mind," Manic shook his head, unable to blame his mother for a random bit of advice she gave a fan three years ago. "Looking back, it's kinda funny, really. Just wait until Sonic hears about this…"

…

It was almost time. The sun had already begun its descent and Razor was making final preparations before it was time for him to inevitably call all the guests and students into the old, brick-layered chapel to begin the service.

Spike and Julie were some of the only people still sitting down conversing like it was any other day. That isn't to say that they both weren't excited, but they were both enjoying the much needed break from school and the drama that seemed to plague both of their lives. That is, until a surprised guest sprinted at full speed up to Spike and jumped onto his back. Spike screamed in surprise as he fell over backwards.

"Oh my Chaos, Spike, are you okay?" Julie asked as she jumped up from her own seat and dashed over to make sure he wasn't hurt.

"Yeah, I'm alright. What was tha… oh no," Spike rubbed his forehead as he stood up but trailed off when he saw the girl lying next to him, laughing uncontrollably.

"I knew you had fallen in love with me," the young fennec giggled.

"Sonar, you need to stop doing this. I warned you last time," Spike shook his head but had a hard time hiding the smile that slowly crept over his face. He extended his hand, offering his help. Sonar took it gratefully, her cheeks glowing crimson as she was hauled to her feet.

"And who's this?" Julie asked with a smirk, noting Sonar's attitude.

"Sonar, meet Julie-Su. And Julie, meet Sonar, an old family friend of mine," Spike sighed.

"Nice to meet you," Sonar smiled. Julie agreed, nodding in reply.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, we should probably be going now," Spike blurted out.

"Nonsense, we aren't supposed to head inside for a couple of minutes now. Let's enjoy the time with Sonar," Julie giggled, the irony not lost on her. Spike shot her an annoyed glance.

"It's been so long, how have you been Spike. I missed you," Sonar pouted playfully.

"Just school. Nothing to tell, really, but I have to admit it was nice to see you again," Spike acknowledged.

"Aww, how cute," Julie giggled, having far too much fun with how uncomfortable Spike looked. "So, how long have you two lovebirds known each other?"

"Julie," Spike scolded her.

"Since I was a baby. Spike has always been there for me, and soon we are going to be together forever, right Spike?" Sonar laughed.

"Sonar, we've been over this. I do like you, but not in that way. You're like a little sister to me."

"I thought it was because I was too young," Sonar corrected him.

"That too."

"How old are you, if you don't mind my asking?" Julie asked politely.

"Thirteen, but in five years' time I'll be eighteen and Spike will be twenty-two," Sonar pointed out. "That's only four years' difference."

"For about a week and then I'll be twenty-three," Spike added.

"And then a year after I'll be nineteen and you'll still be twenty-three."

"Again, for a week," Spike shook his head.

"You two are so cute together," Julie chuckled, enjoying herself too much. "She's like that Spike to your Sonic," Julie howled with laughter.

"You're having too much fun," Spike groaned. Julie opened her mouth to provide a snarky response but silenced herself when she stood protectively in front of the teenager, teeth bared.

"What do you want?"

"Julie, please, I just want to talk to Spike," Breezie pleaded, instantly hurt at the anger evident in her eyes.

"He doesn't want to talk to you," Julie replied, adhering to her previous deal she made not moments earlier.

"Please, Spike, I just wanted to apologize."

"It's a bit late for that, isn't it," Spike finally spoke up.

"Breezie!" Sonar cheered, adding necessary light to the suddenly gloomy and dreary conversation. "It's been so long."

"Sonar, it's nice to see you," Breezie smiled, awkwardness consuming her as she felt the disapproving glances shooting into the back of her head.

"I was wondering where you were. You can't ever see Spike without Breezie being right behind. Well actually, it's normally the other way around with the way he chases you like a dog," Sonar laughed, completely missing the tension in the air.

"Sonar, not now," Spike hissed under his breath.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently. "Breezie already knows you like her, I have to drill it into her head every time I see her." Sonar added before turning to face Breezie. "But remember as soon as he's eighteen he's all mine. But since you make him happy, you can have him for now."

"That's very… mature… of you," Breezie responded, unsure of how to react.

"Sonar, could we have a minute. I'll come meet you inside," Spike said plainly. Sonar picked up his tone and nodded, shrinking away with a wave to the three of them.

"I really missed her," Breezie sighed. "She was always so optimistic and pleasant.

"Breezie, please, leave us alone," Spike begged, struggling not to let her control him like she always could.

"Spike, please, can we just talk?"

"Breezie, it's over. You used me and then treated me like dirt when all I tried to do was help you. You knew how I felt and abused the power you held over me," Spike sighed. Julie looked on, her heart breaking but didn't know what to say.

"I know, I fucked up. It's just… seeing Silver again…"

"Don't bring up _his_ name!" Spike snapped. "Look, just leave me alone. I don't want to see you again."

"But Spike…"

"Goodbye, Breezie," Spike said finally before he took Julie's hand and walked away, unable to look back. He tried to hide his tears, sniffing them back. If it wasn't for Julie being there, he knew he would have caved.

"Are you alright?" Julie asked finally.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Spike sniffed. "Let's not let this ruin our day. Sonia and Mephiles are getting married, remember? Let's go support them," Spike decided as he pushed the thoughts of Breezie to the back of his mind and entered the chapel with the rest of the flowing crowd, leaving Breezie standing alone in the middle of the now empty field.

…

Four swift knocks. Mephiles called anxiously, instantly calmer now that shadow had returned.

"Everything is set. Razor is waiting at the altar. Ten-minute warning…" Shadow began but trailed off as he turned from the door and looked at Mephiles, instantly noticing how pale Mephiles' face had become.

"Still having second thoughts?" Shadow asked. Mephiles shook his head, but not out of shame. He knew no matter how he felt he would receive no judgement from Shadow, but other thoughts plagued his mind.

"No, it's not that. I decided to do this. I have to do this… no… I want to do this. For the kid," Mephiles decided conclusively.

"Good. I couldn't be prouder," Shadow added.

"Thanks, dad," Mephiles replied sardonically.

"Please never call me dad. I wouldn't have dated you if I knew you were one of those girls with daddy issues," Shadow chuckled darkly. "But, what's the matter then. It looks like you've seen a ghost."

"It's just… what if I can't do this?" Mephiles lamented.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"Like, what if I'm a horrible husband? What if I can't provide for Sonia and our baby. What if I'm a horrible dad, like my father. What if I ruin his life, turn him to the dark side. What if I'm just as big a fuck up?" Mephiles rolled the questions off his tongue like bullets, each time not expecting an answer but needing to get them off his chest.

"Meph, Meph listen to me," Shadow said firmly, placing his arms on Mephiles' shoulders. Mephiles instantly grew rigid, his eyes meeting Shadow's in a fierce battle that he had no hope of winning. "You're nothing like your dad. I know this, and you know this too. Because of him, you know exactly what not to be."

"Really?"

"Yes. And if you ever have any questions about what to do, just think. What would dad do? Then, do the opposite," Shadow laughed humourlessly but the sentiment wasn't lost on Mephiles.

"Thanks… again… I really couldn't do any of this without you," Mephiles smiled, reaching out his hand to grab Shadow's.

"Anytime. Now let's… Meph!"

"What?"

"Where are your special wedding cufflinks?" Mephiles gasped, looking down to his wrists. With everything else going on, he completely forgot all about them.

"Shit, they are still on my bed. I wanted to get out of the room before Mighty, Sonic and Tails woke up to have some time to myself before everybody fretted over me all day," Mephiles admitted with a sigh.

"Look, no worries. I'll sprint over and quickly get them. Chuck me your keys," Shadow called as he rushed over to the door. Mephiles fished them out of his tuxedo pocket and hurled them across the room. Shadow clamped his hand shut over the top of them expertly snatching them out of the air. "Be right back," he smiled as the door slammed shut behind him.

Shadow knew time was against him as the winds billowed through his quills. His feet padded against the paths, clumps of grass flying into the air as he dug his heels deep, hastening across the field and over to the dorm rooms.

Shadow took a sharp turn, barreling up to the boy's side of the building and roaring down the hallway to Mephiles' room. He was finally on the right floor when a loud yelp stopped him instantaneously in his tracks. He cupped his ear, straining his sense to hear where the noise was coming from. He didn't know what it was but the shriek was unmistakable. It was definitely his best friend, Rouge.

Moments passed where he heard nothing and he was about to shrug it off as his worried mind playing tricks when he could hear faint noises. It was like groaning. Shadow assumed the worst, thinking Rouge was hurt or trapped. He investigated the source of the noise until he pinpointed the room.

Shadow didn't think, didn't hesitate. Only one thought was going through his brain. Help Rouge. He seized the doorknob and threw the door open, opening his mouth to call out to Rouge but before he could utter a single syllable, the sight he saw silenced him.

Shadow's eyes bulged, his jaw unhinged and fell lose. He rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. As soon as it registered, he quickly fled, closing the door behind him and running all the way down to Mephiles' room and slamming closed the door.

"No, no, no, it can't be," he fretted, pacing the other teenager's room as he tried to deny the proof his eyes supplied. No matter how hard he wished it to be false, he knew what he saw. Rouge having sex with… Scourge!

…

Sonia stared at her phone, chewing on her nail. She was adorned in her white, flowing wedding dress. Her bridesmaids were all out, waiting in their positions in the chapel. Sonia was still in the room, waiting for Aleena to come back with the item she was searching for so the two could walk down the aisle. However, all the wedding distractions couldn't break through Sonia's narrow focus as her phone vibrated in her palm.

She debated whether to answer it, her heart split in two. She looked at the flashing screen, the name of the contact dredging up old, freshly opened wounds since her holiday break. Finally, against her better judgement, Sonia swiped across her screen and brought her phone up to her ear.

"Hi… Shard," Sonia answered.

"Hey Sonia," an uncertain voice answered on the other line.

"Why are you calling me?" She asked, trying to stay polite, although just the voice of the boy who broke her heart made it hard to stand her ground even when he was in another city.

"I heard about the wedding and I just wanted to say congratulations. I hope you and the lucky guy are very happy." Sonia struggled, keeping the tears at bay as the melodic chirp and sadness evident in his voice bringing her back to that night he broke up with her.

 _"_ _Shard, why have you been avoiding me?" I called out in anguish, letting the fresh raindrops of the pouring rain stain my cheeks and mask the tears streaming from my face. Shard didn't turn to face me. He just sat there, on the lone swing set adjacent to the playground where we first met. Where we first kissed…_

 _"_ _Shard, answer me!" I begged as I walked over to him, sidestepping to force him to face me._

 _"_ _Please Sonia… don't make this any harder than it has to be," Shard mumbled, head stuck stiff facing the ground._

 _"_ _I don't want to lose you," I sniffed, the blistering winds chilling me to the bone, but I didn't care._

 _"_ _I'm sorry Sonia… you already have," Shard finally lifted his tear stained face. Sorry flushed his features but he remained steadfast. The rain continued, lighting flashing across the sky like a splitting silver crack followed by the god's thunderous roar._

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"_ _Sonia don't," he begged._

 _"_ _WHY?"_

 _"_ _Because you're leaving!" he stood up and screamed. "Because you're ditching me. I needed you Sonia. I love you… I always have since I first met you all those years ago. When you said yes to me… it was the happiest day of my life and these past two years with you have been the best years ever."_

 _"_ _So why are you breaking up with me?"_

 _"_ _I have no choice. I can't afford to follow you to Central City, I can't even afford a chaos-damn apartment."_

 _"_ _I'll stay then. I'll stay for you, with you," I bargained with him. "I'll force mum to let me stay, to let you stay with us."_

 _"_ _Sonia," he said sternly, gathering his composure as he cupped my face with the palm of his hand, the fabric of his fingerless gloves tickling my cheek. "You know it would never work. It can't… because of your dad."_

 _"_ _He's not my father," I snapped. "Not after what he admitted."_

 _"_ _Your mother is doing the right thing by sending you away. And your father is right… I'm no good for you. Sticking with me is bad news. I'm just a street rat, I'll only drag you down," Shard gritted his teeth trying to keep his emotions in check._

 _"_ _This is about dad?!" I gasped angrily. "Who cares what he thinks. I love you and that's all that matters."_

 _"_ _Sorry… I have to do this."_

 _"…_ _he paid you off, didn't he?" Shard couldn't meet her gaze, his abrasive dodging actions revealing more than any amount of words could, and hurt more too. "Is that it? A couple thousand dollars? That's all I'm worth to you?"_

 _"_ _Sonia, Lyco and Leeta need me. With the money your father offered me I wouldn't have to keep stealing food for them. They could have a normal childhood, just like mum always wanted before…"_

 _"_ _I can help you. I'll leave school and get a job. I'll trick dad into thinking I dumped you and I'll give you the money he gives me. I'll-" I negotiated with myself but was cut off by his lips pressing gently against mine. The salt from our tears were washed into our mouths by the rainfall._

 _"_ _Goodbye Sonia," he finally said as he pulled apart. "I love you… and I always will." Without another word, Shard turned, drew the hood of his jumper over his head and walked away with hands in his pockets. That was the last I ever saw of him. His back slowly shrinking in the storm, back to whichever abandoned building he was hiding in with his sisters. My first, and only, love. Shard._

"Sonia… you still there?" Shard's voice crackled though the speaker, snapping Sonia out of her trance. She knew she shouldn't be cold, but the knowledge that only now, when she was getting married to another guy, did he finally reach out to her. She had dreamt that she could reunite with him. That they could get married like they always planned. And now the memory of Shard just haunted her, plaguing her nightmares.

"Thanks…" Sonia whispered. "Goodbye, Shard."

"Sonia wai-" Shard begged but was cut off as Sonia ended the call. A stray tear dripped down her face as the door burst open and Aleena strode in, immediately drawn to her sorrowful demeaner.

"Sonia, baby, what's wrong?" Aleena's motherly instincts kicked in. Sonia smiled, wiping away the tear with her thumb.

"Nothing mum. Tears of joy, I promise. I'm just so happy it's finally time. I'm just happy this baby will grow up with their father," Sonia lied, pushing the thoughts of her old flame to the back of her mind, hoping he would finally burn out and dissipate away.

"I'm so proud of you, Sonia," Aleena smiled, marveling at her daughter. "My little Sonia, all grown up. Look, now you've gone and made me cry," Aleena chuckled as she sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with her finger.

"Mum, c'mon I'm not a child anymore," Sonia groaned playfully.

"I know, I know. Are you all ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Sonia smiled, putting on a brave face as she slipped her hand in her mother's. "Let's do this. Let's get married!" Sonia concluded as together, mother and daughter walked out of Sonia's little room and down the corridor to the chapel where the ceremony was ready to begin, along with the next chapter of her life.

…

'Where is he? Where is he?' Mephiles thought as he paced the room, watching as the hands spun around the analogue clock mounted to the wall above the door. It was five past three, he was already late and he knew people would begin to wonder. But he couldn't do this without Shadow. He needed Shadow there.

Mephiles quickly whipped out his phone and scrolled his contacts, clicking on Shadow's name. He was ready to press the call button when four swift knocks wracked against the door. Knock, knock, knock, knock.

"Finally," Mephiles called with a sigh, his nerves on edge. "I was starting to think you got distracted and forgot." Mephiles quickly grabbed his blazer, threw it over his white shirt and raced to the door.

He grabbed the knob with his hand and stood tall. He inhaled sharply, holding his breath. Mephiles closed his eyes and slowly exhaled a long breath, waiting as his chest fell and his worries left him, alleviating him of doubt.

"Okay, let's do this. Let's get married!" Mephiles stated proudly as he opened to door to meet Shadow and the next chapter of his life.

…

The familiar notes began emanating from the piano as the whole crowd stood silently. All heads turned to the door as Aleena stepped around the corner, followed by Sonia. The sight of her in her stunning wedding dress drew people's breaths away.

As she walked down the aisle, the beaming faces of her friends, family and the fellow students and teachers of Mobius High's Emerald Lake campus followed her until she mounted the three stairs and stood to Razor's left. The principal wore the appropriate garments, having recently become ordained.

As she waited there, Sally, Cream, Wave and Cosmo all to her left in their bridesmaids' attire supporting her, her gaze shifted over to the far end of the chapel. However, as the minutes ticked by, there was still no sign of Mephiles, or Shadow. Sonia looked over to Sonic, Manic and Mighty as they stood to Razor's right.

"Where is he?" She mouthed. Sonic and Manic simply shrugged, exchanging worried glances. Hushes murmurs began to riffle the crowd.

"Where's Mephiles?" Gold whispered to Zonic, both standing in the front row with fake smiles plastered on their face to not make Sonia feel uncomfortable or worried at the boy's absence.

"No…" Zonic breathed as his eyes strained at the half empty altar. "This can't be happening. Not again…"

"Again?" Gold queried but before she could say anymore, Shadow turned the corner, his face red and his chest tight. Sonic quickly sped down the aisle to meet him.

"Where the hell is Mephiles?" Sonic growled silently. "He's super late."

"Sonic…" Shadow panted. "I just checked his room and Mephiles… he… he…"

"He what?" Sonia's eyes lit up, hurt, pain and uncertainty flooded them as she read Shadow's lips as he responded to her brother.

"He's gone!"

* * *

 _A/N: Yes, I know a lot of you were begging for it not to end like this but alas, Sonia was indeed left at the altar. And just to say, the Mephiles and Sonia storyline, along with Mephiles being gay, Sonia being pregnant and the wedding happening were one of my original storylines, along with Mighty and Ray and the death. The rest of the story all grew out from there, so just trust me when I say that I have a plan and you'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out. But the real question is, where did Mephiles go? Did he really give up? If so, who was at the door? Was it really Shadow? It was their special knock, but Shadow was at the dorms, right? If it was somebody else, what could they have said to make Mephiles change his mind, and why would they say it? All these questions, and I promise all will be answered by the end of this part (Chapter 48 at the absolute latest :P)_

 _Sonia's backstory with Shard is finally revealed. He was a streetrat with a deadbeat dad and a dead mother. He had to steal to provide for his two sisters, Lyco and Leeta (Part of the other freedom fighters which Silver, Shard and Elias were all apart of FYI) and Jules was not happy with his daughter dating a beggar. Did Shard dump her for the right reasons? Was he justified? Was Sonia justified for her cold reaction to his phone call? You decide, and why not leave a review to tell me your answers :P_

 _Ray and Clove are official, after some help from Eclipse, Sonar and Espio. Just wait until Mighty finds out about this... Speaking of Sonar, a fun little side character or an annoying brat? It seems like them, along with Jet and Cosmo, are the two newest couples on the block._

 _Breezie and Silver... both of you done fucked up with your respective best friends. Blaze doesn't want you back Silver, no duh, but more surprisingly is Spike finally done with his infatuation of Breezie? Do you feel any remorse for either of the two of them?_

 _Amy and Manic... lust rules them, and their anger rules their lust. A bad match, but is something else brewing. And its finally revealed that Aleena inadvertantly created the obsessive love-stricken nature inside of Amy. Maybe she wouldn't be so hardcore of Sonic if it wasn't for his siblings' mother's advice. Fate is a cruel mistress._

 _And Fiona has finally seen Lumina. Both of them know the other has connections to Void, who is still locked secruely away in prison. How will their inevitable encounter play out, and just what is Lumina's connection to Void? And how did he end up in prison in the first place? Does Lumina hold those answer? (Spoilers!)_

 _Thankyou all so much for sticking with this story so far, especially since I leave you with half a two-parter and then a 20 day gap. My apologies. And just a note, yes, all chapters so far this part have taken place in the first week back (Chapter 32-36). A busy week indeed. And a very busy next chapter, so the 'next time' will be twice as long, just to whet your appetites. Please don't forget to leave a review letting me know your thoughts, theories of anything in general. I love the feedback. Maybe just answer the QotD?_

 _QotD: (This is a big one, but it would really help me in figuring out which characters deserve more time in the spotlight and which characters are the fan favourites and the fan hatreds). Who are your five favourite characters and why? Who are your five least favourite characters and why? Feedback on this especially would be much appreciated._

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Wedding aftermath, Sonia's confusion and Sonic's anger!_

 _Fiona's confrontation with her mother_

 _Lumina learns where Void is_

 _Ray admits the truth to Mighty_

 _Blaze gets some sad news_

 _Silver tries to get help from Espio?_

 _Breezie won't admit defeat_

Gold confronts Zonic about his 'not again' realization

Julie and Knuckles finally address the elephant in the room

...and Spike has a coffee crisis?

 **All that** and so much more, next time on Chapter 37: Coffee Crisis


	37. Chapter 37: Coffee Crisis

_A/N: Damn. I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit annoyed at how long it took me to get this chapter out. I wanted to release it on the 28th as a special one year anniversary chapter but I just couldn't finish it on time because of work, exams and the new fire emblem game ;) Either way, Happy 1 year anniversary to SH:EL! I might be a bit late, but as a thanks I give you the longest chapter ever, with over 13,000 words. I hope you like it, a lot is going on!_

* * *

Chapter 37

Coffee Crisis

"Why do we have to do this so early?" Eclipse groaned as he was lead half asleep in a zombie-like trance.

"Because this is a matter of the utmost importance," Spike whined, keeping his iron grasp on Eclipses wrist, hauling him forward further. Spike was worried. Something serious was amiss and despite the sleep crusting over Eclipses tired eyes, he could tell this was urgent.

"Where are you taking me?" Eclipse asked, not used to being up so early. The sun was still low on the horizon, the warming heat starting to melt away the due amassed on the blades of grass from the night's condensation.

"Emerald Café," Spike stated plainly like it should have been obvious. Eclipse was confused but followed along, concerned for his friend.

Once they arrived at the café, Spike burst through the doors, thankful to see Bean on duty instead of Breezie. He quickly hastened to the counter and slammed a crisp five dollar note onto the counter.

"Emerald Cappuccino, quickly," Spike said hurriedly. Bean reacted undeterred, his usual sad demeaner staying strong as he took the money and trotted over to start making the coffee without a word.

"Hey, don't be so mean to Bean," Eclipse scolded him.

"No time for formalities, this is life or death," Spike chided as he hopped from foot to foot, waiting for Bean to add in the secret, peppermint ingredient that gave the coffee the titular emerald flair.

"What is?"

"This!" Spike threw his hands skywards. "Our very own café is taking their emerald coffee's off the menu! Today is the last day we can get them, and I need that pepperminty goodness in my life," Spike whined like a child who had been told he wasn't allowed to eat chocolate again.

"Seriously," Eclipse droned, unenthused. He couldn't believe this was Spike's urgent problem that needed to be solved at seven in the morning. "I'm out of here."

"Eclipse wait, I need you for moral support. This is the worst day of my life," Spike called melodramatically. Eclipse ignored him, throwing his hands in his pockets as he exited the café.

"You're unbelievable," he muttered as he left.

"Here you go, one emerald Cappuccino," Bean said in a monotone manner. Spike greedily snatched it out of Bean's hands, mumbling his thanks as he went to take an eager sip. "Yowch!" Spike yelled, grabbing his burnt tongue. The mug fell from his hands in his reaction, crashing to the floor. Pieces of ceramics shattered, peppering the floor as Spike tried to blow on his tongue idiotically.

"Really," Bean sighed as he saw the mess he would have to clean up.

"Aww, my coffee," Spike moaned as he bent down to pick up some of the bigger pieces of the mug. He placed all the pieces he could on the counter to make Bean's job easier and went to get more money for another coffee when the bell above the door chimed and Breezie strolled in.

"Spike…" she breathed.

"Sorry Bean, some other time, I gotta go," Spike quickly apologized again and sprinted out of the café, avoiding eye contact with the concerned and depressed teenager.

"What's up with him?" Bean queried. "He's not usually this… strange."

"It's a long story," Breezie replied as she moved around to the counter and grabbed her denim apron from the rack. "Don't worry, I'll clean this up," Breezie offered as she grabbed the broom and got to work, thinking of Spike and how quickly he fled from her presence.

…

Silver lay on his side, staring across at Espio out of the corner of his eye as the other teenager lay on his stomach, a familiar small notebook resting on his pillow. Espio's legs swung freely in the air as he tabbed the end of the pen on his teeth rhythmically, waiting for the lyrics to come to him.

Both roommates were woken up early that Sunday morning due to a surprise interruption when Spike banged on their door and roused Eclipse from his sleep. However, neither one of them slept much that night. Most of the school hadn't after the depressing wedding. Almost every student in the school watched as Sonia sprinted down the aisle, tears streaming from her eyes as she disappeared around the corner yesterday afternoon. All their hearts collectively broke for her, and all anger turned to Mephiles, who had yet to be seen despite the night-long search by Sally, Cream, Wave, Cosmo, Shadow and Mighty, spearheaded by Sonic and Manic. After no sign of him, the whole school seemed to retire to their rooms. Rumour had it that Sonia had shut herself away in the room Razor had given her and hadn't emerged since.

Silver sighed, trying to work up the nerve to talk to Espio. He knew Espio owed him nothing. He knew that he was solely responsible for ruining Espio's schooling life after the fateful decision to send those nudes around the he had mistakenly been sent one drunken night.

"H-Hey Espio?" Silver mumbled under his breath, barely audible. No response. "Hey, Espio," Silver repeated slightly louder, with a little more confidence.

"What do you want," Espio hissed back, turning his head to glare at the startled teenager. His standoffish nature unusual, but warranted.

"I… Ummm… wanted to say I'm sorry. For the pictures and, well, basically everything I've done to you," Silver tried to apologize.

"Really? You're apologizing now? Only after you've been found out? You're disgusting, leave me alone," Espio shook his head, ignoring Silver.

"I know, but after what you did to Blaze last semester I-"

"Don't give me that shit. I felt so bad for what I did to you two, but turns out you didn't even care about Blaze," Espio scowled.

"Don't you dare say I didn't care about her!" Silver fired back, suddenly worked up as his blood boiled.

"Why not? You clearly didn't care about her since you were balls deep in Breezie while she was in intensive care at the hospital!" Silver went silent, nothing else he could say. He knew Espio was right, and he knew he deserved to be ignored, but he wanted to try to set things right.

"That's… that's kinda what I wanted to ask you. I… need a favour," Silver admitted. Espio turned his head, finally meeting Silver's gaze.

"You can't be serious?" Espio laughed humourlessly. "What possessed you to think I would ever do any favour for you?"

"It's about Blaze. I really hurt her and I want to show her I'm sorry. I was wondering… if you could help me write her a song to show her how much I care about her," Silver blurted out. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence before Espio burst into laughter.

"Her dumping you was the best thing that could ever happen to that girl. I actually like Blaze, and making sure you don't get her back would be the nicest way for me to pay the kindness she showed me despite all I did to her," Espio replied through laughs, whipping away his tears.

"But Espio, please, I really need your help," Silver begged. Espio couldn't help but pity the groveling teenager who once stood so high above him on the moral ground. However, no amount of pity would change Espio's mind.

"Go fuck yourself," he concluded bitterly, slamming his book shut and jumping off the top bunk. He grabbed some trousers and a towel from the hangers and left the room for the showers without so much as a glance. Moments later, the door opened again and Silver was ready to try another apology, but it was Eclipse that stepped through the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Silver asked, seeing Eclipses tired and annoyed face.

"I swear to Chaos I don't know why I ever became friends with Spike sometimes," Eclipse complained as he collapsed face first onto his mattress, instantly falling asleep from exhaustion.

…

Big, black bags hung from Sonic's eyes as he trotted through the forest with sagged shoulders. He stopped to stretch as he pushed through the overgrown path and emerged back on school grounds, yawning loudly as the sun hit his skin. He had been searching all night, long after all the others had given up and gone to bed. He wanted to find Mephiles, no, needed to find him. To teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget.

He slunk back to the dormitory, dragging his heels across the freshly cut grass, trying his hardest not to collapse from exhaustion. It wasn't until he dragged himself up the short steps and fell through the doors into the lounging area that he was invigorated with newfound energy.

"Where is he?!" Sonic yelled as he pounced Shadow, who was silently dozing on one of the fuchsia couches. He had planned to retire to his room after last night's search but paused to rest his eyes before falling into sleep's clutches.

"Huh, wha?" Shadow screamed as he snapped awake, grabbing Sonic's arm and twisting it, hurling Sonic's body over the top of his head to slam him down on the ground behind him.

"Ah, fuck, what the hell is wrong with you?" Sonic cursed aloud as he bellowed in pain.

"Shit, sorry," Shadow apologized as he helped Sonic off the ground and up to his feet. "Reflexes, you shouldn't sneak up on a guy like that."

"You don't have to go ape shit and flip me," Sonic complained as he rubbed his lower back to relieve some of the pain. Sonic was fuming, more so than before and Shadow couldn't help but sigh, knowing better than most how worked up Sonic can get.

"What do you want, Sonic?" He asked casually.

"I want to know where the hell Mephiles is," Sonic snorted.

"How should I know? I spent all night searching for him like you did. I didn't find him, so why are you here yelling at me?"

"Because… you… you know him. You are his boyfriend and you were the last one to see him and-"

"Ex-boyfriend," Shadow corrected him. "And that has nothing to do with anything. What are you insinuating?" Shadow probed.

"Maybe this was your plan. Get him to change his mind, run away and then join him later. You probably told him to run away!"

"Are you seriously blaming me?" Shadow growled, unable to believe Sonic. "I know you're an idiot, but your idiocy really amazes me. You become the biggest moron when you're angry."

"But… but he loved you!" Sonic continued in his desperate attempt to find somebody to blame, somebody who he could yell at.

"Cut the shit, Sonic. I'm not gonna be the patsy again. I'm sick of being blamed for shit that I didn't do. I expected that from others, but not you," Shadow said with judgement.

"Shadow I…" Sonic trailed off, not knowing what to stay, anger still clouding his better judgement.

"You're the most stubborn person I know," Shadow shook his head as he turned to climb the stairs. "I'm gonna go hang with Tails. At least he is a true friend." With that, Shadow disappeared, leaving Sonic to stew in his anger and hopelessness.

…

Blaze stared out the window, watching the sun rise high in the sky. She contemplated her plan, formulated in her head the previous day after her eventful encounter with Fiona. Her hatred for Sally had burned bright, sparked further by the knowledge that everything Silver had told her about revenge and karma had been sweet nothings from a hypocrite who subsequently broke her heart.

The more she dwelled on her momentary anger, the more she began to hate herself. She couldn't really go through with their vengeance plan, could she? Sally had always been so kind. Always had her best interests at heart, and Blaze knew that the fire was an accident. Her stomach hurt, as if her body was fighting against her earlier decision. Before she could contemplate further, her phone rang, garnering her attention.

"Hello?" She asked, putting on her best peppy voice despite her demeaner. "…Yes, this is Blaze speaking… What, she's dead?" Blaze gasped, sadness instantly enveloping her. She could feel the tears already threatening as she continued in a shallow, weak voice. "I… I understand, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Blaze dropped the phone on her bed, fresh streaks of tears streaming down her eyes as she tried to contain the wave of sadness that had smashed into her, sending her heart tumbling overboard into the murky depths below that she had recently been struggling to climb herself out of.

Blaze grabbed her coat and hastened out of the room, pushing past Amy and Cosmo who were just returning from breakfast together. She almost tumbled down the stairs, tripping over her own feet as she barreled across the grassy fields and into the mail building in the center of campus.

She slammed the palm of her hand against the small, brass bell, feverishly trying to gain either Gold or Razor's attention. She needed a permission slip to leave the school for a couple days. She needed those days off. The last thing she needed was hearing the sarcastic remarks of a certain rust-furred vixen scoffing behind her.

"Breaking the bell won't get glasses to come any faster," Fiona remarked sardonically.

"I'm not in the mood," Blaze sniffed, wiping dry the trail of tears to avoid looking weak or vulnerable in front of the manipulative girl. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"You're not the only one who needs permission to leave the school today."

"As if permission ever stopped you," Blaze snarled.

"What's gotten into you today? Well, if you don't want me to make fun of you, how about we talk about more pressing matters," Fiona transitioned, swaying her hips as she waltzed up to lean on the desk, staring at Blaze's unsure face.

"What?" Blaze replied indignantly, not in the mood to deal with Fiona's attitude.

"I've been doing some pre-planning about your Sally scheme and I think I have the perfect time to make the switcheroo," Fiona mused. "The more I thought about your idea, the more perfect and downright evil it is. It's deliciously appropriate. It'll really fuck her up the same way she fucked up both our lives," Fiona added proudly.

Blaze paused to think. Part of her, the small, darker part of her subconscious that was unlocked at the wedding due to the simultaneous break-up with Silver and knowledge that despite him preaching about the negative effects of revenge, he took his own against Espio, wanted her to continue her scheme. She began to think, opening her mouth to add input when her heart snapped at her.

The aching muscle, still in pain after the previous news of her deceased aunt chastised her. Blaze knew she was a better person. She knew she couldn't go through with this. Not to Sally. Her aunt wouldn't have wanted this. She wouldn't want her memory soiled like this.

"No." Blaze said finally.

"What?" Fiona asked. "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean no. I'm not doing this with you. It's evil. Just pure evil," Blaze argued.

"Are you kidding me? This was your idea! You're not backing out on me now, little miss perfect," Fiona growled.

"Damn right I am," Blaze fired back.

"You're pathetic," Fiona spat.

"At least I'm not so depraved and sad as to enacting stupid revenge on my friends."

"Friends? Ha, that's a laugh. Sally lit the school on fire, standing back to watch as you almost died and I took the fall."

"But she confessed."

"Only after you came back and I was released from jail. Only after she knew it was safe. She fucked us both, and she deserves what's coming to her," Fiona stated plainly.

"I refuse," Blaze protested, standing her ground.

"You're weak! I'll do it myself then. Just try and stop me," Fiona challenged, narrowing her eyes.

"Whatever," Blaze rolled her eyes. "You know you are the most horrible, self-absorbed person I've ever met."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm the most humble person at this school!"

"Point proven," Blaze sighed as she pushed past Fiona. "Just do what you want. I need to go deal with things," Blaze said finally as she ignored getting permission and walked away. Just as she left, Gold finally walked through the doors, a piping hot cup of coffee in her hands.

"And where the fuck have you been!" Fiona scolded the secretary. Without a word, Gold just ignored the vixen, walking into her office to retrieve a red slip of paper and silently hand it to Fiona. "A detention slip? What for?"

"Swearing at me," Gold replied politely, batting her eyelashes as she took a satisfied sip of her coffee.

"I hate this school," Fiona muttered under her breath as she snatched the paper out of Gold's hand and stormed off, ignoring the permission she originally set out to get.

…

It had felt like an eternity. Bernadette and Aleena were both curled up in balls on the floor, fast asleep after having dozed off from exhaustion. They both still stayed at their posts outside Sonia's door, but neither were let in by the distraught bride to be. Quietly, when she was sure both of them had fallen asleep, Sonic unlocked the door and peered out.

"Sonia!" Manic called cheerfully, running into her and wrapping his arms around her body, ignoring her pleas for quiet. He had been out looking for Mephiles all night while the two mothers guarded Sonia, trying to speak to the crying girl but Manic had returned in the early hours of the morning.

"Manic, please be quiet. I don't want to wake…" Sonia trailed off as Aleena roused her head, wiping the sleep out of her eyes before the fell on Sonia.

"My poor baby," she cried out as she jumped up, instantly waking Bernadette as she also threw her arms around Sonia. "Are you okay? Why didn't you let me in? Don't worry, we'll deal with this. I'm so sorry. Are you holding up okay, sweetie?" Aleena bombarded Sonia with questions.

"Mum, please, I'm fine. I just need some… space," she choked as she managed to pry her mother off her, gulping in big breaths of air. She darted her gaze to Manic.

"Sorry," he mouthed, understanding why Sonia wanted some peace and quiet after the traumatic wedding before being suffocated. Sonia couldn't help but smile, though. Just the knowledge of her mother and brother caring so much about her that they would camp outside the door. It warmed her broken heart.

"Mum, I'm okay. Really," Sonia assured her.

"Why didn't you let us in?" Bernadette asked kindly, concern dripping from her words as she stretched her legs.

"I just needed to be left alone with my thoughts before getting smothered. I'm really okay," Sonia continued, having been dried out of tears for some time.

"Are you sure?" Aleena asked, motherly instincts kicking in.

"Promise," Sonia managed a weak smile before the three of them all hugged her again instinctively. Sonia sighed, returning the embrace.

"I'm so sorry this has happened," Aleena frowned.

"It's fine, mum. I'm a big girl, I can handle it."

"You sure? We can still stay at the hotel and be with you until you feel better," Bernadette offered.

"Please, that's the last thing I want. No offence," Sonia added. "I just need things to go back to normal. I just need to process this on my own and not have everybody fawning over me the whole time, especially my mother."

"Could have said that nicer," Manic whispered, seeing the hurt on Aleena's face.

"No, I understand," Aleena smiled. "You're a very brave girl, Sonia."

"Thanks, I do love you very much."

"But Sonia, you do know things won't go back to normal. People will continue talking about this for some time before it all dies down," Bernadette pointed out.

"I know, but I have my brothers to look after me and I don't think people are going to mess with either of them after they saw what happened to Mephiles the first time."

"Exactly. Me and Sonic can take care of her if she needs, ma," Manic confirmed.

"Okay, okay. But know I'm always a phone call away," Aleena reminded them.

"We know," they both said in unison. Sonia quickly gave Bernadette and Aleena another quick hug again, offering more thanks and assurance she was okay before ushering them away.

"Oh, and do tell Sonic I apologize for what I said to Amy, will you?" Aleena called as she walked down the hall.

"I will," Manic called. Sonia shot him a confused glance. "Long story. I'll tell you about it later." It wasn't until both Aleena and Bernadette had completely vanished that Sonia let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"That's two people down. Now I just have to deal with the rest of the school," she added shakily.

"I'm right here," Manic smiled, slipping his hand in hers as the two twins smiled at each other. "We can get you through this, and find Mephiles, together."

…

A cool breeze billowed across the vacant field. Most students were either curled up in bed, feverishly typing away on their laptops to finish their last assignments or still asleep after the exhausting wedding the afternoon prior. Spike zipped up his jacket, shivering as the wind whipped his skin, leaving him riddled with goosebumps. Despite the blazing sun in the sky, it was a cold, chilly day due to the blistering winds that attacked the school.

He wrapped his hands, shielded in his fingerless, black gloves, around the cardboard cup of emerald latte. This was now his second attempt at enjoying a last tantalizing taste of the dreamy peppermint coffee before the café ran out but before he could press his lips against the flap and let the hot liquid slip down his throat a voice rang through the field.

"Spike!" It called out desperately, accompanied by a hand clasping down heavily on his shoulder. Spike jumped in fright, surprised and caught completely off guard. In his frantic panic, he let go of his grip and watched in horror as the takeaway cup fell to the ground. He sniffed as he watched the brown liquid soak into the grass, seeping into the dirt. He turned around, fire in his eyes to berate the person that cost him his coffee but stopped dead in his tracks when his gaze was met by deep purple.

"B-Breezie…" he mumbled, still not able to face his newest demon, and oldest angel.

"Please, Spike stop avoiding me. Just let me explain, please," she begged, her voice fragile and vulnerable. Spike had never heard it in this tone, not since he first met her when she moved to the school all those years ago. He facial features drooped, her eyes sore and filled with pain. Guilt hung over her head, her shoulders sagged as depression gripped her mind.

Spike looked at her, a woman he used to adore but not looked at with indifference. She was nothing like the girl he fell in love with. Despite not looking different, he couldn't see her the same way as she was before.

"Please," she pleaded. Her voice trembled and as much as Spike wanted to turn and walk away, he couldn't help but nod silently to her.

"I just wanted to say again I'm so sorry that I hurt you," Breezie began. "I didn't mean to. If I led you on it was never my intention. I didn't know how you felt about me, and I was blinded by finally finding Silver again."

"Seriously… that's your apology," Spike replied dully.

"What do you mean? I-"

"Don't give me that shit," Spike interrupted forcefully. "Don't pretend you didn't know how I felt about you. You knew, and you toyed with me."

"That's not fair!" Breezie retorted loudly. "You can't get mad at me because I didn't love you back! I loved you like a best friend, like a brother but not romantically and I'm sorry."

"That's not why I'm mad. I'm mad because of the way you hurt Blaze, the way you ditched me and treated me after you started dating Silver. Discarded me like leftovers that had gone off," Spike sighed.

"Spike I-"

"But most importantly… I'm mad because you knew how I felt about you, and you knew that I had the highest grade in history and so you decided to trick me into helping you write your history paper. I felt weird about doing ninety percent but I was so blinded, and you used that blindness to get me to do the hard work while you had fun with him!"

"I…" Breezie tried to argue but she couldn't. She knew he was right. She knew she used him, and had no excuse. "I'm sorry," she sighed. Spike shook his head, and turned to walk off.

"Spike please… I don't know what I'd do without my best friend," she called with a whimper. Spike stopped, took a deep breath and spoke without turning around.

"Did you ever love me?"

"You were my best friend. My brother…"

"I said…" Spike said as he glanced behind him, his eyes locking with hers. "Did you ever love me?"

"…No," Breezie admitted as her eyes dropped to the ground. Spike began to walk off again. "Spike please… we can still be best friends. I still need you!"

"I can't keep doing this to myself," Spike said finally. "I'm sorry, but it's too painful. I'll never not love you, Breezie. But you hurt me one too many times." With that final confession, Spike disappeared into the dorms building.

…

"What was that about?" Cosmo asked as she staggered to keep her feet, leaning against the wall as Blaze pushed past the two girls.

"Wish I knew," Amy shrugged as she stepped back into their shared dorm room. "I have no idea what goes on in that girl's head."

"I hope it's nothing serious," Cosmo fretted as she followed Amy into their room, collapsing down on Cloves bed. She was too lazy to climb the ladder and new her absent roommate wouldn't mind.

"Don't worry. Blaze is a tough one. Anybody who can survive a fiery inferno and stand up to Fiona can handle anything life throws their way. It's the thing I admire most about her," Amy smirked. She quickly sat up, shooting Cosmo a glance. "And don't you ever tell her I said that."

"Okay, promise," Cosmo gulped, smart enough to know not to get on the receiving end of Amy's wrath.

"Oh, also…" Amy trailed off, lying back down to face the bottom of the bunk above her, unsure of her next words.

"…yeah?" Cosmo asked cautiously.

"Sorry, I just wanted to ask how you're doing. Like, I'm not sure what to say or how to approach this… but, like, I want to make sure that you are on the right track. Have you done any gambling recently?"

"Oh… that…" Cosmo sighed before chuckling, unable to stifle her laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just… that's the strangest way anybody has ever asked how I'm going."

"Sorry, it's just… you're my friend and I want to make sure everything is okay but I know it's a touchy subject and didn't know how to properly approach it," Amy admitted.

"Amy, don't worry. You can say what you want, as long as I know that it's coming from a good place, I won't get mad," Cosmo smiled, pleased that Amy cared about how she was fairing in her constant struggling against the nagging inclinations that plagued her day to day life.

"So… you never really answered my question."

"Good. It's going good."

"That's good," Amy replied before throwing her a cheeky sneer.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I also noticed you and Jet at the wedding the other day. I can smell when there's love in the air," she winked. "Since when were you dating Jet?!"

"Shhh, not so loud," Cosmo shushed Amy. "We don't want anybody to know yet."

"So it's true!" Amy almost jumped for joy, hiding a squeal of excitement.

"No… well kinda… like it's nothing serious, we haven't even kissed yet but-"

"But you've finally found a guy," Amy dived out of her bed and jumped onto Cosmo, embracing her tightly.

"Amy please, you're hurting me," Cosmo coughed through laughs as the two girls shard in contagious laughter.

"I knew you'd get somebody someday. I never gave up hope."

"Thanks Amy."

"Remember, if you ever need advice, I'm your girl."

"Again, thanks… but I think I'll do this my own way," Cosmo smiled, relieved to know that despite all she had done to her roommate and all the money she had stolen and lost, Amy still cared about her and considered her a friend.

…

Mighty: _Okay, fine, my room five minutes_

Despite the tone Ray assumed from the way Mighty wrote his message, it was still sent almost immediately after Ray's question. It wasn't much to ease Ray's anxiety but it was enough to give him that small confidence boost necessary.

"You can do this. It's not that big of a deal. He's Mighty, remember. Not some evil demon. Just Mighty. The same Mighty who is kind. The same Mighty who always stood up for me. The same Mighty who loves me. The same Mighty who chose me as his best friend. The same Mighty who is my best friend," Ray spoke into the mirror, his reflection mimicking his speech. The self-proclaimed pep talk did little to slow his racing pulse. Butterflies flew around in his stomach and his knees were weak.

Ray didn't want to feel so weak. Didn't know how Mighty could ever make his feel this nervous but despite his rational side, he was still more scared about this than anything. He clenched his fist, nodded to himself and strode out of the bathroom and down the hall until he found himself standing outside Mighty's dorm room.

"It's just Mighty…" Ray repeated in a whisper. "He always wants what's best for us… always." Ray raised his knuckles and knocked on the door. He could hear papers shuffling on the other side of the door before it slowly creaked open to reveal Tails standing shirtless in nothing but pajama bottoms.

"Ray? What a pleasant surprise. How have you been?" Tails greeted courteously.

"Oh, hi Tails, n-nice to see you," Ray stammered, annoyed that his nerves were betraying his mouth.

"Are you here to see-"

"Me. He's here to see me and it's private. Can you wait outside," Mighty cut Tails off rudely, narrowing his eyes at the back of Tails' head. Tails turned around, annoyed but when he saw the grave severity in his roommate's eyes, Tails knew that this was serious.

"I-I need to go to the toilet," Tails lied as he quickly fled the room, closing the door behind Ray, leaving the two best friends alone together.

"Okay, I'm listening. What did you want to talk to me about?" Mighty asked distantly, jumping right to the point.

"Seriously? That's it. No, 'Hi Ray, so good to see you again?' I thought we were friends," Ray complained.

"Sorry," Mighty sighed, sliding over to Ray and wrapping his arms around the shorter boy's shoulders. Surprised, Ray smiled and took his opportunity anyway, snaking his arms around Mighty's waist.

"I can feel your smile," Mighty chuckled.

"Good, because I'm happy and you should know it," Ray replied, the nervousness that had been plaguing him slowly dissipating.

"Why?"

"Because ever since that fight, we haven't seen each other or talked. I missed you," Ray frowned.

"Ray…" Mighty trailed off, pushing the boy back arm's length so his hands were resting on Ray's shoulders and their gazes interlocked in a fierce contest. Each one searching the other's pupils for hints of what they were thinking, feeling, like they always could do.

"Mighty I-"

"No, I'm sorry," Mighty interrupted quickly. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I just got so mad after you told me about Clove and I shouldn't have been so distant. Things have just been really hard for me recently but I shouldn't take that out on you. I missed you too, a lot honestly but I'll make it up to you. I'm not gonna leave you, and I'm always going to be here for you no matter what. I love you."

"…I wasn't going to say I'm sorry," Ray smirked. There was a moment of silence before the two burst out laughing. "But yeah, I love you too."

"You're a little shit," Mighty chuckled, lightly punching Ray's forearm before breathing a sigh of relief. "But glad that's done with. So, wanna grab some coffee? I hear today is the last day they are selling emerald coffee. Talk about a coffee crisis, am I right?" Mighty grinned.

"Yeah, definitely," Ray nodded before stopping himself, his shoulders instantly drooping. "Actually… There is something I wanted to tell you."

"Shoot," Mighty said as he plopped down on his bed and began tying up the shoelaces of his black vans.

"Promise you won't hate me?" Ray began.

"It always makes me nervous when you say that."

"So, you promise?"

"Ray, I'm your best friend. I understand if you need me to promise to keep a secret, even though you know I'd never spill any secret you give me, but needing me to promise that I won't hate you… that just hurts. I could never hate you, okay?" Mighty urged, his voice grave, serious but above all, flooding with care.

"Okay," Ray sighed. "I know. I couldn't ever hate you either. So… here goes," Ray took a deep breath before spewing out his words in quick succession. "I asked Clove out yesterday and she said yes."

Mighty sat up straight, his spine stiffening and his hand clamping shut around the shoe he was loosening. He just sat there, frozen like a statue, not blinking and not moving a muscle. Ray could feel his anxiety crash over him again like a mighty wave in a hurricane.

"M-Mighty?" Ray stuttered. "Are… are you okay?" Without warning, in one quick motion Mighty reeled back his arm and sent the shoe flying across the room, smashing into the wall with a loud crash. Ray flinched as Mighty turned began breathing out with great frequency and capacity.

"Mighty… Mighty are you okay?" Ray cautiously tiptoed over to the disgruntled teenager.

"Am I okay?" Mighty repeated, almost in a joking matter, coupled with a small laugh. "Am I okay?" He repeated again in hysterics, jumping to his feet. "No, I'm not fucking okay," he boomed.

"Mighty I-I"

"I-I-I… I what?" Mighty growled, staring Ray down with menacing eyes, flames dancing in their center. "I betrayed your trust? I backstabbed you? I took the sacrifice you made for me and stepped all over it, and you in the process because all I care about is myself?"

"What? Mighty… Mighty I didn't betray you? You said you didn't like her that way anymore and said I could date her. How did you sacrifice her? Please… why are you being like this?"

"Why does anyone act like anything? Why do trees sway in the breeze? Why do humans breathe? Why does Sonic run?" Mighty asked rhetorically, uproariously.

"Mighty, stop, you're not making sense. You're scaring me," Ray backed up slightly.

"Oh sorry, I can't scare you but you can walk all over my body. Maybe I should get Scourge in here, you two can be best friends and laugh at me."

"What?"

"I'm outta here," Mighty stood and stomped out of the room, still with only one shoe on his left foot.

"What the hell did you do?" Tails asked as he hesitantly entered the room.

"I have no idea," Ray admitted.

…

The long line stretched all the way out the door, snaking around the side of the building. Bean looked completely exhausted, run ragged off his feet after Breezie had left on her break. Sweat beaded on his brow, coffee grinds staining his clothing and the sweet aroma of peppermint seeping into his pours.

Tikal and Clove thanked him, warming their hands on their piping hot cups of coffee as the retreated from the café out into the open, completely at the mercy of the winds. Tikal shivered, wrapping a scarf tighter around her neck as the two friends took off back to the dormitory.

"I still can't believe he fled," Clove sounded frustrated. "I thought I knew him better than that."

"I just hope poor Sonia is doing okay," Tikal frowned with sympathy. "But at least it wasn't all bad…" Tikal smirked. Clove looked at her, confused. "Ray, you idiot," Tikal laughed.

"Oh, right, yeah. I can't believe he asked me out. It was a pleasant surprise," Clove hid her smile as she lifted the cup up to her lips to drink.

"C'mon, as if that was a surprise. It was so totally obvious that he liked you. Mighty even knew it and he was going out with you!" Tikal announced like it was the most obvious statement in the world.

"Wait… Mighty knew? So… why did he get mad about me and Ray growing closer if he knew this would happen?"

"I have no idea," Tikal sighed, thinking back to the pain her close friend was going through. She knew she shouldn't be encouraging Clove to pursue this relationship with Ray, but Clove was her best friend above everybody else and she seemed genuinely happy about the new romantic prospects that have been introduced into her life.

"But Clove…" Tikal began, remembering Clove's slip of the tongue at the wedding. "You let it slip about something Cassia had told you about Ray and Mighty. What did she say?"

"Oh… it's just the mind of a younger girl playing tricks on her. I don't think she really understood what was happening," Clove excused her sister's accusations.

"Okay, let me rephrase. What did she think was happening?"

"She told me that Mighty and Ray were gay, like, with each other. Like that would ever happen," Clove chuckled. Tikal smiled, laughing along with her best friends despite the gears turning in her brain. She recalled some of the stories Mighty had told her, things he needed to get off his chest. The change room fiasco, the depressive state Mighty seemed to always manage to pull Ray out of, and, most importantly, the night at the cliff. Things didn't seem to fully add up. Holes emerged in the story that Tikal never brought up after Mighty assured her nothing was going on. But now that Cassia saw it too, Tikal couldn't shed the thought. It just made too much sense.

"Tiks? You alright?" Clove waved her hand in front of Tikal's face, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Lost you for a second."

"Oh, no it's nothing. Just remembering that I had to go talk to Mr. Zonic. I'll see you around," Tikal lied as she rushed off.

…

Everywhere she walked, all heads turned to face her and all eyes fell upon her. She wanted none of it. She just wanted to escape everything, to be alone with her thoughts and just get back into her normal school routine. To forget about everything that happened. Her dorm room wasn't any kind of solace with Sally fretting over her as soon as she opened the door. She quickly grabbed her laptop and hastened over to the library, not stopping to talk to anybody, not even Sonic who called to her as she rushed past. It was too much. Everybody thought she loved Mephiles, and everybody thought it was heartbreak. It was, but somehow it was almost worse than that, knowing how relieved she was that her baby was going to be alright and now being thrown back into the uncertain winds.

Meanwhile, after waiting almost an hour in the increasingly long line to get his hands on his third coffee of the day, and hopefully the first one he could actually enjoy, Spike exited the café.

Spike felt his heart break as he saw Sonic barrel past him, gaze transfixed to the floor. He knew what it was like to have somebody you loved break your heart. Although he never had Breezie ever reciprocate the feelings and he certainly never was about to marry her. He was slightly confused, however. It was common knowledge that Mephiles was gay, which made the wedding a complete surprise. Either way, the pain in Sonia's eyes were real enough for Spike to know he had to do something to help her.

He narrowed his eyes, care and determination flowing through his veins as he followed Sonia into the building and up the stairs. He saw her sitting at one of the tables at the far end of the library, head stuck into her laptop screen and made his way over there when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"No food or drinks in the library," Megan, the school's librarian stopped him.

"But I need-" Spike began to argue but was instantly cut off.

"No food or drinks in the library," Megan repeated forcefully, her piercing gaze melting Spike's confidence. Spike gulped, his eyes flitting from the depressed Sonia to his billowing emerald Flat White. Sonia needed somebody, but he still hadn't been able to taste the delectable, tantalizing coffee. Spike sighed, letting the coffee slip from his hands into the bin with a heavy heart.

"Rest in peace," Spike sniffed as he slumped over to Sonia.

"What a weird kid," Megan sighed as she returned to her desk at the library entrance, grabbing her own cup of Emerald Coffee and sipping at it was a satisfied sigh. Spike approached Sonia at the circular table tucked away in the back-left corner of the library, surrounded almost completely by books and bookshelves, and took a seat opposite her.

"Sonia?" He asked cautiously.

"Please go away, Spike," Sonia said without looking up from her screen.

"Sonia, I just wanted to-"

"No Spike," Sonia boomed, slamming her fist against the table and dragging her gaze from her screen to peer angrily into Spike's soulful eyes.

"Shhh," Megan hissed from her desk.

"I don't want your sympathies," Sonia hissed in a hushed whisper. "I don't want to talk about what happened. I don't want to talk about Mephiles or my feelings, I just want to be left alone and forget it ever happened."

"No, Sonia, you misunderstand. I was just going to ask you if you've finished that History essay Mr. Ash gave us about the great war?" Spike quickly lied, hoping to lift Sonia's spirits and lower her guard.

"Actually, I'm doing that now," Sonia replied, surprised by his topic of conversation. Spike took this opening as a chance to make her smile.

"Yeah. I'm finding it really interesting, actually. It's cool how Captain Metal became so strong and crushed his enemies thanks to his alloys." Sonia stared at her, completely at a loss as Spike stared back at her with a big, goofy grin on his face, his eyebrows raised in anticipation.

"You're an idiot," Sonia replied.

"C'mon. Get it? Captain Metal. Alloys instead of allies? Because mixing metallic elements together to create one of greater strength is an alloy!"

"I get it. That doesn't mean you're not an idiot," Sonia replied, but couldn't stifle the laugh that escaped her lips.

"There's that smile I was looking for." Sonia couldn't help but smile, secretly thankful. Spike picked up his chair and dragged it around so he was sitting next to her, looking at her blank word document with nothing but a title written. "I've already finished my essay so maybe I could give you some help? Free of charge, of course."

"Sure, that would be nice," Sonia admitted, glad she could be with somebody and act normal for a change. "On one condition."

"Anything."

"No more history puns."

"You have my… word," Spike sneered, his eyes darting from the word document on her laptop to Sonia's unamused face. Sonia pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head but she couldn't lie to herself, she appreciated the distraction.

…

 _Most people have an image of hell ingrained into their mind from a young age. A burning hellscape, red flames licking the sky and looming demons dancing on rivers of blood. Screaming, tortured cries and broken skulls filling the air and littering the ground. However, that's only what we see. That's how hell is portrayed in television. In movies. But it's not true. People don't know what true hell is._

 _There is no blood. It's silent, not even birds dare chirp. Black gates act as the entrance to true hell. There's no fire. There's no blood. It's not red. It's a gigantic, white mansion. People think they know hell, but they don't. Real hell lies on earth, at the end of Furore road. Real hell, is where I spent my childhood._

 _I felt my breath grow shallow, my chest tightening as I gripped the gates I had not touched since I fled this place all those years ago. Just the sight sent shivers down my mind and filled my head with nightmares. The cold touch of the metal on my skin threw my thoughts into disarray as I pushed open the gate and strode though with a façade of confidence._

 _My charade only broke, the mask only broke away when the door opened and the devil herself answered the door._

…

"It's a nightmare. So much paperwork, so many calls to make," Gold lamented as she rushed around her room, pulling open the filing cabinet and flipping through the folders until she found the one marked with Mephiles' name. She tossed it onto her desk, the file falling open in the middle.

"Gold, you should really take a break. I make a mean spaghetti," Zonic offered, perched on the corner of Gold's desk watching the secretary flash around frantically.

"Thanks, but I can't, I need to get this all settled," Gold lamented. "But above all else… despite what he did, I just hope Mephiles is safe and okay."

"Hey, hey," Zonic said softly, grabbing both of Gold's risk, forcing her to stop gently and looked up into her glistening eyes. "I know you're worried and that you feel personally responsible for whatever happens to these kids. It's one of the things I admire most about you, but running yourself rampant all day isn't healthy."

"But I just-"

"Gold," Zonic said sternly, closing the folder. "C'mon, work will still be there after lunch. Now c'mon, I'll make my famous spaghetti in the teacher's lounge."

"Okay, sure," Gold gave in without more of a fight as she followed him over to the lounge. She took a seat, adjusting her glasses at the wide table while Zonic opened a drawer, pulled out a large saucepan and filled it with water. He turned on the stove and let the water begin to boil while he opened the cupboard and pulled out the pasta, labeled neatly with his name.

"I still can't get over how the teacher's lounge here has a fully stocked and functioning kitchen. At my old school, all we got was a fridge and microwave," Gold said, passing the time.

"But you also had a home to go to after work. Since we all have to live here, we have gradually developed the lounge into a home away from home. It was Ash's idea to throw in the stove, since we got sick of having to eat the same food as those students. I swear the lunch ladies are trying to poison us," Zonic chuckled as the water began to bubble and he tossed in the spaghetti.

"I guess. Chaos knows I couldn't deal with that every day, and I've already spent too much on Emerald Café muffins," Gold giggled, each little laugh making Zonic's heart flutter. "Oh, and since we have some time alone," Gold added. "You seemed strange at the wedding, when Sonia was left at the altar."

Zonic froze, gripping the saucepan handle as he mentally scolded himself for making his reaction so obvious to the ever-attentive secretary.

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be. Everyone was surprised, me just as much as anybody else," Zonic lied as he opened the fridge and retrieved a half empty bottle of pasta sauce.

"No, it was something different. You had the look of familiarity and pain in your eyes. And you said, 'not again.' Have you been to a wedding where the bride was left at the altar or something?" Gold asked, studying the details in his face and body language to find an answer without him needing to reply.

"No, nothing like that. My life isn't that interesting," Zonic dodged around her accusations as he drained the pasta and prepared two bowls. "But, while on the topic of romance… kinda, I wanted to say that I had a really nice time at the wedding and was wondering if, maybe, I don't know, you wanted to have dinner with me on Friday night or something?"

"Zonic… I had a really great time too and you're a really nice guy but I'm just not looking for a relationship right now," Gold said gently. Zonic could feel his heart break, the sweat dripped from his brow and his guts churned.

"Oh, no I just meant, like, for something to do in a completely platonic , non-romantic way," Zonic swallowed his pride.

"Oh, well I'd love to but I'm actually busy Friday but I'd be happy to some other time," Gold replied happily before an awkward air descended upon the pair. "Anyway… this was nice but I really should get back to work."

"But we haven't even eaten yet," Zonic called after her as she excused herself and made her way over to the door.

"I'm sorry but I really need to finish this quickly," Gold apologized before exiting. Zonic sighed, staring at the two bowls of spaghetti. He quickly picked up his phone that was lying on the counter and shot off a text to his two closest friends.

Zonic: _Hey, drinks in town this Friday night_

Zespio: _You're lucky we have Friday off_

Zector: _Sure, but you better not tell any more stories about Gold or I swear to Chaos…_

Zonic: _Don't worry, that won't happen_

Zespio: _Relationship issues?_

Zector: _Good. Maybe you could work things out with Zally?_

Zonic: _Please can we not_

Zector: _You can't keep running away from this. She keeps asking where you are._

Zonic: _Zector please…_

Zector: _…I'll see you Friday. I need a drink_

Zespio: _Amen_

Zonic continued to text from his phone. The sound of the door opening again sparked hope in his heart as he darted his gaze to the door, only to be disappointed by the sight of the history teacher, Mr. Ash.

"Ah, something smells good," he sighed in delight, licking his lips. "I knew the kitchen was a good idea. Oh, and you've made two. One for me?"

"Yeah, sure, go nuts," Zonic sighed as he handed him one of the two bowls of spaghetti.

"You are one of a kind, Zonic," Ash thanked him as he devoured the pasta.

"If only Gold thought that," Zonic muttered under his breath as he stuffed a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth dejectedly.

…

"You tell him he has until the end of the day or else we'll see him in court," the woman screamed into the receiver of her mobile phone before hanging up abruptly. The harsh tone in her raised voice echoed through the room, causing her little baby to begin screeching in sadness. All she had to do was glower over to the baby and it ceased immediately. Babies cry. That's life, but this young child, before even knowing how to speak, had learnt quickly that it was never to cry around her. Around Claire Fox.

The sound of the doorbell stole Claire's attention.

"Dimitri!" She called angrily, but nobody replied. "Dimitri, you chaos-forsaken fool, answer the door. Ugh, good help is so hard to find," Claire lamented as she rose and skulked over to the door, pulling it open proudly. Her eyes instantly narrowed, disgust filling her pupils as she looked down on her first disappointment, Fiona.

"Hello mother," Fiona shrunk just at the sight of the woman in the grey pant suit. Her eyes immediately sought out the grown, her head lowered.

"Look at people when speaking to them, Fionnula," Claire scolded, adopting her authoritative, motherly tone.

"My name is Fiona," Fiona mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Claire raised her eyebrow, her sharp change in tone automatically causing Fiona to flinch. She balled her fist, not wanting to back down or appear weak. She never wanted to appear weak to anyone, but especially not to her mother.

"I said, my name is Fiona. We agreed you'd never call me Fionnula again," Fiona raised her voice. Claire was slightly taken aback by her sudden confidence.

"We also agreed you'd be my daughter, but you didn't want to do that and instead decided to tarnish the family name, Fionnula! Now, why are you here. I made myself explicitly clear you were not to come back here. Come crawling back to ask for more money, I presume?"

"No! I came here to-" Fiona instantly countered with her brash, abrasive attitude but paused, the fleeting resistance dissipating from her body as she sagged her shoulders. "Sorry, mother. I came here to ask for a favour."

"No," Claire responded instantly. "I only give favours to people who I trust will repay them. You've lost all my trust."

"Mother I…" Fiona paused to gather herself, never feeling as small as she did in that instant. "Mother… I came here to apologize for everything I've done. I'm sorry I ran away. I'm sorry I lived with Patch. I'm sorry I fight you at every turn and I'm sorry that I got arrested. But most importantly, I'm sorry for disobeying you, mother," Fiona did her best to sound sincere, hoping against hope that Claire would grant her the one wish she had.

"It's too late for apologies," Claire responded harshly as she gripped the doorknob. "Now get out of my sight, I have my real child to care for. I don't want you ruining Maximillian like you ruined yourself," she ended without sympathy and slammed the door in Fiona's face. Fiona held back the tears, trying her hardest to steel herself for the sacrifice she knew she had to make.

"Mother, please," Fiona begged, calling out to her mum on the other side of the door. "I'll do whatever you ask!" A few moments passed before the door creaked open and Claire stuck her head out, the bun that held up her rust coloured hair bouncing atop her head.

"Anything?" Claire asked.

"I just need one favour and if you help me, I promise after I graduate I'll come back home and be the girl you wanted me to be. No more running away. No more slacking off. I'll study wherever you want to become a lawyer and never question your decisions again. Just help me this one time," Fiona begged.

"You promise you'll do all that?"

"I promise," Fiona nodded.

"Oh, Fiona… that's all I ever ask from you," Claire smiled. "Come in and we'll sort out this favour," Claire stepped aside to let Fiona enter the room. She instantly rushed over to the small cot that her brother lay in, trying his hardest to hold back the tears. At the sight of seeing Fiona again, he burst into tears finally.

"It's okay. I've got you, I've got you," Fiona cooed as she reached down and picked up the little kit, hugging him close and rocking him.

"Don't baby him," Claire snapped.

"But mum, he's just a baby," Fiona replied.

"What was our agreement?" Claire growled.

"Yes, mother," Fiona complied, placing her baby brother back down in the crib, trying her hardest to ignore his cries. "Don't worry Maxy, I'll help you get through this," she promised as she placed a kiss on his head and walked back over to Claire.

"Now, let's get down to business. What do you need from me?"

"I need you to help get somebody out of prison." Claire raised a skeptical eyebrow but the promise of having her perfect little clone back on the proper path was enough of an incentive to release one little stain on society.

"Very well. It shall be done," Claire nodded. "Now where is Dimitri!"

"Sorry ma'am, I was preparing the dinner and didn't hear the door. My sincerest apologies," a flustered butler hastened into the room, his eyes widening as he saw Fiona.

"Dimitri, you know your duties, and you know I am never to be kept waiting," Claire scolded her butler.

"Yes ma'am. It won't happen again," Dimitri apologized profusely.

"I know it won't. That'll be all."

"Yes ma'am."

"No, I mean that will be all. End of story. Your services are no longer required. Be out by the end of the day," Claire scowled distantly as she turned her back and strode back over to her chair. Fiona watched, unsurprised at her mother's heartless actions.

"But ma'am-"

"I said that will be all. Goodbye Dimitri. Don't let me see you again."

…

"Hey, no fair, you cheated," Jet chuckled as Cosmo celebrated loudly.

"Just because I'm better at you doesn't mean it's cheating," Cosmo laughed as she poked her tongue out at him, a trait which he found so endearing.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," Jet sneered as he picked up the folded little piece of paper and threw it back across the table in the study room the two had rented out again. "Score two in a row."

"Set 'em up and I'll know 'em down. Every time," Cosmo winked, never having felt so confident around a guy in her life. Jet smirked as he held up his thumbs and index fingers, positioning them to be two goal posts at the other end of the table.

Cosmo stood the piece of paper upright on a mini stand and closed one eye, aiming at the space between Jet's fingers. She tongued her cheek, concentrating as she mathed out the trajectory in her head. She placed her hand on the table and in one fluid motion, the flicked her index finger into the paper, sending it flying across the room in a perfect ark, straight through the middle of the goals.

"Champion!" Cosmo shouted with glee, laughing at the bewilderment on Jet's face.

"Teach me how you did it," he said.

"Nope. Trade secret," Cosmo shook her head.

"Please. With sprinkles on top?" Jet begged gleefully.

"You'll have to do better than that." Jet shook his head with a smile as he rose from his chair and darted over to the other side of the room, picking Cosmo up in a bear hug and encircling her with his stronger, footballer arms.

"I won't let go until you tell me," Jet threatened. Cosmo beat his arms playfully, crying from laughter as Jet struggled to hold on. His leg got caught on the leg of the chair and plummeted backwards into the ground, Cosmo falling on top of her. She rolled off him onto her side, both in a fit of giggles as they smiled at each other.

A nice silence descended as the laughs subsided, both staring at each other on the floor. Jet smiled and began to slowly close his eyes and close the gap. Cosmo began to panic, the reality setting on her. She quickly jumped up, holding out her hand. When Jet realized Cosmos' lips weren't meeting his, he cracked open an eye to see her hand. He frowned as he placed his hand in hers and hauled himself back onto his feet.

"I had a lot of fun, but we've gotta meet the ground in the cafeteria, remember," Cosmo said.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that," Jet replied somewhat defeatedly as he glanced to the clock and saw they still had ten minutes before their meeting.

"Oh… and one last thing."

"Yeah?"

"Can we… keep this a secret from the group. Like, us?" Cosmo asked innocently.

"You mean from Wave and Cream, don't you?" Jet assumed. Cosmo nodded.

"This is my first real big tight knit group of friends and I don't want to ruin it by introducing relationship drama."

"So what I'm taking from this is you're saying that we are in a relationship?" Jet replied cheekily.

"Of course we are, silly," Cosmo replied. "What makes you think we aren't?" Jet wanted to respond, to bring up how she has constantly dodged kissing him but decided it wasn't the right time. He trusted her, and wanted her to feel comfortable with it.

"No reason. But sure, I agree that we should keep this a secret from them, at least until the end of school. This place has a funny way of blowing everything out of proportion," Jet agreed as he wrapped his arms around Cosmo and the two shared a warm embrace.

"Now c'mon. Let's not keep them waiting any longer."

…

Knuckles breathed deeply as he opened the door to the gym, dressed in his basketball gear. Ever since he learnt the disgusting truth about Julie, he couldn't bring himself to come back to training. He couldn't even look at her without thinking about the blood they shared and the things they did behind closed doors.

However, as if the universe had other plans for the redhead, as he entered that gym with his duffle bag, only one other person was there. Julie-Su, practicing her free throws.

"J-Julie…" Knuckles stammered as she turned to see who had entered. "What… where is the rest of the team?"

"Oh… hey Knux," Julie responded, rubbing the back of her head. She still hadn't been able to come to terms with the predicament they found themselves in, trying to dive deep into her other friend's issue to avoid having to confront her own demons. "Training was cancelled because of the wedding… I, uh, thought you quit so I didn't let you know."

"Yeah… I was thinking of quitting but I didn't want to let the team down," Knuckles sighed. The two just stood in the middle of the gym awkwardly, neither one being able to make eye-contact with the other. The only sounds that flooded the gym's interior were the occasional cough from the two teenagers as both tried to think of something to say but came up with nothing.

"I… um… guess I should let you get back to it then," Knuckles stated finally.

"Yeah, I guess so," Julie agreed as she bent down to pick up the basketball at her feet. She focused back at the ring, the ball ready in her hands but she couldn't concentrate as Knuckles footsteps echoed throughout the gym, getting steadily quieter.

"Knuckles, wait!" Julie called after him. He quickly came to a stop, offering a fleeting glance over his shoulder as she rushed up to him.

"Julie?" He questioned, wide-eyed.

"This is dumb," she said out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

"This. Us. Everything," she groaned aloud. "Think about it. We both thought we were only children but we've received a gift from the heavens. A surprise sibling, and we are ruining this gift," she explained.

"I know. But… what we did…"

"Fuck that," Julie cursed aloud.

"But-"

"As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter. We didn't know at the time. We shouldn't be disgusted with ourselves. The important thing is we move on and begin to create a new life, forge new paths and be there for each other. Not as girlfriend and boyfriend, but as brother and sister. As siblings," she stated confidently, trying to believe her words more than Knuckles did. "Siblings are supposed to support each other no matter what. Why should we be any different?"

Knuckles couldn't help but smile. He didn't know how she could be so confident. He admired it greatly.

"You know what? You're right," Knuckles decided defiantly. "Screw what other's think. We can't discard the chance we've been given. I used to love you, but just because of this doesn't mean I should stop loving you. I should just love you in a different way, as a sister. Siblings?" Knuckles asked, arm outstretched with open palm.

"Siblings," Julie nodded, clasping her hands in his with a smile on her face. "So, one on one? Winner gets bragging rights for the rest of the week?"

"Oh, you are so on," Knuckles agreed, snatching the ball out of her grasp and dribbling it up to the ring with Julie close on his heels.

…

The knocking at his door stirred Razor from his contemplation. The gruff principal removed his reading glasses, closing Mephiles' student folder that he had been studying and placed it back in his door.

"Come in," he called politely, waiting as his door swung open and Lumina strode uncertainly into the room.

"How may I help you?" Razor asked, confused to see a brand-new face all the way out in his campus.

"Hello, my name is Lumina Flowlight," Lumina begun as courteously as possible. "I've just been on a camping trip out on the other side of the lake and have been humbled enough to have met some of the students at this school."

"Well, I hope they've been nothing but nice to you, Miss Flowlight," Razor began happily before his tone shifting subtly into a more didactic tone. "But you must know camping around this lake is strictly forbidden outside of the summer season."

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't here by accident," Lumina continued cryptically, combing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.

"Oh, then why were you here?" Razor followed up. "Shouldn't you be in school at this time of year?"

"Actually, I can't be in school just yet due to… unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances," Lumina replied after a quick pause to mull over her words.

"Why are you here then?" Razor repeated, jumping straight to the crux of the issue.

"I came here to find somebody. I heard he was last seen heading out this way and the name has rung some familiar chords with some of your student body, specifically Fiona Fox." Hearing the vixen's name caught Razor's attention as he began to piece the pieces of the puzzle together in his mind.

"You came here looking for that boy Fiona snuck on campus with her, didn't you? You do understand it's against school policy to bring any guests without first getting approval from Gold and myself," Razor explained.

"No, I'm not trying to defend his actions. I just need to find him. Please, do you know where Void is?"

"I'm sorry, but after Zonic broke up a fight between him and one of our students, we discovered he had previously been arrested and so we sent him back to where he belongs."

"You sent him back into that place?" Lumina gasped.

"It's a place where trouble makers like him deserve to be," Razor replied harshly. "Now, I'm sorry to be so hostile but we are already dealing with enough personal issues with students so I'll have to ask you to vacate the premises and pack up your camp."

"Yes, yes I understand. I'm sorry for wasting your time," Lumina apologized as she got up to leave. Razor frowned, guilt rushing through him at how he reacted to her presence.

"Lumina," he called, halting her as she opened the door. She turned her head, looking at him expectantly. "It's late. You don't have to leave tonight. You can spend one more night and leave tomorrow. And… I hope you find Void and everything turns out alright."

"Thank you very much," Lumina bowed respectfully as she exited the principal's office. She knew what she had to do and, thanks to Razor, where to go. It was time to finally find Void once and for all.

…

"I'll see you for the morning shift," Breezie called as she stacked the final chair and threw on her coat. "You're still good for locking up tonight?"

"Yep, all good. I just have to finish cleaning the coffee machine," Bean replied.

"Thanks Bean, you're the best," Breezie thanks in her melodic sing-song voice as she left the closed café. Bean whistled to himself, trying to keep up his spirits that seemed to be constantly in the dumps but was cut off by the bell chiming as the door was pushed open.

"I'm sorry but we are clos-" he began automatically, almost robotically but was instantly cut off by the panting teenager that slammed five dollars down on the counter.

"Emerald… Coffee…" Spike panted, sweat beading from his brow. "I don't care if you're closed. I don't care if I have to pay double, I just need one last cup of that sweet, sweet emerald coffee," he begged.

"You know it is just peppermint… right?" Bean responded, almost frightened but Spikes desperation.

"It's not _just_ peppermint. The tantalizing texture of the flakes melting into the coffee swirls deliciously around your mouth. The robust flavour of the fresh coffee beans tickling your tongue. The divine aroma entering your nostrils. Its not peppermint, it's something else. I've tried peppermint and it just doesn't taste the same. It isn't that luscious, palatable and enticing taste that sends you on a journey with each sip like the ones here," he sighed delightfully.

"Woah… dude, I think you might have a problem," Bean absorbed the information, concerned for Spike's obsessive nature.

"Whatever, but please just give me one last cup," Spike pleaded. He needed the coffee. It was almost like a drug and all he needed was a quick fix to stave off his cravings.

"Spike… I'm so sorry but we already sold out. There won't be any left until next year."

"But we won't be here next year!" Spike shouted in desperation.

"Then I guess it just wasn't meant to be," Bean replied empathetically. Spike could feel the hope drain from him as he slumped his shoulders and dejectedly retrieved his money. He dragged his heels across the floor as he left the coffee shop, all light extinguished from his very being.

"Goodbye Emerald Coffee," he called out to the spacious, empty café similarly to a wife shouting her goodbyes to her husband as he was being shipped off to war. "You will be sorely missed."

"What a drama queen," Bean shook his head as he finished cleaning the coffee machine and retreated into the store room. He quickly checked to make sure Spike had gone before opening up the cupboard to reveal one final bag of the special emerald flakes.

"This'll last me until the end of the year," he smirked as he pocketed the last sachet and locked up for the night.

* * *

 _A/N: Poor Spike. He had so many chances but just couldn't ever get that last cup of emerald coffee. Bean, you sneaky dynamite :P_

 _Before we get into the events, I just wanted to address an issue. A lot of you seem to be complaining about how unlikable a character is and how they are horrible. What you must understand is that this is a story, not real life. This isn't a show where every character is trying to make the reader like them. Not all are trying to be sympathetic. I try to write everybody as real people, with real flaws. When something goes wrong, he blames other people. When something is said, Tails jumps to conclusions too quickly. When things go bad, Mighty's short fuse is lit. These are all flaws, but it makes the characters more complete. Not every character can be likable, perfect and always do the right thing. I don't write characters into plots, I write plots around characters. They might do things you wouldn't, or you would find dispicable but (generally) I think they do things that somebody like that would do. You can dislike them, sure, but don't blame them for doing what they do. Each character has had up's and down's. I just hope you all have trust in me to write an engaging story and I ask you don't give up on me until we get to the end in chapter 65! Remember Espio? I was chastised for what a douche he was at the start but now he's one of the favourites. Everybody loved Silver, and now people can't stand him. Just trust me, and I'll keep giving you entertainment :P It's a win win!_

 _Okay, so Fiona, or as it was revealed that her real name was Fionnula (Fi-noo-la) but naturally Fiona liked the alternate version better. She finally caved to her mother, sacrificing her future happiness to save Void. Also to partially save her brother, Max. People say she's a horrible, selfish character but would somebody truly evil sacrifice so much for those they love?_

 _Knuckles and Julie decide to try and push past their realization and try to move on together as siblings, helping each other out. Meanwhile, Sonia is trying to move on with her life without having everybody up in her business, even her brothers and family. And Spike helps Sonia, but is he helping her because he cares, or simply because she is Sonic's sister?_

 _Mighty and Ray... poor guys, a perfect friendship being strained by a girl. Is Ray justified in asking Clove out? I just want you to remember, before you chastise Ray, that he has no idea the true reasons Mighty dumped Clove. All he knows is that he didn't love her any more and Mighty refuses to tell Ray the truth because he doesn't want Ray to blame himself and possibly travel back to the top of that cliff. It's a tough position for both of them, but hopefully they can work it out together._

 _Gold has refused Zonic, but she is already in a taboo relationship with Espio. Can Zonic figure out what's really going on. And what is his mysterious past and his abraision to weddings? Has Zonic been married before? Well, Zector and Zespio know that answer! And Cosmo and Jet are progressing swimmingly, apart from the fact that Cosmo keeps avoiding the kiss. Does she really like Jet, or is there something else preventing her from taking that next step?_

 _Blaze has decided darkness just doesn't suit her. How many of you thought I was setting up for a dark Blaze story line? All of you? Well, I can't be predictable all the time, can I? Sorry if you were really looking forward to exploring the darker side of Blaze, but don't fret, I have some interesting stuff in the works for our favourite cat. For starters, her aunt just died, meaning she has to leave for a short while to attend the funeral. Now all she has left is her deadbeat father. But will he ever show up to the school to wreak some havock (Hint, hint, read the context clues and you'll know I plan for Blaze's father to make a surprise appearence sooner than you think!) And now Fiona has sworn vengeance on Sally too. If it's anything like her convoluded plan to destroy Amy, Sally is in for a rough time._

 _I just wanted to give a big thanks to all of you. I recieved so many reviews and I loved reading each and everyone. They honestly give me the motivation to continue writing, and it helps me shape my future plots. If everybody hates the direction I am going with certain arcs, I try to alter it slightly because just because I think something is a good idea, doesn't mean it's good. I might be the only one who likes it, and I'll alter my plan if everybody else tells me it's shit. So please, keep them coming and I'll keep writing because honestly, without talking with you guys I would have given up on this story a while ago so from the bottom of my heart, thank you. If you ever have any extra questions or just want to chat, I'll always respond to a PM :) I think we've had non-stop heartbreak, twists and depression from our characters so let's give them (Well some of them) a nice break and deal with some of the happier plot lines next time, shall we?_

 _Question of the Day: We've had a lot of arcs and surprise twists in this story, but I'm curious. What was your favourite character arc finished or still underway (I.E Tikal's mother, Scourge and Silver's past, Fiona's revenge plan etc.) and secondly, what was your favourite surprise twist (Julie and Knuckles relationship, Mephiles the terrorist etc.)_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Fiona approaches Lumina_

Spike and Sonia grow closer

 _Espio plays another concert!_

 _Zector, Zespio and Zonic go drinking_

 _...and we see how Cream and Tails' relationship began back two years ago_

 _All this and so much more in Chapter 38: A Coward's Way Out._


	38. Chapter 38: A Coward's Way Out

_A/N: Well hi everybody. It sure has been a while, hasn't it. It's so nice to be back and writing again. This chapter might feel a bit off to usual, I'm still getting back into the rhythm of this story. I went back and re-read my plan just to keep myself up to date on what plot points have been revealed and which haven't. Wouldn't want to accidently spoil something big, would we? Anyway, as usual this chapter is long and just so I can stop saying it in all my author's notes, all chapters from this on out will probably be around the 10,000 word mark or higher. Looking at my plan, only more and more things will occur each chapter. And we still have one more main character to fully introduce and one character who has only briefly appeared/been mentioned that will be becoming a main character (Part 4 hype). There is going to be 65 chapters and 1 more part after this (this and that one each holding 17 chapters) so we are well over the half way mark but we aren't quite at the final stretch yet so there's plenty more to look forward to. Well, I've made you wait 3 months so please, read, review and enjoy the new chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 38

A Coward's Way Out

The water sparkled in the morning sun, choppy waves slicing through the normally calm lake as the morning winds picked up speed. Due clung to the blades of grass and rustling leaves of the trees. Lumina rushed around her campsite, drenching the struggling embers still clinging to life from last night's fire. The fire pit erupted in steam. Her tent collapsed, her bags were packed. Lumina began to fold up the tent poles when she saw her.

There, standing atop the hill beside the lake was a girl, not quite frozen but stiller than the swaying trees. Her light-auburn hair whipped about her face, her eyes filled with intrigue and pulsating with malice. Before Lumina knew what was happening, she had descended the hill and approached her sight.

"So, this is where you've been hiding out?" Fiona remarked, eyes darting around the sorry-excuse for a camp location.

"Hiding wouldn't be the word I'd use," Lumina retorted, refusing to back down from Fiona's domineering presence.

"Guts… I like that," Fiona mused aloud. "But I wonder how long they'd last if you knew who I was."

"I know who you are," Lumina replied politely, almost mockingly as her attention fell back to the tent she continued to pack up. Fiona frowned frustratingly. "Fiona Fox, school diva. Instils fear to get what she wants, convicted of arson."

"Wrongly," Fiona snorted.

"Most importantly, however, the one person at this school who seems to really know Void. So, tell me, why does everybody always bring you up when I ask about Void?" Lumina queried.

"An answer for an answer," Fiona counted quickly. "What's he to you?"

"Just a boy. Why'd he come to this school?"

"Just a vacation. Why are you trying to find him?"

"Just want a word. How'd he end up back in prison?"

"Just a boy," Fiona smirked humourlessly, narrowing her eyes as the two girls stared each other down, neither one giving an inch with stares that could frighten ghosts.

"Well played," Lumina offered an insincere smile.

"Back at you. But tell me, how'd he end up in prison in the first place?"

"Wait? He never told you?" Lumina chuckled darkly.

"Shut it and tell me," Fiona snarled. Lumina paused, contemplating her words before finally deciding on an appropriate answer.

"…Just a boy." Fiona felt puzzled, not understanding but before she could counter, she noticed a small, black duffle bag out of the corner of her eye.

"Where did you get this?" Fiona gasped as she pushed past Lumina and knelt down to unzip the bag.

"No, don't look in there it's-" Lumina began but was cut off by Fiona's bewilderment.

"How did you get ahold of Void's money?" Fiona whipped around, anger in her eyes as she grabbed Lumina by the collar.

"How did you know about the bag of money?" Lumina replied with a question of her own.

"He hid it in my room while he stayed here. How did you get it? He said he was saving it for something special."

"He sent it to me."

"He… he sent it… to… you?" Fiona couldn't believe her ears, the shock consuming her as she released her iron grip on Lumina.

"You're a psycho, you know that," Lumina rubbed her throat, enjoying free-flowing oxygen.

"Y-Yeah… whatever," Fiona responded distantly as she turned to walk off without another word. She couldn't believe Void had just given it to this random girl.

'Why her? Who is she? And what did she mean by just a boy?' Fiona's thoughts plagued her as she vanished over the hill.

"I see why people talk about her the way they do," Lumina shook her head as she refocused back on packing up, the prison her next destination.

…

The next week flew by in a flash. As the events of the wedding became memories, slowly fading from current gossip to become just another bad day, everyone seemed to be moving forward. However, things were anything but normal in the school grounds.

Silver and Blaze no longer wondered the halls together. Mighty continued to avoid Ray, the distance created between the two surprising even those who barely knew them. Sonic and Tails continued to date, but the awkwardness prevalent in the air around them when together was palpable. Mephiles was still nowhere to be seen, and Knuckles and Julie who had previously split up seemed to be hiding a secret from the rest of the school. Everything had been turned on its head, nothing seemed right and yet time ticked on as finals for the seniors crept ever closer.

Throughout the week, Sally and Wave continued to grow closer and closer together, fueling the other's destructive coping mechanism. Each day they would meet up in the bathrooms, purging the food from their bodies down the toilet. Their bodies began to grow noticeably frailer each day. Finally, Friday arrived and the students breathed a sigh of relief, excited to just relax for two days without needing to go to any classes or deal with any drama.

"Hey, got any plans for tonight?" Sally asked as she dragged the back of her wrist across her mouth, removing the leftover dry bile from the corner of her lips.

"Nah, I think I'm just going to chill in my room tonight. Maybe get started on that chemistry report Zonic gave us," Wave replied nonchalantly.

What had begun as a disparaging response to their negative self-thoughts had transformed into habit. It became part of their daily routine. Most people would go grab coffee and chat as friends, but not Sally and Wave. The hatred at themselves, the guilt they both felt and disgust that encompassed them every time they looked in the mirror controlled their actions. The two friends discussed the usual things with heads in the toilet. It was destructive, but to them it was the one sense of stability both had. They were both sick of empathy, and felt complete sympathy for each other. A friend that truly understands what you're going through is hard to find and despite the circumstances, Sally and Wave had found one.

"That guy seriously needs to take a chill pill," Sally laughed.

"Rumour has it Gold turned him down when he asked her out and I don't think he's taking it very well," Wave responded.

"Doesn't mean he has to make our life miserable," Sally shook her head.

"It's ironic that he's a chemistry teacher when clearly he had no chemistry with Gold," Wave smirked. The two girls looked at each other and burst into laughter together. It was strange, and the irony wasn't lost on either of them. The only time both of them felt truly accepted and happy was when they were doing something so destructive. But despite their bulimic tendencies, both needed it, and each other.

…

Sonic let out a satisfied sigh as he turned off the hot water. The cascading droplets ceased to fall out of the showerhead as steam billowed around the changeroom. Sonic grabbed his white towel off the rack and furiously rubbed it over his quills, soaking up the moisture. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked over to his locker, his feet pattering against the tiled floor.

"It would be nice if you at least put some pants on before you dried your hair," Knuckles grunted as he opened his locker, the two boy's lockers adjacent to each other.

"I know you want to ogle me but please don't look next time," Sonic smirked.

"How about you put some boxers on instead of parading your junk around in everybody's faces?" Knuckles countered.

"I agree," Manic piped up, a disgusted look on his face. "More than I ever wanted to see."

"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it," Sonic winked at the red-haired boy. Knuckles face went red as he snorted, annoyed that Sonic was flirting with him.

"Calm down Knux, he's just joking," Spike added, walking up with nothing but his boxers on as Sonic began to chuckle, clapping the shorter boy on the shoulder.

"Easy for you to say, you actually want to suck his dick," Shadow added slyly, mockingly.

"You're one to talk. You're the only one in this room who has actually had his cock in your mouth," Espio laughed, joining the conversation.

"And up your ass, too," Silver added. All the guys turned to stare at him disapprovingly.

"Don't help me," Espio scowled. "Why are you even here?"

"I thought… I…" Silver trailed off, looking around at the disapproving glances from all his peers.

"You thought what? You'd break one of my best friend's hearts?" Sonic glared.

"And toy with Breezie, too," Spike added.

"And spread around Espio's nudes," Manic snarled.

"I…"

"Just get out of here. Go lie and cheat on some other women," Espio judged.

"Are you kidding? You're the one who used to be a massive womanizer and I was the one who stood up for you!" Silver argued.

"Yeah, but I never cheated on the girls."

"Please, Silver, just go," Shadow said darkly. Silver tried to hold back the sadness as he grabbed his back off the wooden bench in the middle of the walls of lockers and stormed out of the change rooms.

"C'mon guys, don't you think you should give the guy a break?" Eclipse piped up, dragging his towel across his back to absorb any left-over water clinging to his skin.

"I know you and him are close and everything but he needs to learn his lesson and Blaze and Breezie need to heal before we can be friendly with him again," Sonic replied.

"Yeah, but it's the end of his final year at school. Don't you think times are stressful enough?"

"Look, Eclipse, you haven't known him for as long as we have. Just trust us, this is exactly the kind of treatment he deserves," Espio added coldly.

"It's still wrong. Right Mighty? Back me up here," Eclipse elbowed the silent boy next to him who had been going about his own business, silently dressing himself as the others argued.

"Yeah, what E said," Mighty said absentmindedly.

"Mighty? You okay, buddy?" Spike asked, placing a comforting hand on Mighty's bare shoulder.

"Yeah, everything okay? You haven't seemed the same since the wedding," Manic added.

"Could we all just stop talking about Ray for five seconds!" Mighty screamed, standing up dramatically. Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles, Espio, Spike, Manic and Eclipse all stared back with blank expressions. None of them understood why he was acting this way.

"Dude… Nobody brought up Ray…" Shadow breathed.

"Sorry… Sorry I just… I… I need some air. I'll see you guys later," Mighty excused himself, throwing on a shirt from his locker and slamming the door shut before sprinting out of the locker rooms.

"What's his deal?" Manic asked.

"I'll check up on him tonight in the room," Sonic decided.

"I think it's because Ray asked Clove out and she said yes last weekend at Sonia's wedding," Eclipse explained.

"Wait, isn't Clove his girlfriend?" Knuckles asked obliviously.

"Ex," Sonic pointed out.

"Yeah, but Mighty dumped Clove, not the other way around so it doesn't matter if Ray wants to date Clove," Eclipse challenged.

"Yeah but they were best friends. It's kind of a dog move," Shadow added.

"Besides, bros before hoes," Spike chimed in.

"Relationship draaamaaa," Sonic sung out. "And not mine for once, thank Chaos."

"Ugh, I'm so sick of all this drama. I'm outta here," Knuckles spoke.

"Me too. Wanna grab lunch?" Manic said, closing his locker.

"You're on."

"I'm off too. Work to do," Eclipse concluded as he exited after both Knuckles and Manic, leaving only Shadow, Sonic, Espio and Spike remaining.

"So… speaking of relationship drama," Espio smirked. "How are you and Tails going? I hear there's trouble in paradise."

"If there ever was any paradise to begin with," Sonic sighed.

"As much as I'd love to get into the middle of yours and Tails' love lives again," Shadow added sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I'd best be off."

"Yeah, me too," Espio agreed.

"Well, guess it's just you and me, buddy. What do you wanna do?" Sonic asked, turning to the other teenager remaining.

"Wanna go for a jog?" Spike offered.

"A jog it is!"

…

"And that war took place for seven whole years," Spike explained, watching as Sonia type out her notes on her laptop.

"Shhhh," Megan hissed, her index finger pressed to her lips to silence the talkative teenager.

"She really doesn't like you, does she?" Sonia tried to stifle her laugh to keep the noise down.

"I have no idea what I did to her," Spike shook his head. Megan stared daggers at him before turning to march back to her post near the front of the library. Spike and Sonia were lounging at their usual table at the back of the library, studying on their history essay that Sonia was still yet to complete.

"And done!" Sonia cheered, relieved that she had finally completed her project as she sent it off to her professor to be marked.

"Celebratory coffee?" Spike asked, shooting his trademark puppy dog eyes that he knew nobody, especially not Sonia, could resist.

"Fine, but you're buying," Sonia giggled as she packed away her laptop. The two dashed out of the library and raced over to the café, not stopping until Spike burst through the door flailing his arms skywards.

"Winner!" Spike cheered aloud, ignoring the judgmental glares the other students shot his way from their seats.

"No fair, you cheated," Sonia panted, jogging into the café.

"I'd like to thank my dad for all the love and support," Spike laughed in a mocking tone.

"Yeah but you're buying the coffee so who's the real winner here?" Sonia grinned, folding her arms over her chest. As the two continued their back and forth, a depressed Breezie stood at her post at the counter trying to keep a brave face. She wouldn't admit it, but seeing Spike so happy with somebody else, especially a girl sent a sting of envy through her veins. She missed when he used to look at her the way she can see him look at Sonia. His carefree nature, happy-go-lucky attitude. She never knew how good she had it until it slipped away.

She offered a faint smile as Spike turned to face her. The two locked eyes but in an instant Spike quickly turned away, grabbed Sonia's arm and left the café before Breezie could even speak. She just dropped her head and let out a sigh as he ran from her yet again.

"Spike. Spike, stop it!" Sonia commanded, pain shooting from her wrist where he held his iron grip. "What happened, where are we going?"

"Sorry, sorry," Spike apologized after they crossed the grassy field and stopped beside the great tree. "It's just… I can't deal with Breezie right now. I promise to buy you that coffee when Bean is on duty."

"Why? I thought Breezie was like your best friend or something?" Sonia pried, utterly confused.

"She was…" Spike breathed, knowing there was no way to avoid explaining his situation. Apart from Julie, nobody else knew what had transpired between the two teenagers and Spike wanted to keep it that way but there was something about Sonia that felt inviting. That he knew telling her wouldn't be a mistake.

Sonia could feel her heart break as he explained how close they used to be. He described how she would keep ditching him for Silver and how she was dating Spike while pretending to flirt with him so he would do her homework.

"I'm sorry things turned out that way," Sonia frowned, offering him an empathetic hug. "I know what heartbreak feels like, trust me."

"Mephiles?"

"No… somebody I used to know long before Mephiles," she sighed. "Besides, I thought we said we wouldn't talk about him."

"Sorry, I just thought I could help."

"You are helping. But you're helping by being you. You're helping by giving me distractions and not having to think about that weekend."

"But Sonia… you'll have to face it eventually."

"I know, but not just yet. Baby steps," Sonia smiled weakly, reaching out to grab Spike's hand, who took it immediately.

"And I'll be here every step of the way."

"Thanks Spike… you're a really great friend." Spike tried to hide his sadness as the words left Sonia's mouth. He knew she was still in a vulnerable state, and she had no plans to ever consider another romantic endeavor at least for a bit but over the past week he couldn't help but get his hopes up. It started with him just wanting to help Sonia feel better, she is Sonic's sister after all but as the week grew long, his feelings grew equally. He couldn't look at Sonia as just a friend anymore. He wanted more, but apparently, she didn't share his feelings.

"You too, Sonia. You too…"

…

"You got the beers?" Knuckles asked.

"Check," Manic responded. "You got the footy?"

"Check," Knuckles nodded as the two bumped fists together as the bashed through the scrubs, emerging in a small alcove hidden on all sides by the dense tree's the surrounded the school and the adjacent lake.

"I'm glad we could come do this again. It feels like it's been ages," Manic lamented aloud as he popped the cap off two beers, handing one to Knuckles.

"Yeah, it was long overdue," Knuckles agreed. "Besides, I couldn't deal with being in that change room any longer. I love the guys, especially Sonic and Shadow but I'm so sick of all the drama that seems to follow those two."

"Tell me about it," Manic chuckled as he took greedy gulps from the bottle. "I'm glad we could get away just the two of us. I don't know if I've told you this but ever since I arrived here, you've been the closest thing to a real friend I've made."

"Really? But it looks like you've made heaps of friends. And you and Sonic have grown so much closer," Knuckles offered optimistically.

"True, but he's my brother so it's different," Manic laughed the thought away. "Although to be fair I never thought I'd ever admit to that."

"You've come a long way."

"Yeah, but when it comes to the friends I've made. I like them, sure, but none of them feel real. Y'know, like people I'd openly seek out after we all graduate. Well… nobody except you," Manic opened up. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is… you're kinda my best friend, dude."

"Wow…" Knuckles was at a loss for words. "That means a lot. Now I feel really bad that we haven't been able to hang out as much recently, apart from in the room."

"So, since we've only been talking about me, what's new in your life?" Manic tried to change the subject, not one to enjoy talking about his feelings to other guys.

"Nothing much, same old same old," Knuckles stated plainly.

"C'mon. What about you and Julie? Rumour has it you two broke up, but you haven't said anything about it and the two of you seem to still be pretty close from what I've seen," manic pried, completely oblivious to what really transpired between the two.

"Well… to be honest…" Knuckles contemplated how to respond, not sure if he could open up and tell the truth. He wanted to, and Manic would be the person he told but as much as he wanted to, he just couldn't.

"Yeah?"

"We just decided that a relationship wasn't working and that we should just stay good friends," he lied.

"If that what makes both of you happy, then I can't be happier for you. Together or not, if you both think it's the right thing to do, I think it's the right thing to do too," manic smiled.

"Thanks… you really are a good friend."

"C'mon, you're gonna make me blush," Manic joked, jumping off the ground. "Now let's play some ball!"

…

Tails, Spike and Ray all waiting as the car swerved through the corner, passing slowly underneath the arch as it entered the school's parking lot. As soon as it rolled to a stop the back door flung open and a young girl barreled out of the car.

"Tails! You did it, you brought them to see me off," the young Sonar laughed as she collided into Tails, wrapping her arms around him.

"Of course I did," Tails laughed. "I felt bad that we didn't really get to talk at the wedding so this can be my way of making it up to you."

"Thanks," Sonar smiled giddily. "Best big cousin ever!"

"You're alright too," Tails smiled, chuckling softly as she pouted, her bottom lip quivering. "I'm kidding! You're definitely the best little cousin I could have."

"Yay!" Sonar cheered as she released him and sidestepped to the teenager standing beside him.

"I was surprised you wanted to see me too," Ray replied humbly, rubbing the back of his neck, not sure what to do or say to the younger girl.

"You kept me company when nobody else was around. Thanks for making the wedding fun," Sonar chimed casually, skipping over the unfortunate ending to the festivities.

"Well, same for you," Ray smiled innocently. "It's a shame that we'll all have graduated before you get to come to this campus."

"I know," Sonar furrowed her brow, but only for a moment before beaming her radiant smile again. "But you have to tell me how it went?" Ray shot her a puzzled glare. "With that girl, silly. The one you had a massive crush on."

"Oh, Clove? She said yes," Sonia squealed at his response, completely elated. Tails glanced sideways at him disapprovingly. Suddenly Mighty's mood swings and recent behaviour made more sense.

A loud beep of the car shook Sonar out of her celebration. She turned back to her parents sitting in the front seat, both eager to get back.

"Just gimme a minute," she yelled back at them.

"Don't worry. Let me talk to them. It's been a while since I've talked to Uncle Trevor," Tails offered, causally walking over to the wound down car window and instigated a friendly chat with Sonar's parents.

"What, doesn't my number one fan want to say goodbye to me too?" Spike feigned sadness, unable to hold back laughter at her response.

"Of course not, Spikey," she cooed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, jumping off the ground. "I'd never want to say goodbye to you because if I had it my way I'd never leave you."

"You've got to get back to the city," Spike said sternly.

"I know, but maybe I could hide in your room and live here?" Sonar bargained.

"Next year, Sonar."

"But you won't be here with me next year," she frowned.

"We can still see each other over the summer break," Spike assured her.

"Deal," she smiled, quickly changing back to her overly happy demeanor. "And you can bring a girlfriend, too. But just remember, she can have you until I graduate, and then I'm all yours."

"Deal," Spike laughed, trying to hide the sadness he felt as his mind wandered back to Breezie again. "Take care, Sonar," he waved.

"See you guys later!" She called as she hopped back in the car.

"I hope she wasn't too much trouble," Trevor said in his deep, grizzly voice.

"I wouldn't really know," Tails laughed. "But she seems to still get along with Spike so I think she had a good time."

"Thanks Tails. We'll see you for Christmas dinner?"

"Wouldn't miss it," he smiled as he joined Ray and Spike, all three waving as the car backed out of the carpark and disappeared back down the long country road.

…

Friday night had finally rolled around and, thanks to Gold's special permission, Espio was able to play at a special concert that featured a multitude of some of the most popular singers of the current age.

"Good luck out there, kid," Jaguar J winked as she passed him. Espio couldn't believe it, his hands clammed up and his voice escaped him.

"Thanks," he managed to squeak as she passed him. He still couldn't really believe his luck. What started out as a simple hobby had blossomed, thanks almost completely to the school secretary who believed in him no matter what and had the connections he needed to get his foot in the door. Espio the Chameleon. The name was slowly spreading around. As soon as he graduates, Espio had planned to completely pursue his music career, starting with a nation-wide tour to every major city. Who would have thought all this could have happened to him in the span of one short year?

"Espio, you need to get out there!" Gold screamed from beside him. "You were supposed to be out a minute ago." Frantically, Espio grabbed his guitar and sprinted onto the stage, shooting an apologetic glance at all of his band mates who were stood motionless in the middle of the stage.

As soon as he emerged, countless screaming girls called his name, eager to see him play. Espio knew exactly which song he wanted to play. Since handing off the original five songs he was asked to produce on an EP earlier in the term when trying to make a name for himself, Espio had been hard at work writing new songs. His contract required him to come out with a complete album of thirteen songs, including his original five, by the end of the summer. He had started off writing depressing songs, and still did thanks to all the influence at the time but recently he had a new muse to write about. Thanks to a certain secretary, life seemed brighter and his newer music mirrored this. He had new inspiration. He took a deep breath, leant into the microphone and began singing his new, never before heard song.

 _I've had times in my life where I've been in a rut  
But I look to the sky, scream I'm not givin' up  
You played me for a fool, thinkin' you were so nice  
But I know, now I know, yes I know your heart was cold as ice  
You pushed me around, kept makin' me feel blue  
And I know, now I know, yes I know it to be true  
I'm not still set on you_

 _They say David beat Goliath with only a sling shot  
So you've gotta stand tall and show the whole world what you've got  
You might fade away, but there comes a day  
When you can shout it out loud and say_

 _I'm still standing, rising above the clouds  
I'm still breathing, hear my voice as I shout it out loud  
You try to keep me down, cut me down as I fall to the ground  
But I'm getting back up, show the world I ain't foolin' around  
And I'm still standing now!_

 _When you knock me down I'll rise to the stand  
When the waves wash away my initials in the sand, whoa-oh_

 _Sometimes I get cynical thoughts of a criminal kind  
But I pick up the pieces of my life without you in mind no-oh  
If you're down, lost your crown and your sounds are all drowned out  
Extend your sights to achieve new heights, eliminate the doubt  
Now let me hear you shout_

 _They say David beat Goliath with only a sling shot  
So you've gotta stand tall and show the whole world what you've got  
You might fade away, but there comes a day  
When you can shout it out loud and say_

He smiled, sweat dripping from his brow as he looked around at the audience all enthralled in his new, upbeat song. They seemed to be loving it. With new found confidence, he threw himself into the chorus again.

 _I'm still standing, rising above the clouds  
I'm still breathing, hear my voice as I shout it out loud  
You try to keep me down, cut me down as I fall to the ground  
But I'm getting back up, show the world I ain't foolin' around  
And I'm still standing now!_

 _The oasis in a wasteland, pearl emerges from a clam  
Destiny's in my own hands, I now understand, and_

 _I'm still standing, rising above the clouds  
I said that I'm still breathing, hear my voice as I shout it out louder and louder and louder  
You try to keep me down, cut me down as I fall to the ground  
And I know, now I know, I'm still standing now!_

Espio took a bow, waving to the crowd as he wondered off stage, back to where he was hidden behind curtains and shadows to finally take a breath.

"Espio, that was amazing!" He heard Gold yell from afar, rushing past a big burly security guard to meet him. He opened his arms widely as she ran up to him and she jumped into his grasp, hugging him tightly. "I knew they would love that song!"

"It's all thanks to you that I could write it." Gold shot him a perplexed look. "If you hadn't shown me how great life could be, if you didn't make me so happy I would still be writing dreary and depressing songs."

"Espio, don't give me all the credit," she grinned happily, touched by his words.

"But you deserve it. You are definitely the pearl to my clam." Gold leant up and pressed her lips firmly against him, clutching his torso tightly. It would have been such a magical moment. Would have been, if not for the envious fan who watched from afar. Sticks, her phone raised, had recorded the whole thing.

"If I can't have him, neither can that bitch," she muttered under her breath.

…

The foul stench of nicotine, vomit and alcohol swirled around the dingy air of the corner bar. Loud, undecipherable babble erupted from all corners, drowned out by the blaring beats echoing throughout the interior. Zonic sat at one of the bars, half a pint of beer clutched in his hand while the other clung protectively to yet another cigarette. He put it to his lips and drew a long, satisfying breath as the smoke collected in his lungs.

"Those'll kill you, you know," a knowing voice penetrated from behind.

"C'mon Zec, let him have this one," a second, equally familiar voice could be heard above the melancholy drabble. Zonic turned and was greeted with the friendly smiles of his two best friends, Zector and Zespio.

"I thought you guys weren't gonna come," Zonic said, scooching over slightly so that the larger man could squeeze into the table Zonic had acquired.

"Sorry, work kept us over time," Zector apologized.

"Some unruly inmates," Zespio added, walking over with a jug. He handed Zector a glass and filled it to the brim with beer, topping up Zonic's glass before filling his own.

"And I'm normally the late one. You guys only have to drive twenty minutes. It's a two-hour trip for me to come back to the city."

"But you do it because you love us," Zespio mused cheerfully. Zonic shook his head but couldn't hide the smile that crept along his face. Zespio took a long, thirst-quenching gulp of his drink, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Speaking of love…" Zector spoke up in an agitated tone.

"Oh no, not this again," Zespio pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She messaged me again, Zonic. She knows that I know where you ran off to. You are one of my closest friends and I won't tell her as a courtesy to you…" Zector continued.

"Thanks, Zec, I-"

"On the condition you go confront her," he concluded.

"Zector, you know as well as I do that I can't."

"Why can't you? If you don't love her anymore that's cool but she just needs some closure. Just talk to her."

"Sorry… I just can't," Zonic let his gaze fall to the floor. Zespio watched on in silence, sick of seeing this fight over and over again and watch it herald the exact same result.

"Zonic, do it as a favour for me. Please, she's my sister…" Zector pleaded, a tactic Zespio hadn't yet observed.

"I just can't face her," Zonic added with finality as he stood from his chair and turned his back on Zector. He began to walk away when he heard the angered calls from behind.

"You're a coward, Zonic!" Zector bellowed. Zonic clenched his fist and spoke calmly, spinning around to face Zector who had now also risen from his chair.

"I had no choice! You just don't understand."

"I understand very clearly," Zector narrowed his eyes. "You were nothing but a bloody coward." Zonic had had enough. In one swift motion, he sliced his fist through the air. It connected painfully to Zector's cheek. He fell to one knee, clutching his face as Zonic turned to storm off, rubbing his sore fist.

"You alright, Zec?" Zespio asked, offering his hand out and helping Zector stagger back to his feet.

"You fucking coward!" Zector screamed but Zonic didn't let it deter him. He continued walking, never once looking back.

…

The brisk winds chilled her skin, billowing beneath her dress as the jogged through the winding paths. The moon shone brightly in the air, not a cloud present in the night sky. It had been weeks since she had last gambled. Not since the break when her and Nack were kicked out of the casino. Cosmo was trying desperately to kick her addiction and although hanging out with Jet was helpful she still felt the inkling in the back of mind, constantly calling to her, urging her to make a bet or play some cards.

Cosmo had decided to take up jogging. The calm night and the fresh air helped calm her senses and stave off the ever-present hunger to gamble the ebbed its way through her brain. However, it was jogging through the school that very night that proved to be the single worst thing that Cosmo could have done.

"Fuck today was hard," she heard a familiar, masculine voice curse from around a corner.

"This whole semester has been hard," a second, much more feminine voice responded. "I'm just glad you could get some more before school started again. I don't know how I would survive without you."

There was no mistaking it. Cosmo knew from just one sentence that it was definitely the voice of Rouge. She stalled to a walk and stopped next to one of the brick buildings near the edge of the forest. She peered her head around the corner and watched with interest as both Rouge and Scourge leant against the building with two joints in their mouths.

"You wouldn't," Scourge smirked, drawing another breath from the joint and exhaling a heap of smoke.

"How much of the stuff do you have left?" Rouge asked as she took another drag, her eyes red and hazy.

"Enough," Scourge smiled, patting the breast pocket of his black leather jacket where the remainder of his marijuana still sat in a bag. Cosmo watched with intrigue, never having tried weed before. She heard how calming it could make people and inched closer, keeping to the shadows. She dared to travel as close as possible so that she could breathe in the second-hand smoke that billowed around Rouge and Scourge's heads without being detected.

It was there, breathing in the smoke, that she sat and enjoyed herself until Rouge and Scourge finally grew tired and went to bed.

"I need to get me some of that," Cosmo sighed happily, the urge to gamble held completely at bay within herself thanks to the smoke.

…

 _I remember it like it was yesterday. It wasn't the most romantic place ever, just a school dance. I wore a small red dressed that blossomed out from my hips with laced ribbons cuddling my shoulders. I originally didn't even want to go. It was just a stupid high school dance but Amy forced me to go. She wouldn't take no for an answer._

 _"_ _It's the most magical night of the year," I remember her sighing. "And, it'll be the first dance that Sonic and I will be attending as an official couple."_

 _Of course she wanted to go. She actually had somebody to go with. There was only ever one boy I wanted to go to the dance with, but he told me he didn't think he was going to go._

 _I didn't know what to expect as I walked into the gym, appropriately decorated as the 'under the sea' theme that the seniors voted on. Immediately Amy left me, dashing over to Sonic when she saw him but what I didn't expect was him. He caught my eye and, with hands in the pockets of the cerulean suit, strolled over to me._

 _"_ _Hey," I murmured shyly, rubbing my toe into the ground nervously. He looked so amazing that night. I think it was obvious to anybody at school that I had a crush on him. I had since the first year of middle school, but I never thought anything would happen._

 _"_ _You look beautiful tonight," he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. I couldn't believe it. He was nervous himself. I couldn't help but laugh a little. His face lit up in a vibrant red, only making me laugh louder. He was always cute like that._

 _"_ _Wanna dance?" he asked me as his voice cracked, extending out his hand._

 _"_ _Sure," I smiled, placing mine in his as we wondered out onto the dance floor. However, just as we began to dance the song chanced._

 _"_ _Alright all my mermaids and mermen," the D.J announced over the microphone. "It's time to slow it all down," he winked as he played a romantic, slow song. I looked to him, swallowing anxiously. He shrugged and placed his hands on my waist. I replied by placing mine on his shoulder and as the music swelled around us, we danced in circles, never taking our eyes off each other._

 _Amy looked so happy, watching me dance with him. I think Sonic was proud of him too. After what felt like an eternity of heaven, just dancing with him, I remember him clearing his throat awkwardly._

 _"_ _Cream… will you, go out with me?" he asked me. I couldn't believe it. My heart did loops in my chest, but I stayed calm._

 _"_ _Yes. Yes, of course," I smiled as he leant down and placed his lips carefully and quickly on mine. The kiss only lasted the briefest of moments, but it was amazing. That was our first kiss, but it definitely wasn't our last. That was when our relationship first began. When I finally became the girlfriend of Tails Prower._

Cream sat on her bed, legs crossed as she slid her thumb across her phone, admiring the many pictures she had saved in her album titled 'Tails.'

'I can't keep doing this. It's not fair on him. It's not fair on Sonic and it's not fair on me,' Cream sighed as she contemplated her next move. She quickly thumbed through the pictures one last time, memories swelling around inside her before she finally clicked the small icon on the phone. In an instant, the entire album and all the pictures within were deleted from her phone.

"Goodbye Tails," Cream sighed, placing her phone back in her pocket. She lay down on her bed, staring up at the bed above her. It was finally time. Cream had officially moved on, pushing Tails out of her mind.

…

Silver roamed the halls alone, nobody wanting to be seen anywhere near him. His shoulders sagged, his head permanently in a vacant stair at the floors of the many winding corridors of the west building.

Lonely was one way to describe it. Silver knew that. He had never really experienced loneliness before. He had been sad before and he had been alone before, but it was never for a long time and he always had friends to lean on in times of need. When he was a kid, Silver always had Breezie. She was always there for him, never faltering when he needed her and he returned the favour to her in spades. Then, as he reached middle school and high school, he met all his closest friends. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Shadow… The list goes on and on. However, one friend quickly became his best friend and eventually his girlfriend. Blaze the Cat. His one true love, he thought. She was always there for him.

He made the biggest mistake of his life. He knew it, but he had done it anyway. He had plenty of chances to sort everything out, to explain it to both of them and fix his mistake before it had gotten out of hand but he didn't. Now, it was his own fault he was wondering the halls alone.

However, as a kid there was one other person in his life. One of equal importance as Breezie, if not more important. Somebody who Silver used to be closer to than anybody else. Somebody who vanished from his life and when they finally reappeared, seemed to want nothing to do with him.

Scourge leant against a locker, eyes intently following Silver as he slumped through the hallways dragging his feet along the floor. He couldn't help but feel bad for Silver, his heart breaking slightly at the sight of one of his oldest friends acting so depressed.

Scourge took a step forward, slinking out of the shadows as he began to approach Silver. He closed the distance, raising his hand. He was barely inches from tapping Silver on the shoulder when he quickly snapped backwards, retreating his hand. He looked from his arm to Silver, the back down at himself.

'No,' Scourge thought to himself, turning his back on the other teenager. 'I can't let him back into my life. I can't go through all that again. No, not again,' Scourge thought decidedly as he walked away, clenching his fist and steeling his nerves, knowing this was the right choice.

…

"And we had beers and everything just seemed to be back to normal, you know?" Knuckles looked back on his afternoon with Manic fondly.

"That's wonderful, Knuckles. I'm so glad that you two are friends again," Tikal beamed, genuinely happy that he had fully mended his friendship with Manic and had helped Manic mend his relationship with Sonic. "I guess everything is as it should be?"

"Well… not everything is sunshine and rainbows," Knuckles sighed, looking out from the table both the teenagers had acquired in the lunch room to the window. Tikal followed his gaze, confused, but instantly understood when she saw what he was looking at. Julie-Su lay snoozing in the afternoon sun underneath a tree, her laptop laying haphazardly next to her. She had dozed off whilst working on an assignment.

"Julie…" Tikal whispered. She didn't know what to say or how to approach the situation. It was a delicate situation that required some sort of tact that Tikal didn't possess. "Do you still… like her?" Tikal asked foolishly.

"What? Ew, no. Tikal, c'mon she's my sister," Knuckles fired back almost instantly.

"Sorry… I just, I don't know. I want to make sure you are okay because it seemed that you really liked her," Tikal pointed out.

"Well, I guess I did. But, I mean we talked about it all and we are happy to be siblings."

"Really," Tikal raised an eyebrow, not convinced.

"I mean I still love her, sure. But it's not a lusty kind of love but instead it's a brotherly love. I see her just as a sister now, and I couldn't be happier. I treasure Julie, but it was just a high school romance. Now we have a bond that will last our whole life. She's my sister, and I'll always be there for her, just like she will always be there for me," Knuckles explained thoughtfully with a smile. Tikal smiled too, glad that he was finally happy.

"I'm glad you feel that way. You deserve to be happy. And in case you ask, no, I haven't told anyone you and Julie's little secret."

"I trust you, Tikal, but thanks. Anyway… speaking of being happy," Knuckles smirked cheekily. "How's it going with Eclipse?"

"Things have actually been going really well. We both had some issues we had to deal with but we overcame them as a couple both times and we're only stronger because of it. I really do love him but…" Tikal trailed off.

"But what?"

"Nothing."

"Tikal, c'mon," Knuckles pried further.

"No really, I don't know what I was thinking. It's nothing, I promise."

"Okay," Knuckles replied, unconvinced. "But you know you can talk to me about anything."

"Thanks. Same goes for you. You're a true friend, Knux," Tikal grinned.

"You too, Tiks," Knuckles said, mocking the same tone that Clove would always adopt when calling Tikal by her nickname. The two burst out laughing together as they continued to munch down on their lunches, enjoying the serenity that the weekend had brought.

…

"It's surprising, really," Honey mused as she applied a fresh coat of ruby red lipstick to her lips. "I never thought I'd ever be the type to settle down with just one guy but there's just something about Storm. He's just such a… such a…" Honey struggled to find the words.

"Meathead," Rouge finished with a monotonal voice.

"His head is not why I like him," Honey winked, making Rouge cringe.

"Whatever. But seriously, Hon, if you really like him then I'm happy for you," Rouge smiled.

"Thanks girl, I'm glad you approve. Speaking of happy, however…"

"I don't want to go into detail about me and Scourge. We are quite happy." Honey gave her a knowing glare and Rouge crumbled under her gaze. Honey was the one-person Rouge knew she could never fool. The two had grown up together and although they had drifted apart in recent years, Honey still knew Rouge better than anybody else. "Okay, fine. Happy isn't the right word. Content, I'd say."

"That's nice, but I wasn't referring to Scourge, darling," Honey smiled.

"If not him, then who?" Rouge asked.

"Sorry Rouge, that's the bell. I'd better be off to class," Honey said as she grabbed her purse and swaggered out of the bathroom.

"Wait, Honey," Rouge called after her. "Who did you mean?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. I was just wondering, since Knuckles and Julie broke up and he's a free agent again, if you are happy," Honey winked, laughing at the bewildered look on Rouge's face as the bathroom door closed leaving Rouge alone.

Rouge turned to face the mirror, her reflection staring back at her. She hadn't heard about Knuckles' breakup. She didn't know how she felt. If it had happened a month ago she would have pounced on the opportunity to win him back. She missed him dearly and just the thought of him being available again sent her heart a flutter. However… despite how horrid, mean, disgusting and down-right rude Scourge could be, she couldn't lie to herself. She had feelings for him too. Strong feelings.

Rouge didn't know how to feel. She felt sad for Knuckles, surely but also happy. Happy that he was now single. Except… Scourge. She truly did feel something for him, despite his brash nature. But a big part of her wanted Knuckles back. Badly.

Rouge stared at the mirror, torn. She didn't know how to feel or what to do. She hoped desperately for answers, but none came.

…

Breezie pushed open the door and slumped into the room, kicking it closed with her heel before she collapsed onto her bed. She sighed softly into her pillow, lying face down on her mattress.

"Hey Breezie, you alright?" Mina asked, extracting one of her earbuds from her ear.

"Whatever," Breezie moaned, turning to face Mina.

"Come now, if you don't want to tell me what's up then stop moaning so loudly and trying to seek attention," Mina commented brashly, fed up with all the times Breezie has overdramatized events.

"Fine," Breezie huffed.

"So, what's got you down?" Mina asked again, more sympathetic this time.

"It's just Silver…"

"Don't tell me you are still droning on about that boy. It's time to move on, you were so much better than him anyway."

"I just, I fucked up, Mina. I don't know why I can't get over him. I'm never like this," Breezie lamented, searching her best friend's eyes for any answer but none came.

"No, he fucked up. You did nothing wrong. You dated him and he lied and cheated on you," Mina stated plainly as if this was obvious fact that had no dispute.

"But-"

"No buts! You are a strong and independent woman. He screwed up and he's the one that should be moping about how he misses you, not the other way around."

"I know, I know but I just can't help it."

"I've got it!" Mina snapped her fingers, suddenly a flush with excitement.

"What?"

"I know exactly how to lift you out of this rut. Meet me tomorrow night at nine after curfew underneath the grand oak tree at the far end of the school."

"Mina, you can't be serious. We promised each other we wouldn't do that until after we graduated and no sooner," Breezie complained, understanding immediately what Mina was getting at.

"Look, you need cheering up and I can't think of a better way. Graduation's still a couple months away anyway so what's the harm in opening it up slightly sooner?" Mina grinned a wide smile that stretched from ear to ear, her eyes alight with anticipation.

"Okay, sure. Why not, let's do it," Breezie affirmed wearily.

…

"S-S-Seriously Jet, stop c-c-clowning around," Cosmo laughed hysterically as Jet assaulted her with a barrage of tickles, his long and slender fingers dancing up and down her sides. He lay on top of her, pinning her arms down with his knees as he continued his onslaught.

"Only if you change your mind," Jet threatened playfully.

"B-but you know I-I-I," Cosmo struggled to speak through her fits of laughter. Tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably.

"Just say you will," Jet said again.

"I have to s-s-study for the test," Cosmo begged through giggles.

"We've been studying non-stop all week. All I ask for is one proper date. Not at a wedding or at a public event. Just you and me, tomorrow night."

"O-O-Okay," Cosmo forced the words out. Pleased with the response, Jet relinquished his hold on her and rolled over, lying flat on his back next to her. Cosmo sat up and greedily gulped oxygen to her deprived lungs, taking long careful breaths now that she could finally breath properly.

"That wasn't fair," she exhaled.

"Still got what I was after, didn't I," he grinned sneakily, making Cosmo blush.

"You're something else, Jet the Hawk," Cosmo blushed.

"And you are too, Cosmo the Seedrian," Jet mirrored her body language, copying her voice. The two sat, staring at each other for what felt like ages before Jet slowly closed his eyes and leant in. However, instead of feeling Cosmo's lips against his own, he just felt air. He peaked open one eye to see that Cosmo had shuffled back slightly, looking down at the ground awkwardly.

"Sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her forearm with her other hand.

"Cosmo," Jet said somewhat seriously. "Be honest with me. Do you want to go on a date with me and continue seeing each other? If you really don't I'm not going to force you."

"What?" Cosmo gasped, turning to meet his gaze. "Of course I want to date you, Jet. I promise it was just because of the test."

"That's not what I meant," Jet shook his head solemnly.

"What do you mean, then?"

"Cosmo, this is the third time you've done this. I've tried to kiss you but you avoided it. Is… is something wrong? Do you not like me that way?"

"Jet, that's not it at all," she said reassuringly. "It's just…" she began, her voice waving and shaky.

"You can tell me anything," Jet assured her, grabbing her hands in his own.

"I… I've never really kissed anybody before and, well, what if I'm not any good and you don't want to date me anymore?"

"Cosmo, that would never change my mind. I love you for you, not whether you'd be a good kisser," Jet replied sweetly.

"You… you love… me?" Cosmo couldn't believe what she had heard. A boy, a boy that she liked had said that he loved her. Not liked, not adored but proper full on loved.

"Yeah… yeah, I think I do," Jet replied. Overwhelmed, Cosmo threw all caution to the wind and before Jet could say anything further she quickly leant in and crashed her lips roughly against his. The two shared the kiss together, slowly transforming it from a forceful gesture to a soft, subtle and magical kiss. Finally, Jet broke away to stare thoughtfully at Cosmo.

"Wow…" Cosmo breathed. "That's what kissing feels like."

"Yeah…" Jet said silently, unable to believe how amazing that kiss was.

…

"What?" Shadow's bewildered screams echoed around the office building. It rattled the many ceramics that decorated the inside of Razor's office.

"Shadow, I would advise you to keep your voice down. It is a Sunday morning and some students are still trying to sleep," Razor said in an authoritarian tone.

"Sorry sir," Shadow forced. "But surely that can't be true."

"I'm afraid it is," Razor sighed. "A shame really, he was a good student. I'll make a formal announcement at the assembly on Monday but I thought it would be wise to tell you and Sonia before everybody else, although I don't know where she is."

"Did he say why?" Shadow asked, an empty feeling in his stomach.

"He didn't say. I found the note slipped under my office door yesterday and all it said was that Mr. Dark had decided to leave the school indefinitely.

"But Mephiles wouldn't do that… would he?"

"It would appear he would," Razor stated tonelessly. Shadow couldn't believe what he was hearing. Without another word, he rudely turned and strolled thoughtlessly out of Razor's office, accidently bumping into Sonia on his way out of the building.

"Shadow? Do you know what Razor wanted with us?" She asked, but was completely ignored. Shadow quickly slipped back into his room, reached under his pillow for a small, folded-up piece of paper and, being careful not to wake his sleeping roommates, tiptoed out of the room again and set off. He didn't stop until he came to the clearing with the tree he liked to come visit when wanting some serenity and leant against the mighty trunk.

Shadow pulled the folded-up paper from the pocket of his jacket and unfolded it, staring down at the handwritten note that had been meticulously and painstakingly prepared a few weeks prior.

Shadow read through the words, unable to contain himself any longer. A single tear fell from his eyes, staining the ink on the page. Finally, as he got to the bottom of the paper he read the last sentence out loud.

 _And I'd like to end by giving my sincerest congratulations and to say, Good luck. Good luck in this step in your life and all future endeavors._

"Pah, good luck," Shadow spat, clenching his hand tightly into a fist, scrunching up the piece of paper. "More like good riddance," Shadow called out angrily as he furiously ripped the piece of paper to shreds and threw it into the prevailing morning winds. He watched in tormented anger as the small fragments swirled around helplessly at the mercy of the winds before being picked up and swept off over the forest.

Shadow held back further tears, not wanting to believe it was true. He didn't understand how Mephiles could do that to him. To leave Sonia at the alter and then run off without saying so much as another word, not even to him. Shadow thought they had something special. He thought Mephiles was different. It appears he isn't.

Shadow let loose, punching his fist in anguish against the trunk of the tree again and again in a fruitless attempt to release some of his pent-up anger. Slowly, a piece of the torn-up paper managed to catch itself on a low breeze and billowed across Shadow's shoe, lying against the tree trunk. Shadow looked down to read it. It was the title, in big, bold letters.

 _Best Man Speech_

* * *

 _A/N: Poor Shadow, ditched by his best friend and his old lover without so much as a word. Just a note delivered to the principal. That can't be the end of Mephiles, can it?_

 _Jet and Cosmo finally had their first kiss. Is this a good thing or will it only lead to disaster. And it seems that Spike and Sonia are growing closer and closer. It's far too soon for Sonia to move on after her wedding so what is Spike thinking? Does anybody else find it odd that he seems to have moved on to none other than Sonic's sister? No, just me? Well, now I've planted that thought in your head, haven't I :)_

 _Lumina just gets more curious, and Fiona has had enough. But what could her cryptic answer mean? He ended up in prison because of 'just a boy'? What does that mean? I promise the answer will come soon, or at least the answer of how Lumina knows Void. In fact, you might want to pay attention to the Next Time part ;)_

 _Knuckles is slowly climbing back out of the rut, thanks to Manic and Tikal, but now that Rouge knows that he is single again with things spiral back out of control for both these off again on again teens? And who is this she that Zector keeps harping on about? Why is he calling Zonic a coward? Soon, soon._

 _Our last big burning question that I have got so many PM's about (And don't worry, even though a lot of the PM's are about the same things I always love recieving them and will respond to all of them. But if you're going to PM, why not review too, ey :P You know who you are but I love you anyway haha. Of course, I'm refering to Scourge and Silver's history. Having been teased all the way back in chapter 8 it's lead to many theories over the past 30 chapters but it will all start to unfold starting with next chapter so I hope the wait is worth it. However, I warn you, when you think you have all the answers about these two, there's a bunch more secrets and plot twists in their sordid history so reserve judgment on the entire plot line until the end. Same goes for the death I promised. Within the next 5 chapters, I swear!_

 _I just want to end by saying it's good to be back. Also to say chapter won't come out as frequenly as I was able to before I left. I will try to write as fast as I can but I always prefer quality over quantity, with this and my other stories so be patient and I won't give up on you._

 _Question of the Day: Are you happy to have me back writing again? Yes or yes? :P_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Elias decides to plan another party  
_

 _Sonic and Tails finally, undesputably through?!_

 _Silver and Scourge first meet_

 _Breezie and Mina meet underneath the tree_

 _...and Fiona, Void and Lumina have a standoff_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 39: A Passionate Prison_


	39. Chapter 39: A Passionate Prison

Chapter 39

A Passionate Prison

Manic groaned as a sliver of silver light shone through a crack in the blinds, staining across his left eye. He grabbed his blankets and threw them over his face, rolling over to face the eggshell wall. Manic would have stayed in bed the entire day if he could, skipping classes wasn't an issue but the incessant knocking on his front door stirred him awake.

"Knux, Shadow, Spike, somebody answer that bloody door," he growled into silence. All his roommates had already gotten up, dressed and headed off to their first period classes, letting the snoozing teenager rest for longer.

"Hold your horses," Manic screeched angrily as he finally pushed himself out of bed and stumbled tiredly over to the door, swinging it open. "What do you want, I was trying to sleep."

"Not the kind of greeting I'm used to," Elias, the pristine looking senior addressed him.

"Oh, Elias, sorry. I only just woke up," Manic apologized, stepping aside to let the taller boy enter.

"Shouldn't you be in first period?" Elias asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you?" Manic responded snidely.

"Touché."

"So, why are you here?"

"Ah, of course," Elias smiled. "I've decided, since it's the start of our final term as seniors, I'd host a party."

"Another party?"

"Not just another party. The biggest, grandest party known to the entire school history. All four year levels, two schools worth of students. It was be the greatest party ever thrown, to end my schooling career. It's gonna be epic!"

"Sounds awesome," Manic began to get excited. "But, I don't get it, why are you here?"

"Do you know how the invitations are sent out?"

"Yeah, I've been told. You invite somebody and they invite two people each and it spreads. Generally, the entire school is invited anyway but those who don't get an invite from such an expansive list don't really deserve to come. It's kinda cruel but it makes sense, I guess."

"Perfect. Then your question is answered," Elias smiled, showing two rows of pearly white teeth.

"How?" Elias gave him a knowing smirk until finally the lightbulb went off. "Oh, shit, really?"

"Indeed."

"I'm the first invite?"

"Yep, and you know what that means."

"That's a lot of pressure…"

"I've been watching you. I reckon you know how to have a good time. So, as is tradition, my first invite gets to choose the location of the biggest party known to Mobius. It had better be epic though. Where's it gonna be?" Elias asked excitedly.

"Hmmmm," Manic pondered. "You have a lot of money?"

"Correct."

"And you want to go all out?" Elias nodded again. "How about we book out that massive hotel that's about an hour south of here. Y'know, the one that's in the middle of nowhere on the side of that big highway."

"Quartz Casino?"

"That's the one! Book out the entire hotel, the casino, the pool, the lobby, all the rooms, everything. It'd be killer." Elias furrowed his brow as a gigantic smile began to creep along his face.

"I knew I chose you for a reason, Manic. This is gonna be…"

"Epic?"

"Exactly!" Elias snapped his fingers. "Happy inviting. I've got some planning to do. Get ready, this weekend is going to go off!"

…

Everywhere he walked, whispers followed. Like phantoms, the stalked behind him, taunting and tormenting him at every turn. He couldn't escape them no matter how hard he tried. They slowly wore him down, crushing his spirt into the dirt like a cockroach.

"Homewrecker!"

"Husband stealer!"

"You're worse than Solaris!" Students threw things at him in class, tripped him in the halls and shouted insults wherever he went. He could have handled the whispers behind his back. That's all they were at the start. But when things started to get physical, he knew he couldn't stand it much longer. It was like the orphanage, like the fire. Shadow never could catch a break.

Finally, Storm decided to take it a step further. As Shadow walked down the corridor on the way back to his dorm room, the imposing albatross stepped in front of him, staring him down as he towered over Shadow.

"Can I please get past," Shadow announced softly.

"I don't know. Could you please bring Mephiles back!" Storm challenged. Shadow sighed. Ever since Sonia was left at the altar, everybody seemed to feel for her. It was only after the dust was settled and the rubble was cleared that the ghouls began to creep out. The last time Mephiles was seen was when Shadow went into his dressing room to talk to him. Then he vanished. Everyone assumed Shadow was jealous and talked him out of it. They accused Shadow of telling him to leave the school, only to meet up with him again after Shadow graduated.

"I didn't make him go anywhere," Shadow defended himself."

"Bullshit," Storm pushed him roughly. Shadow stumbled backwards and collided with another student behind him.

"Leave me alone."

"Why didn't you leave Sonia and Mephiles alone," the other student shoved him forward. Shadow dropped his books, papers flying around him as the two students began pushing him back and forth. A small crowd of boys peeked out of their doors or stopped in the staircase to watch, hissing and booing the black-clad boy.

Shadow closed his eyes and concentrated, whispering to calm down. He couldn't snap again. He had finally found a stable place, he didn't want to be expelled.

"What are you whispering, freak?" Storm growled.

"Probably trying to get us to run away like he did to Mephiles!" Shadow snapped, his eyes shooting open. He was mere seconds away from pouncing. In one second, he could topple both the bullies and send them off to the hospital. He planned to, too, if not for one voice that shouted above the rest.

"Leave him alone!" Mighty bellowed. The whole hallway froze and turned to him. He marched through the crowd of onlookers and wrenched Shadow free from the two.

"Lay off, Armadillo. He deserves this," Storm warned.

"We have no proof he did anything," Mighty defended.

"Look at him. He's guilty!"

"I've called Zonic. He'll be here any minute so I'd back off if I were you," Mighty challenged bravely.

"This isn't over," Storm snarled as he turned and stormed off, pushing smaller students out of the way.

"What are you all looking at?" He called to the other students who stared at him, speechless. The quickly rushed off, pretending nothing had ever happened. Mighty turned to Shadow, offering a small smile. "You alright?"

"I didn't need your help," Shadow scowled.

"A thankyou would have been nice."

"Thank you? Seriously? Fuck off."

"I just helped you!"

"I didn't need help," Shadow growled stubbornly.

"What did I ever do to you?"

"Seriously? You were a fucking dick to me almost all of last term. Or did you just forget about it."

"You're still on that? That was months ago, get over it," Mighty challenged equally stubbornly, neither boy wanting to back down as they butted heads. "I was defending my best friend when you verbally assaulted him. You were in the wrong."

"You're just a prick."

"Whatever, next time I won't interfere." Mighty growled, throwing his hands skywards.

"Good, I didn't want your help. Get out of here."

"Unbelievable," Mighty shook his head, stomping off without another word.

"Chaos I hate that guy," Shadow snarled under his breath as he bent down to pick up his books and papers.

…

 _I was having the time of my life. Sure, I was nervous but I was doing what I loved. I had been waiting all year for it, counting down the days until I packed my things and hopped on the bus._

 _Space camp was everything I'd hoped it would be. We camped out under the stars and studied them through our telescopes, we made giant bottle rockets and shot them into the sky and just generally had a great week at camp. However, that wasn't why I ended up loving space camp so much. Yeah, it was awesome, but one thing in particular made it great. Well, more like one person._

 _After I arrived we got split into tent partners. I was so nervous, having to share a confined space with a complete stranger for a whole week. We all got handed pieces of paper with our tent numbers and the name of our partners and were sent off into the big bus garage to find our equipment. That's when he approached me._

 _"_ _Hey, are you Silver?" A boy asked me. He was slightly taller than me, but luckily he was the same age. Ten. He had low, messy green quills that hung over his face like a fringe like an ugly bowl haircut, although I wasn't one to judge. He had big eyes that were hidden behind thick, circular, wire-frame glasses that clung to the bridge of his nose. He stuck out one hand expectantly, a tent hitched under his other arm._

 _"_ _Yeah, who are you?" I asked politely._

 _"_ _My name is Scourge. Scourge the Hedgehog," he smiled warmly at me._

 _"_ _Nice to meet you, Scourge," I grinned, shaking his hand. "I guess we're partners then._

 _"_ _Oh boy, I know we'll just become the best of friends." He was nerdy. Really nerdy, and I was the one saying that. However, over that week it was like we had been friends for years. We talked nonstop, mostly about space, stars, fantasy creatures and sci-fi movies. We were kindred spirits, one and the same. I thought I had made another best friend. We were inseparable, and we continued to be once we got back from space camp._

 _I don't know what happened. I don't know what I did. I thought he needed me, after what happened with his family. But then he changed. Then he left._

Silver sighed again, hands deep in his pockets and gaze fixed firmly to the floor as he slumped through the hallways. He had thought back to that time at space camp a lot recently, especially after both Blaze and Breezie refused to talk to him. He wished desperately that he could talk to Scourge again. Ask him what really happened, but he was too afraid. Every time he tried, Scourge treated him like dirt. He was afraid Scourge would disappear again. Even though he was different, Silver still watched him.

Silver refused to give up hope. It was all he had left, now that the rest of the school had turned on him. Secretly, deep down, he knew the real Scourge was still there.

…

Rouge zipped out of her English class as fast as possible, sick of being swept up by the river of students dashing towards lunch. Her hair always ended up mattered and tangled, her clothes crinkled and messy from unaware teenagers pushing and clawing to get through the halls. That day, she was going to get ahead of it all.

She had just gotten out of the tall brick-layered building when a smaller girl stopped her in her tracks.

"Cosmo, not now, I need to get lunch before everybody else," Rouge dismissed her, stepping past her but Cosmo grabbed her arm, holding her back. Rouge turned, growling. "I said I need to go. What do you want?"

"S-Sorry I just… I need help," Cosmo whimpered. Rouge let out a long, slow breath.

"Well, I've already missed the chance to avoid the crowds so I guess I'll just wait until the end to grab some lunch," Rouge decided. "What can I help you with?"

"It's about the other night. I was walking around school after curfew and I saw you and Scourge smo-" Cosmo was cut short, her last words muffled as Rouge clasped her hand over Cosmo's mouth.

"Shhh," Rouge shushed, her eyes darting around the sea of heads. "Don't say it out loud. Razor has ears all over and I can't afford to get caught."

"Sorry," Cosmo apologized again.

"So, what, you're going to take a leaf out of Fiona and Espio's book and blackmail me?"

"What? No, of course not, I would never do such a thing."

"Sure you wouldn't," Rouge narrowed her eyes in distrust.

"No I just… I just was wondering if I could buy some off you," Cosmo's gaze shifted to the ground as she kicked dirt.

"You… you want to buy drugs… from me?" Rouge asked skeptically.

"Yes?" Cosmo answered, more like a question than a decided answer.

"You know if I find out that you're working with Zonic or Razor or somebody…"

"No, I swear I'm not. I just… I've quit gambling," Cosmo admitted. A wide smile crept over Rouge's face, genuinely pleased.

"Good."

"But, I've been having trouble curbing the addiction. My brain keeps telling me to bet on anything, to gamble at any chance I get. But even just breathing in some of the second-hand smoke… it calmed my nerves and helped me chill that tiny bit I need."

"Yeah, it'll do that."

"So, can I buy some?"

"I don't know," Rouge pondered, not sure if it was the right thing to do.

"I won't get addicted. I swear."

"Well, alright, I guess. Only if you promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"That you won't start getting onto the harder stuff. No Heroine, no speed, no cocaine… just marijuana."

"You're the only person I can get drugs from anyway so unless you sell it to me-"

"You kidding me?" Rouge interrupted. "I'd never do any of that other stuff. That shit ruins your body and mind. I stick to weed."

"Then I'll stick to weed too."

"Alright, meet me in my room tonight."

"Thanks Rouge," Cosmo smiled as she turned to skip off. Rouge watched with glazed, unsure eyes.

"What's the worst that could happen?"

…

The sweet smell of apple pie wafted through the cafeteria, sneaking under the gap in the door that separated the senior's lunchroom from the rest of the school. The entire room, full to the brim with seniors of both campus', was abuzz with talk. Invitations had spread quickly and by that lunchtime it seemed the entire year level had been invited to Elias' big event.

Tikal sat at the head of the table completely ecstatic. Surrounding her, munching down on their food were Eclipse, Ray and Clove and even Silver. He hadn't wanted to come to lunch but Eclipse had insisted.

"So, why are you so happy, babe?" Eclipse asked through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, what's the big surprise you texted me about?" Clove enquired.

"Well, I assume you've all gotten your invites to Elias' big party next weekend?" Tikal began.

"Well you did invite Clove and Eclipse who invited Silver and I so of course we're going to that party," Ray added like it was common sense. "C-Can you just cut to the chase, please? I need to go get an assignment finished," he fidgeted in his seat.

"Well, since Elias is going to host it out at Quartz Casino he has ordered a bunch of busses to take us there, I thought we could all road trip instead. I'll drive, but I can still drink because we each get a hotel room to stay the night."

"That sounds like fun," Clove beamed.

"Sure, count me in, I guess," Silver added dully.

"Shot gun making the playlist for the car," Eclipse shouted.

"Hey, guys, I don't want to be that guy, but, none of us have a car," Ray pointed out finally.

"Don't fret my friend, Dr. Tikal has a cure for what ails you," Tikal smiled.

"Please, I don't know what you're trying to do but stop it. Now," Clove shook her head with a playful smirk.

"Fine. Anyway, I met up with one of my friends over the break and she told me how she was planning to go camping. I told her about Emerald Lake and as fate would have it the same weekend she booked her trip is when Elias booked the party."

"So what are you saying, exactly?" Eclipse asked.

"I'm saying she said she'd lend me the car for the weekend!" Tikal announced happily.

"I'm so in!" Clove cheered. Even Silver cracked a smile. His first smile in a long time.

"This is going to be awesome!"

…

Knuckles dribbled around one of his fellow teammates, stepped up to the painted white line of the wooden floor and jumped. The basketball flew from his hand, soared perfectly though the air and fell directly through the ring.

"Woo! Nothing but net," Knuckles cheered, pumping the air as the rest of his teammates congratulated him.

"Nice shot, Knux," Julie smiled warmly as she took a large sip from her water bottle. She cleared her throat, addressing the entire team. "Alright, good hustle today everybody. Now, I know you're all excited for Elias' party on Saturday night but we still have a game that morning so I don't want anybody slacking off." Groans filled the air but Julie silenced them. "We are only one more win off the finals so keep practicing, keep fit and when, not if, we win, we can celebrate at Quartz Casino. Alright, now everybody hit the showers. You all stink."

The sound of chatter echoed through the hall as the rest of the team headed off to the changerooms. Julie stopped, looking back at the basketballer in the tank top.

"Knux, you coming?" Julie-Su asked.

"Yeah, in a second. I just want to practice on more shot."

"Don't overwork yourself," Julie stated before letting the gym door close behind her. Knuckles concentrated, picking up the ball and getting into position. He stuck out his tongue, narrowing his eyes as he got ready to shoot but as he bent his knees, the sound of the gym door creaking open again ruined his attention and the ball flew off at an odd angle, ricocheting off the ring and bouncing away into the bleachers.

"What was that," a voice mocked from behind.

"What are you doing here?" Knuckles sighed, turning around to come face to face with the one person he didn't think he could deal with. Rouge the bat, hand cocked on her hip.

"If that's the way I'm going to be greeted, maybe I should just leave," Rouge scoffed.

"Maybe you should. I'm sure Scourge wants to see you," Knuckles added backhandedly.

"Ugh, you're so…" Rouge groaned, unsure how to finish the sentence.

"So, what, Rouge?"

"So… so frustrating," Rouge muttered. "Look, I'm sorry, alright. I didn't come here to fight."

"Why did you come here then? To throw another emerald in the lake?"

"Are you still on that? Seriously, you're such a-" Rouge stopped herself as her temper began to spiral out of control. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I heard about Julie."

"Came here to laugh?"

"No, actually, I came here to make sure you were alright," Rouge admitted, much to Knuckles' surprise. "I can't begin to imagine what you must be going through, but I'm sorry, and I'm always here if you want to talk about it."

"…Thanks," Knuckles said finally. "Do you, um, wanna sit?" Rouge obliged his offer as the two sat on the steps, facing one another.

"I'm sorry about the way we left things off. I was just really hurt and thought you betrayed me," Rouge began.

"I told you I didn't like Julie that way," Knuckles argued.

"And yet look what happened."

"That was your fault."

"I know, I know… Chaos knows I regretted my decision. I have a confession to make, actually."

"Me too."

"You go first," Rouge urged.

"No, you."

"Alright. I… while you and Julie were dating, I was, well, I was watching you. I still loved you and I was bitter and I began to resent her. I acted horribly to her and it was wrong of me. I know that but I couldn't help it."

"Oh, I was going to confess that I knew you were watching us," Knuckles admitted. Rouge's eyes grew wide, but a frown stretched across her face. "I wanted you to feel jealous. I wanted to make you sad at first but then… well… I kinda held out hope that maybe you would step in and try to win me back."

"Wait… you wanted me to fight with Julie?" Rouge asked, surprised.

"Not exactly. I was happy with her. Really happy. But, a part of me just couldn't get you out of my heart. And when I saw you watching me, I secretly hoped… I don't know, it's stupid," Knuckles looked away.

"It's not stupid," Rouge urged, placing her hand on his cheek. He placed his larger hand on top of hers as he stared into her shimmering eyes, letting hope fill him again before pushing hers away.

"N-No, you're with Scourge now. Besides, you and I have tried to work countless times. This time won't be any different."

"But maybe we needed to date other people. Maybe this time apart was exactly what we needed."

"I… I don't know," Knuckles admitted, standing up. "Look, Chaos knows I haven't stopped thinking about you. If you'd let me, I'd take you back in an instant, but I just don't think it would be a good idea. You and me… it always leads to heartache."

"But maybe it doesn't have to…"

"How about this," Knuckles began. "I know I can't help myself, but you still have Scourge. Think it over and, if you're serious about trying again, come to my dorm room tonight and we'll see where things go," Knuckles finished. Before Rouge could say anymore, he got up and left to have a shower.

…

Cream paced up and down her room, deciding to skip lunch that day to instead call her mother. What started out as a usual call slowly descended into worry. Cream ran a hand through her hair, pulling down on her ears as she nervously chewed the bottom of her lip.

"Mother, please, I'm fine," Cream pleaded into the phone.

"I'm doing this for your own good," Vanilla added didactically on the other side of the line.

"But mother, I promise the boy troubles are behind me. I'm working much harder and my grades are improving," Cream tried to persuade her domineering, controlling mother.

"What did I say about talking back to me young lady," Vanilla chided her.

"But moth-"

"Enough! I'm warning you. One more slip up and my decision will be final."

"But I… Alright mother," Cream sighed, admitting defeat.

"Alright then. Have a good night, darling."

"Bye mother," Cream hung up before tossing her phone angrily into her pillow, groaning loudly.

"Parental problems?" Wave asked, pulling her head out of her phone.

"You have no idea…"

…

Breezie spent the entire part of her last period staring at the back of his head. Spike constantly flipped his glances between Mr. Ash's lecturing and his messy notebook which he continued to scribble in frantically. Finally, as the bell rang to signal the end of the class and the day, she jumped slightly and began hurriedly putting her things away.

As Spike got up to leave, he glanced back at her. She smiled slightly but as soon as their eyes met, he quickly looked away and sped out of the classroom. Breezie sighed, slinging her bag onto one shoulder as she plodded out of the classroom.

"Hey, Breezie, is everything alright?" a kind-hearted voice halted her.

"Oh, hey Eclipse," she said with a faint heart as she looked up to see who was worrying about her. "No, it's fine, I'm okay."

"Are you sure? You normally look full of life but recently… Well, honestly I worry about you," Eclipse admitted kindly.

"You're kind, Eclipse. You really are a great guy. Tikal's a lucky girl," Breezie sighed, about to walk past her when a plan suddenly hatched in her brain. She spun around on her heels, hope alight in her eyes again after it had been thoroughly extinguished for so long.

"There's the flame I remember," Eclipse smiled.

"Eclipse," Breezie snapped her fingers. "You're exactly who I needed."

"Me?" He pointed to himself. "Why me?"

"Mr. Ash gave me this impossible history assignment and I tried so hard but I didn't get it in on time but he graciously gave me a little extra time. I'm almost done but I just need a little more help," Breezie began.

"Breezie, I don't know what-" Eclipse was cut off as she continued to babble.

"I know you're getting A's in history and I just need somebody to help guide me on the right track so I can do really well and prove to somebody that I am trying. I promise I won't make you do any work, I just need you to read it over and help me make it the best it can be and I'll do the rest. Pretty please?" Breezie begged. Eclipse paused, thinking it over before he sighed.

"Alright, fine. Come to my room after sixth tomorrow and I'll help you."

"Oh thank you," Breezie threw her arms around him gratefully. "And afterwards, free coffee, on the house!"

…

Amy sat at the table in the cafeteria, listening to the others argue about one thing or another as she quietly ate her dinner in silence. She zoned out, lost in her own world when a buzzing in her pants flung her back into reality. She whipped out her phone and noticed the name illuminated on her screen. Zouge.

"Sorry guys, gotta take this," she excused herself, answering quickly as she dashed out of the cafeteria, disturbing others eating their meals in the process.

"Darling, it's me, Zouge. How have you been?" Zouge greeted her in her usual extravagant tone.

"Hey Zouge. I've been pretty good. I just-"

"Yes, yes darling, that's quite interesting," Zouge interrupted. "But let's get down to business. I called about the edited changes you sent me in regards to your book."

"Oh good, I wasn't sure if I got them to you on time. I decided the ending wasn't exactly good enough," Amy explained.

"Darling, the ended was perfect. But this… what are you thinking? Why did you change it so drastically? An audience loves a happy ending, remember? But this is so… gothic," Zouge tutted.

"I know it's not how you'd expect it to end but I thought this ending would be more realistic," Amy defended.

"Are you sure, darling?"

"If there's time, I'd like the ending to be changed to this," Amy added with finality.

"It's highly irregular to make changes to the novel this late in the publishing process. Honestly, darling, it's unheard of."

"Please, could you make the changes if possible? I know if anyone could, it'd be you," Amy added slyly, playing to Zouge's hubris.

"Well, alright darling, despite my better judgement I'll see what I can do. I wouldn't hold my breath, though."

"Thanks Zouge, you really are the best."

"I know, darling, I know. Best be off now. People to see, things to do. Ta, ta!"

"Goodb-" Amy said her goodbyes but was cut off by the dial tone. "She's always in a rush," Amy rolled her eyes as she put her phone back into the pocket of her ripped denim jeans and trotted back into the cafeteria to finish her dinner.

…

The sun had well and truly set, allowing the shadows to devour the light on the school, plunging it into darkness. Most of the school had either shrunk back into their rooms, ate dinner in the noisy cafeteria or retreated into the depths of the school library to finish up school assignments, the last of which were about to be due before exam fever truly took ahold. Exams were less than two months away and the amount of paperwork stacked on Gold's desk towered higher with each passing day.

Gold's small office was illuminated by nothing but a small desk lamp. Her hand cramped up as she feverishly scribbled away. New students coming so late in the year, others leaving suddenly. After accompanying Espio to his concert that weekend she had neglected a lot of her work and needed to work overtime to catch back up to her schedule. She was so engrossed in the paperwork she hadn't even noticed the knocking on her door.

"Gold?" A voice asked as the door creaked open slightly. Gold nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise as the principal stepped into the room. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, hello principal, I mean, Razor, how are you?" Gold asked politely, rubbing her wrist as she took a slight pause.

"I'm quite fine, now that we've dealt with the Mephiles controversy. I'm more concerned about you," Razor responded professionally, yet casually. Gold darted her eyes between him and the stack of paper still needing to be finished.

"I've been better, but I'll be fine once I finish this work," Gold answered, avoiding Razor's knowing glaze. His eyes softened as he ventured further into the room.

"I know we're asking a lot of you, but you have been doing fantastic work, Gold."

"Thank you, Razor," Gold said with courtesy.

"Please, take the rest of the night off. You are working yourself ragged. I'll take over for you," Razor offered politely. Gold considered it. She was tired, sore, and wanted nothing more than to retire to her room. Possibly spend a few hours with Espio if she could, but as she looked to the pile a horrible thought crossed her mind. Some of the papers should have been done days ago and he realized that she slacked off all weekend.

"No, that's okay," Gold shook her head.

"Please, I insist," Razor asserted.

"Razor, please, it's quite alright."

"Okay, have it your way," Razor smiled, a dejected look masked in his saddened eyes. "Have a good night, Gold."

"You too, Razor," Gold feigned a smile as he retreated out of the room. Gold sighed, turning back to work when her phone vibrated again.

Zonic: _Hey, I know it's late but are you up for some pool?_

Espio: _Gold, when do you get off work tonight? You, me, picnic by the lake. What do you think?_

"I can't take much more of this," Gold cried out in anguish, grabbing at her golden locks as her head darted from the separate messages from the two guys to the door where Razor stood not a minute earlier.

…

"Is something wrong?" Clove pulled away, finally separating her hungry lips from his as she brushed some hair out of her eyes.

"I… It's nothing," Ray paused for a moment, biting his bottom lip as his baby blue eyes met her indigo orbs. Ray sat cross-legged, his back resting against a tree as Clove straddled him. She frowned, sliding off him.

"C'mon, I know you too well," Clove pried, unsatisfied with his answer. "I know something's wrong. Something's bothering you. Is it Mighty?" Ray looked away, avoiding her knowing gaze. "I knew it. Ray, you can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

"Clove I… I don't deserve you. I don't deserve this," Ray lamented in self-pity.

"What are you talking about? What has Mighty been saying to you?" Clove instantly said judgmentally. "He better not be putting thoughts into your head."

"Clove, no, it's nothing like that. But… well I just can't shake the feeling that," Ray paused, trying to decide whether he really wanted to say how he was feeling. The past week with Clove should have been some of the happiest of his life, and, if he was honest, whenever the two were alone he was ecstatic. He was in constant ecstasy, despite not having gone all the way with her yet. But, the rest of the time, he felt empty. Ray was a hollow shell of himself, limping from class to class with sidelong glances of his equally lost friend.

Mighty consumed his thoughts constantly. He noticed the holes in Mighty's wall and Tails told him of Mighty cursing in his sleep. It destroyed him. Ray needed his best friend, as he was sure Mighty needed him.

"That what?" Clove asked, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Clove, I love you. I do. I have for a long time now, but, this… us… what we're doing. It's wrong. It's unfair on Mighty," Ray announced, unsure if he was making the right move.

"Seriously? But Mighty dumped me, not the other way around," Clove reasoned. "So, we aren't doing anything wrong. It was his fault and if he is making you break up with me-"

"He's not," Ray interrupted swiftly. "I'm doing this. This is my choice. I'm sorry, Clove, but you and me… it won't work. Mighty is my best friend. I can't do this to him… I'm sorry."

"No, Ray, it's okay. I understand," Clove sighed, dejected.

"Can we still be friends?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Clove smiled sadly, trying to mask her pain as she rose and began to stroll off. "I'll see you around."

It didn't take Clove long before she found herself banging on the door of the boy's dormitory, ignoring Zonic's angered shouts about curfew.

"You aren't allowed to be in here after seven," Zonic reprimanded her.

"I bet half the rooms have girls in them right now," Clove quipped back.

"While I highly doubt that, the fact remains that you shouldn't be here," Zonic grumbled.

"Alright, I'll go back to the lounge, but I know for a fact Scourge has a girl in his dorm as we speak." That piqued Zonic's interest.

"Scourge," he narrowed his eyes, his resentment for the delinquent hardly a secret to anybody. "Alright, Clove, see that you go back downstairs. I need to see to this problem." Clove smirked secretly to herself, pretending to leave until he vanished in the stairwell before she began pounding on the door again.

"Oh, hey Clove, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked, opening the door.

"I need to speak to Mighty," she pushed passed him rudely, too angry to bother with manners. She glanced around the room. Tails lay in his bed, the other top bunk remained empty. Across from her, lying left of the window sill, Mighty lay in his bed, typing away an essay on his laptop.

"Do you want the room?" Sonic offered as Mighty peered up from his screen, confusion welling around in his eyes. Clove nodded without a word, her eyes locked with his in a silent staring contest. Tails quickly jumped from the bed and rushed out with Sonic, despite their current indifference to each other.

"How may I help you, Clove?" Mighty asked civilly, closing his computer screen.

"Why'd you tell him to do it?" Clove asked, cutting directly to the chase.

"Do what?" Mighty shrugged, legitimately confused.

"Don't play dumb with me. You know that doesn't work," Clove growled. "I know you told Ray to dump me."

"Ray dumped you?" Mighty's eyes lit up with surprise and, much to Clove's chagrin, happiness.

"He did it because of you!"

"Why would he dump you for me? Guys don't do that for other guys," Mighty fired back, casting extra doubt and confusion on Clove to throw her off the scent of why he really broke up with her to further protect Ray.

"I don't know. Maybe Cassia was right, and you two are secretly gay," Clove challenged.

"Clove, trust me, we aren't. Just because people think it, doesn't make it true. Him and I will never be a thing."

"Then why did he dump me?"

"Maybe he felt guilty."

"So what? You dumped me, not the other way around, so he has nothing to feel guilty about."

"You're still his best friend's ex-girlfriend. No matter what happened between us, maybe he finally understood what a dog move it was," Mighty offered.

"Listen here," Clove narrowed her eyes, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "You left me and that's nobody's fault but yours. But don't try to trick Ray and me into feeling sorry for you. We found happiness where you only left pain. You had your chance and you decided to end it. Stop ruining other people's happiness, Mighty."

"It's not like that."

"Why not? Tell me, why did you break up with me, then? Are you regretting it?" Clove asked with a hint of what could be misconstrued as hope in her shimmering eyes.

"No, I'm not. I broke up with you because… because…" Mighty sighed, looking down at the bed. "Because I didn't love you anymore," he lied.

"Then stop standing in the way of our happiness," Clove snapped before leaving the room. "Jealousy isn't a good look on you."

…

Mina waited underneath the grand tree, shrouded in darkness. A cool, spring breeze whipped her skirt, chilling her legs. She wore long, black stockings and a thin sweater, but nothing more. Her indigo hair whipped back and forth as she waited. Finally, as the clock struck eleven, Breezie crossed the deserted oval.

"Glad you could make it," Mina nodded.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Breezie asked, unsure. "We promised we wouldn't do it until we graduate."

"I know, but I think you need some help. You've been so sad lately, you need reminding about times before Silver came back into your life. Times when you were happy." Mina reached behind the tree and retrieved two shovels that were leaning against the thick trunk. She threw one at Breezie, who caught it expertly, and together the two began to dig.

"I forgot how deep we buried this thing," Breezie complained, grunting as she shoveled another pile of dirt out of the large hole they began to create.

"I know. I'm getting dirt in my nails," Mina protested. Finally, after what felt like forever, Mina's shovel finally struck something metal.

"Found it," Breezie smiled knowingly. Despite her destroyed nails, Mina bent down and picked up the small metal box, wiping off the dirt that stained its top.

"You ready?" Mina asked. Breezie nodded. Mina inhaled deeply as she put in the numbers of the combination lock and flipped the hatches. The lid opened, revealing its contents.

"You were right…" Breezie breathed as she stared inside. "I really needed this." Breezie's features turned from stony to absolute delight as she reached inside and pulled out a small, plastic skateboard from within the box.

"Remember when we'd play with these on our desks every single class?" Breezie laughed.

"Seriously? I can't believe you put that in the time capsule," Mina mocked, snatching it from her. "I always was better at this than you were," she gloated, trying to perform a trick with her fingers and failing miserably.

"In your dreams, maybe," Breezie laughed as she picked out a C.D. "Oh my Chaos, it's our mix tape we made in the ninth grade."

"I remember we put so many dumb bands on that thing. We really went through a bad emo phase back then, didn't we?"

"We made this together after we became best friends," Breezie mused. "We always did have the same music taste."

"Poor taste," Mina added snidely. Slowly, the two of them continued to search through the time capsule that they buried after their first year of school together. Mina had the bright idea to preserve a bunch of things they loved together in a box and bury it under the tree, only to dig up again after they graduate to see how much they had changed over their high school career.

"Look at this!" Mina shouted, pulling out a rolled-up poster. "You used to be obsessed with Nelson Thorndyke!"

"Still am," Breezie mused dreamily. "He's the greatest actor to ever live. And he's so hot!"

"If you're into that sort of thing," Mina shrugged, rolling it back up.

"I'm so glad you had this idea. It's nice to see just how much we changed."

"I thought it would be a bit of fun to look back at ourselves as we were in freshman year after we graduated," Mina thought aloud. "To see if high school actually changed us or not. Did it?"

"It did," Breezie answered her rhetorical question. "But I think it changed us for the better." Breezie let a warm smile cross her lips as she looked back on her memorabilia from times past, letting the happy nostalgia wash over her.

"There's that famous Breezie smile I missed so much," Mina nudged her.

"Thanks, Mina. I really did need this. You're the best."

"I know," Mina laughed as she let Breezie envelope her in a warm hug. "But seriously, we need to fill up this hole before we get caught. Razor would kill us if he knew we dug up the oval."

…

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Fiona called as she closed the door of her mother's black Porsche.

"I'll wait no more than ten minutes," Claire snapped. "And remember, you owe me for this," she added with malice in her eyes. Fiona gulped, steeling her nerves as she thought about why she was doing all this. She turned, determination alight in her eyes as she walked through the front doors of Central Penitentiary. She clutched the release papers so close to her chest, cradling them like they were a small infant.

Claire had worked tirelessly, exhausting her legal resources in order to secure, without trial or bail, a release for Void. Although Claire didn't understand why Fiona would care, she knew it was the only way to get her perfect little daughter back after she had warped into the demon that stood before her today.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Zector remarked coldly as Fiona walked up to him. "Here to see Void again?" Without word, Fiona slammed the paper down on the table. Intrigued, Zector put on his reading glasses and glanced at the paper.

"Excuse me," he said, picking up the phone and talking to the warden. After a short, heated conversation, Zector hung up in frustration and sighed, removing his glasses. "I don't know how you swung this, but the papers are legit."

"Can I go see Void now? We would like to leave," Fiona spoke emotionlessly in victory.

"Follow me," Zector grunted. He led her through the maze of prison cells that she was far too familiar with before stopping outside Void's cell. The boy opened his eye, standing up with delight when he saw her. Zector fumbled with the jingling keys, inserting one into the lock.

"What's going on?" Void tilted his head in confusion as the jail cell door swung open.

"Orders of the court," Zector grumbled angrily. "You're free to go."

"Wha… how did you…?" Void trailed off as Fiona sprinted into his cell and threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

"I told you I wouldn't give up on you," she smiled, crashing her lips against his. It took Void a moment for the realization of his freedom to dawn upon him but when it finally did, he closed his eyes and kissed Fiona back furiously, squeezing her even tighter.

"I can't believe you got me out. How did you do it?" he practically squealed in delight as he took her hand and rushed out of the cell, winking at Zector for good measure. Zector's face grew beet red, clenching his fist in anger as he watched the prisoner escape freely back into the world.

"It helps when your mother is the greatest lawyer in all of Mobius, and the most ruthless," Fiona let herself be prideful about her mother for the first time in what felt like forever.

"I still can't believe this is happening. Finally, things are going to start turning around and… and…" Void trailed off, falling into stunned silence as the two walked back into the main foyer of the prison.

"Void? Void, baby, are you alright?" Fiona asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He stayed frozen like a statue, not even blinking. Fiona turned, following his gaze and her gasp was caught in her throat when she saw what he was looking at.

"They are both actually right there," Zespio pointed.

"Thanks," the girl thanked the guard as she turned and walked over to the two, both still as mannequins. "Fiona, nice to see you again," she narrowed her eyes.

"Lumina…" Fiona snapped out of her trance. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I had to come see Void after you told me where he was," Lumina smiled.

"L-L-Lumina…" Void babbled, still not able to throw a coherent sentence together.

"Why did you have to come see him? What is he to you?" Fiona barked, demanding answers. She was sick of getting cryptic responses from the both of them. She had sacrificed everything to rescue him from this horrible place and she wasn't going to go anywhere until she had all the answers.

"Did you not tell her?" Lumina chided him. "Oh, wait, let me guess. You were fucking her. You fucking asshole," Lumina slapped him, finally breaking the trance he was put in.

"Lumina, baby, please, it's not like that. I just… I didn't think I'd ever see you again and I… I was weak," Void apologized. "I thought I'd crossed a line."

"Baby?" Fiona growled. "Alright, what the fuck is going on here. Who is she?"

"I," Lumina answered, "am his fiancé!"

"F-F-Fiancé?" Fiona couldn't believe her ears. She almost thought she could feel her heart break in two, if she even had a heart to begin with.

"It means that he proposed to me but we are not actually married," Lumina explained.

"I know what a fucking fiancé is, you fuckwit," Fiona exploded.

"Whoa, whoa, Fiona let's just calm down a minute," Void stepped between the two.

"Calm down? Calm down?" Fiona began to get hysterical, her whole world crumbling around her. "You had a fiancé yet you still let me believe you loved me? You kissed me not two minutes ago!"

"Fiona please, I can explain everything," Void tried to defuse the situation.

"Go on then, Void. Explain away. Why the fuck were you kissing her?" Lumina added, almost as furious.

"Lumina, I'm sorry I did what I did but I thought you wanted nothing to do with me ever again and Fiona was there and… and I'm sorry, I have no excuse. Can you ever forgive me?" Void begged, his palms together.

"I… I don't know," Lumina answered honestly. "For him, maybe."

"Shut up!" Fiona screamed. Zector looked on, a cynical smirk on his face. "Both of you, just shut up!" Fiona turned to Void, her eyes a mixture of utter fury and painful sadness. "Void," her voice lowered. "Is she really your fiancé?"

"Yes, Lumina is," Void admitted, unable to meet her gaze.

"So… so you love her? No, wait, that's not what I care about," Fiona shook her head, trying to get her thoughts straight. "Why'd you lie to me? Was it all a lie? All that bullshit about why you ended up in prison, and your brother?"

"…Yes," Void confessed. "But it wasn't entirely a lie. I did go to prison because I fucked up and ruined people's lives. I killed people, that was true too. But it wasn't because of my brother. He did get sent to this prison for money laundering, but he was released and died of a heart attack in his home. It was completely separate to me, and before I ended up here. But my feelings for you, they weren't a lie. I did learn to care for you, Fiona, but my heart belongs to another."

"B-But," Fiona stammered, tears welling in her eyes. She tried to force them back but she was too weak. Too vulnerable.

"I'm truly grateful that you got me out of prison. I can't thank you enough and I owe you. In time, I hope I can repay your generosity, but we can't be together. I love you, Fiona, but Lumina is the one that I'm in love with.

"And the money? Was that a lie too?" Fiona asked, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"I didn't lie to you about the money," Void explained. "When I escaped, I really did want to see you. But… but Lumina needed my support. I robbed a couple places to get enough money so that I could support her anonymously, even if she never wanted to see me again. So before your ex-boyfriend ratted me out to that teacher, I sent it off to her."

"You idiot," Lumina smacked him lightly, secretly thankful. "Of course I knew it was from you. But I didn't want your money, I just wanted you. I wanted you to come home. I wanted you to face me again."

"Lumina… honey, I'm so sorry. I love you, I do, I was just scared. I was a coward," Void sighed. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"You have a long way to go."

"I promise, I'll do anything. Anything." Lumina smiled, turning to Fiona and grabbed her hand. The vengeful vixen recoiled as if burnt by her touch.

"Thank you for helping him, and me," Lumina thanked. "And I'm really sorry for everything." With that, Lumina grabbed Void's hand and the couple walked out together. Void glanced backwards one final time, his sorrowful eyes meeting her fixed glare.

"Sorry," he mouthed before disappearing out the door. Fiona fell to her knees, letting all her sadness spill out onto her clothes, staining her leather jacket.

"Fiona, where are you, I said to hurry up and-" Claire stormed in, silencing herself when she saw her daughter in such distress. "Fiona, honey, what happened?" Claire asked, the tiniest bit of empathy in her voice.

"You were right, mum. I shouldn't have helped him. I'm an idiot," Fiona wailed, choking through gasps. She wanted more than anything for somebody to help her. To hold her. Even her mother. Her mother's eyes faded, bitterness replacing any other feeling.

"Get up, you silly little girl," Claire scolded, wrenching Fiona to her feet. "I warned you this would happen. But, Chaos-Damned it, you're a Fox, and us Foxes are strong. Now dry those stupid tears and get back in the car. I'm taking you back to school where you are going to study hard and graduate. Forget about him, and boys in general and fix your miserable little life."

"But mum… I-"

"No buts," Claire added coldly. "Now, get in the car."

…

Rouge had thought about it all day, ever since her encounter earlier that afternoon with Knuckles in the gym. She thought it would have been a hard decision, she had loved the boy for ages despite how angry he made her. But, when she sat down and really let herself think it through, it wasn't a tough decision.

She knocked on the door but was responded with only a grunt. Taking it as an invitation, she pushed open the door and glided inside, kicking off her shoes at the door and closing it with a socked foot. Rouge stood over him as he lay in his bed, smiling up at her.

"Hey… Scourge."

"What's this?" he asked.

"I just… I just missed you," Rouge admitted. "I had a crazy day but it helped me put some things into perspective.

"And what's the perspective?" Scourge asked with a smile.

"That I… that I love you." Scourge opened his mouth for a witty retort but suddenly the severity of her words hit him, rendering him speechless.

"You… you love me?"

"Yes, I think I do."

"Rouge, I… I don't know what to say."

"You can say you love me too," Rouge whispered as she took a seat at the edge of his bed.

"I don't think I know what love feels like. I don't think I ever really loved Fiona," Scourge admitted.

"That's okay," Rouge smiled weakly. "Mind if we snuggle. I know how much you don't like to cuddle but-"

"I don't mind," Scourge cut her off, scooching over slightly. Rouge lay down beside him and he draped his arm around her, kissing her on the cheek.

"Thanks."

"Rouge," Scourge turned to her, the two locked eyes. "I… I think… I love you too." Meanwhile, as the moon grew higher in the sky Knuckles sat up in his bed.

'Well, I guess that's that, then,' he thought with a sigh, a sad smile on his face as he stared at the twinkling stars. 'I hope Scourge knows how lucky he is.'

…

Sonic was in the groove as he ran around the athletic track that extended around one of the many school ovals. His arms swung back and forth, sweat beaded from his brow, rolling down his cheeks and dripping off his chin to stain his tank top. As he finished another lap, the presence of another boy watching him caused Sonic so slow to a stop.

"Hey," Tails raised a hand awkwardly, a shy smile on his face as he stood up from the bleachers constructed near the finish line and walked over to Sonic. Sonic strolled over to the bench and grabbed his drink bottle and a towel that he had thrown lazily on one of the benches. He squirted some cooling water into his mouth before dragging the towel across his face, letting it absorb most of the sweat. He ran a hand through his quills, neatening them out.

"Hey," Sonic replied tonelessly.

"Can I, um, can I talk to you?" Tails mumbled.

"I don't know, can you?" Sonic answered bitterly. "'cuz every time we talk you just end up yelling at me."

"That's not-" Tails already began to get worked up but stopped himself, taking a breath. Despite how he felt, he couldn't deny the fact that Sonic still had a great effect on him. "Sorry."

"So, what's up?"

"I just wanted to apologize," Tails began solemnly.

"For?"

"Seriously?" Tails took a deep breath. "For doubting you and jumping to conclusions… again. I should have known that Scourge was just trying to trick me and after all the grief that compromising pictures have given us this year I should have known better than to just believe it without proof. You're my boyfriend and I should have trusted you."

"Alright," Sonic said after a moment's pause. Tails raised an eyebrow expectantly as if to ask if that was it. "Alright, I accept your apology." Tails let himself relax.

"So, we good?"

"We good," Sonic nodded, opening up his arms. Tails accepted the gesture immediately as he let himself fall into Sonic's embrace. He had forgotten how much he missed it, being held by the long, lanky arms of his best friend. He had forgotten how safe he felt and how it was his favourite place in the entire world to be. Wrapped in Sonic's arms. Warm.

"So, you wanna go out to the lake tonight? Maybe do like a picnic or something?" Tails offered.

"Yeah, sounds good," Sonic replied distantly, his mind elsewhere. Sonic just couldn't get one burning question out of his mind. He knew it was unfair to hold it against Tails but after all the grief it had caused him in the past, he needed to speak his mind or else it would slowly build inside him until he exploded. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. You can ask me anything."

"How do you know Mina?" Tails froze, he bit his bottom lip. He had forgotten all about Mina. His friend who made Sonic's life a living hell throughout the first part of the semester.

"She's just an old friend from primary school," Tails assured him.

"Just a friend? Nothing more?" Sonic's gaze was piercing. It was like he was looking not at Tails, but through him, studying his insides with a judgmental glare.

"Like you can talk," Tails scowled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said I swear," Tails practically shouted. "I swear she is just a friend. She was just a friend back then and she'll continue being a friend. I'm sorry she treated you so poorly and practically ruined your life but I'm not just going to ditch her." Tails was puffing as he berated Sonic. Sonic stood motionless for a second, surprised by Tails' passionate outburst but then narrowed his eyes, remembering what Cream had told him at the bachelor party.

"So why did you fuck her then." Tails froze, his eyes bulging wide. His mouth hung open, but no words came out. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he could say. He just stood there like an idiot until Sonic finally continued. "Think I wouldn't have found out about that?"

"Sonic, I swear, it was meaningless. I was drunk, I was sad that you had broken up with me. It was a mistake and it hasn't happened since. I promise, it meant nothing to me."

"Even after you knew what she was doing to me… after I confided in you about what she was doing to me, and you went and fucked her anyway," Sonic was beginning to raise his voice again.

"No. You didn't," Tails responded flatly.

"What?"

"You never confided in me about what she was doing. You dumped me and I had no idea."

"Still."

"Still what, Sonic? Still what?" Tails threw his arms skywards for emphasis. "I was alone. I was sad. She was there for me. She actually liked me. I had no idea how she was treating you."

"You can't just go around fucking anybody you want," Sonic spat. Tails exploded.

"You're fucking joking, right? You hypocritical bastard."

"No, I'm not!"

"I can't go around fucking anybody I want? Who in Chaos' name gives you the right to say who I can and can't sleep with?"

"I do have the right because you are my boyfriend!"

"You had broken up with me! Besides, you're one to talk about fucking anybody I want. How many people have you dated in the past year? Five? Six maybe?"

"Not even close."

"Amy, me, Shadow, me again, Amy again and then me a third time," Tails counted off fingers. "Three different people six different times!"

"Whose fault is that?" Sonic challenged but Tails ignored him.

"Plus, I bet Spike would fuck you if you asked him. Mina wanted to as well, that's five people."

"Shut up," Sonic growled stubbornly.

"Also, Sally was desperate for your dick at one point. Even the fucking lesbian wanted you."

"I said shut up!" Sonic warned.

"And I'm the one who's been sleeping around because I slept with one fucking girl!"

"That's it!" Sonic screamed, stomping his foot down. Without realizing how loud they were being, both boys were completely oblivious to the small crowd that had slowly formed around them. Espio, Sonia and Julie-Su front row, being the first to overhear the argument.

"No! Don't that's it me!" Tails bellowed.

"It is it. We're done. Through. Permanently. Three chances. I've given you three chances and you've blown them all. We're never getting back together."

"Don't try to take the moral high ground here. You're the one being childish. You're the one who jumps from person to person. How about you take a fucking look at the mirror."

"I do. Constantly."

"Then how do you not see the truth? You're always jumping from one relationship to the next, hardly taking a break between. You need them, always running from one person to the next without ever being able to settle down. Just like your father." Gasps erupted through the crowd as Tails and Sonic only now just realized that had garnered an audience.

"Guys, guys, maybe we should all just calm down and-" Julie-Su began calmly.

"Stay out of this Julie!" Sonic snapped, interrupting her. "How dare you," he turned back to Tails, hatred alight in his eyes.

"No, it's true," Tails finally stood his ground to the one he admired. "When things got too serious, your dad ran away and so do you. You hop from girl to girl, guy to guy, never staying in one place. Exactly what he did!"

"Take. That. Back." Sonic sucked through his clenched teeth.

"Make me," Tails matched his angered stare.

"I never want to see you again. Ever!" Sonic barked.

"Good, because I… wait, what?" the severity of Sonic's words suddenly donning on the smaller boy.

"You heard me. Move out of our room. In fact, move out of our school. Nobody would miss you."

"You… you don't mean that," Tails stammered. He had never seen Sonic that mad. Nobody had ever seen Sonic that mad. Nobody even had any idea he could possibly get that mad. Tails had struck a nerve and Sonic had completely lost it and in the heat of the moment there was no way he was finding himself any time soon.

"Never step foot near me again. I can't wait for graduation so that I'll never have to see you again. Do me a favour, take the opportunity and go to Mobius Academy now. Go live with your dad. Oh wait. You can't, 'cuz he hates you. As he should," Sonic concluded repugnantly, his words dripping with malice as he turned and stormed away through the crowd.

"T-Tails?" Julie took a step forward. "Are you okay?"

"Leave me alone," Tails whimpered, struggling to keep himself together as he turned and sprinted off into the forest, leaving everyone and everything behind.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, Sonic really let it all hang out, didn't he? Was he too cruel, or did Tails need to here that? Sonic has been known to lose his temper but sometimes there are lines we don't cross, but Tails did bring Jules into it so don't pretend he didn't pull any punches either. Suffice it to say, these two are finally done. And, I'll reveal it now, they aren't getting back together. Can they be friends again? Well that remains to be seen but from know on if they pursue other romantic interests, it won't be each other._

 _Poor Fiona. Say what you will about her and whether she deserved this or not, she got screwed around and fell off her high horse. Hard. She literally sacrificed everything to rescue Void, even letting herself get trapped under Claire's iron thumb and it turns out it was all for nothing. And, yes, Lumina's secret relationship is that she is Void's fiance. But don't worry, their story isn't done yet. In fact, another big reveal about Lumina and Void is coming next chapter! And yes, Void did say he killed people, but who did he kill remains to be seen. We'll find out soon (VERY SOON!)_

 _It was a time capsule. Mina came up with the idea to see how much they would change after they finished freshman year. It wasn't something diabolicle or sinister like many of you guessed. Just a nice gesture for a good friend. Speaking of gestures for friends... Ray and Clove are done, but it looks like Clove is now on the war path. This can only end badly. And yes, Rouge chose Scourge over Knuckles. Will this choice backfire?_

 _Scourge was a massive loser in space camp?! Silver and him became best friends over space camp? But if they had become best friends, why does Scourge avoid him? Why did he seem to hate having Silver back into his life? What happened to him to make him change so drastically and what happened between the two of them? I'll give you a clue... well, it's more of a question then a clue but it's something to think about. How did Scourge get those scars on his chest, hmm? Don't worry, more of their story will continue to be revealed and there is a chapter coming up soon that will be titled Scourge's Story. Make of that what you will._

 _And finally, Quartz Casino looks to be the setting for Elias' last, and biggest, party he'll ever throw. Seniors always throw the best parties, really. Manic has good taste, but with the entire school, isolation and a tonne of alcohol, can anything good come from this party? Well, get ready for the weekend._

 _Just want to quickly say that you might have noticed that there was no A/N at the start of the chapter. Well, when looking back at it, I never really have anything to say in them. It's apologising for lateness or talking about the length of the chapter. It's unnecessary and I honestly kind of hate A/N at the beginning of stories now. It just takes you out of the excitment of seeing a new chapter. We just want to read what's new, right? I'll only post an A/N at the start of chapters now if it is super important, so look out for one if you see it. Oh, and also, don't forget to review :P_

 _Question of the Day: Who went too far? Sonic or Tails?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Lumina and Void return to Emerald Lake... as students?_

 _Shadow ventures into the forest in search of Tails_

 _Tikal and Eclipse, trouble in paradise?_

 _Knuckles and Julie finally accept their past_

 _...And Mighty reveals everything to Blaze when she returns from her Aunt's funeral_

 _All this and so much more as everybody gets ready for Elias' party in Chapter 40: A Shoulder to Cry on_


	40. Chapter 40: A Shoulder to Cry on

_A/N: I know I said I wouldn't do these above anymore unless it was important so... here I am. If you didn't see the update, I have re-edited and re-written all of the original Sonic High. It's bigger, better and has a multitude of new content including new bit plotlines for Espio (Abusive dad), Knuckles (Mentally disturbed grandma) and Fiona (Backstory about her life in Central City and with Patch. End of Chapter 10 for those who only care about Fiona). Please go and re-read that if that sounds interesting since it's now cannon and some things that occur from now on will need previous knowledge of those plots to fully understand._

* * *

Chapter 40

A Shoulder to Cry on

A bird soared through the sky, its long wings stretched as it glided across the still, zaffre lake. It dived down, wheeling over the thick canopy of the surrounding forest before the dense tree line subsided and the bird flew through one of Emerald Lake's expansive ovals. The bird circled around the tall, brick bell tower and landed in the parking lot. It bent down and pecked at the crumbs left lying out until it was spooked by one of the school buses pulling up loudly.

The door to the bus opened and a violet feline stepped out, a suitcase trailing behind her. Blaze took a deep breath, her eyes glossing over her school, the only true home she had left anymore.

"Thanks," Blaze thanked the driver as she crossed the parking lot and entered the main office building. She waltzed up to the main desk. Gold's eyes shifted from her computer screen up to Blaze, a smile growing on her face.

"Blaze, it's so nice to have you back," Gold welcomed. "How was the funeral?"

"It was beautiful, Gold, but I'd rather not talk about it," Blaze answered in a somber tone.

"Of course, I'm sorry. I've talked to Razor and we've both decided that, since you have no living relatives left, we'd waver the boarding fees for the rest of the year. You can continue to live in your room without payment until graduation."

"Thank you so much, Gold, that really means a lot," Blaze braved a smile.

"However, would you mind answering a question for me. We can finalize this until we have all the facts."

"Shoot."

"Our records show that, even though your mother died of lung cancer a couple years ago and you moved in with your aunt, you still have a living father. However, they don't say who he is, we just know he exists. Could you help us complete our files so we can have an emergency contact?" Gold asked professionally, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

"My father's a deadbeat. He left mum and I right after I was born and never bothered to make contact since. I have no idea who he is, and I don't really care," Blaze spat bitterly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gold frowned. "Know that if you ever need help, Razor and I are here for you, especially during exams. I know it can be a trying time for everybody."

"That means a lot, Gold, thank you, but right now I think I just want to head back to my room."

"Of course, Blaze, take care. Please make sure you are in your second period class today. You have a bit of catching up to do before exams start," Gold waved goodbye. She watched with eagle eyes as Blaze zipped away and hightailed it over to the dorms. She sighed. "Poor girl, I hope she'll be okay after high school…"

…

"Dude, seriously, you need to get up," Mighty threw the pillow at Sonic, trying to rouse him from sleep. Sonic groaned, rolling over to ignore the pillow. The two sat alone in their dorm room, both of the top bunks still vacant.

"Just go without me. Razor won't even know I skipped," Sonic yawned, refusing to leave the room.

"He said he had something really important to announce. We can't ditch this assembly. Now either you get out of bed or I'll drag you out myself," Mighty asserted.

"I just don't see what's the point," Sonic tried to reason in laziness. Mighty frowned, his hands at his hips.

"Look, dude, you need to get over this. I know nobody's seen Tails since you guys had that fight but you need to get on with your life. I'm sure Tails will turn up soon but until then you need to focus on school," Mighty lectured.

"Wait, you think that's why I'm in bed? Because of Tails?"

"Why wouldn't it be? He was your best friend. He was your boyfriend, and he's disappeared and it's been over twenty-four hours," Mighty reasoned.

"He'll be fine. He always goes off and has a hissy fit whenever we fight," Sonic waved away Mighty's concerns. "I'm just tired and don't see why I have to go to this stupid assembly."

"You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"But I'm still your best friend," Sonic taunted playfully.

"That shit ain't gonna work on me. Now get up, I'll save you a seat at the assembly."

"And what if I don't show up?"

"I'll go straight up to Razor and tell him how Sonic the Hedgehog decided he was too cool for assembly and decided to skip it instead," Mighty smiled victoriously. "Don't be long, it starts in ten minutes," Mighty called as he closed the door behind him.

"Stupid armadillo," Sonic moaned as he rolled out of bed, searching around under his bed for a shirt that didn't have too many wrinkles. As Sonic stood up, he glanced up to the bed atop his, yellow sheets still made neatly. Despite his anger, he still couldn't help but worry.

"Tails, where are you?" Sonic said aloud to nobody.

…

A small, relieved smile crossed Mighty's lips as he saw Sonic scooching between student's legs and the chairs in front of them. Finally, almost tripping several times, Sonic managed to find his seat, exchanged a nod. Students continued to talk amongst themselves, an air of rabble floating around the auditorium until a hush eventually fell as the principal ascended the small steps and stopped at the wooden lectern.

"Hello students," Razor began, addressing the entire hall that was filled to the brim with students. "As we come to our last two months together as a collective before exam week arrives and we say goodbye to our graduates, I want us to remember that you still must attend all your classes." Razor paused, his eyes scanning the crowd, drenched in seriousness.

"This is still a school. I know there are some issues going around, but that doesn't mean students can skip classes. Failure to attend classes will mean having to repeat a year. This is a final warning to all students," Razor bellowed into the microphone, the soundwave penetrating the far reaches of the hall and stunning all students into silence.

"Razor," Gold whispered quietly from off stage. Razor turned his head to glare at her when he saw the two teenagers standing beside her.

"Oh, quite right," he clapped his hands together loudly. "Now, in lighter news, I would like to introduce two new students," Razor beamed happily.

"New students?" Sonic whispered.

"Isn't it the end of the year?" Mighty replied quietly. Fiona hung back at the far wall, her leg propped up on the wood with her arms crossed. She rolled her eyes, sighing from boredom. If Razor hadn't begun cracking down on tardiness, there would be no way she would have woken up this early.

"Now, some of you might be asking why we are having new students join us when we are only months away from graduation," Razor continued helpfully. "Well, some situations are unfortunate and can't be helped. Either way, these two students have a right to sit the state regulated exams and will be doing so at our school." Razor paused and urged the two teenagers waiting in the wings to join him on the stage.

"So, please give a warm welcome for our two new students. Lumina Flowlight and Void." Thunderous applause ricocheted through the auditorium as Fiona stumbled forwards, her eyes growing wide.

"No… it can't be…" she gaped aloud as Void's stare met hers.

As the students filed out of the assembly, Fiona made sure to hang back, her gaze never leaving Void as he talked to Gold. Finally, after they settled their business, he turned and walked out the far door. Fiona quickly followed, making sure to jump him on the path back to the dorms.

"Void!" She called out angrily.

"Oh, Fiona, you scared me," Void breathed a sigh of relief as he spun around to meet her hateful glower.

"What are you doing at my school?" Fiona asked.

"Didn't you hear Razor," Void answered with a smile. "We're new students. We might have troubled history, but I still would like to get my high school diploma."

"Bullshit," Fiona growled. "I know you. You must be up to something. You're always up to something."

"Really, Fiona, I swear I'm not," Void vowed, crossing his heart with his finger.

"Yeah… I've heard that one before."

"Look… Fiona, I never really got a chance to say I'm sorry after what happened the other day."

"You didn't! Why don't you? Why don't you apologize for lying to me about everything? Why don't you apologize for pretending to like me just so you could use my mother to help you out of jail?"

"Fiona… I…" Void trailed off, gathering his thoughts. "I'm sorry I treated you that way. Yes, it's true that when I first met you and learnt about who you were I did pretend to like you and protect you so that your mother could get me out of prison. But then, as I got to know you, I actually started to develop feelings. Real feelings. That's why I came back to find you after breaking out," Void explained.

"I wouldn't have done that if I didn't feel something. I was a coward and couldn't face Lumina, so I ran to you, to somebody that made me happy. That made me feel safe. But when she came to me in the prison… when she found me again I took one look at her and realized that I was being unfair to you. To both of you. I'm engaged, Fiona, and I'm sorry if I led you on but I can't break my marriage vows. I love Lumina, not you."

"But… but what we did," Fiona replied senselessly, dejected.

"It meant something at the time, that's true. But it doesn't anymore. I… I'm sorry," Void repeated before turning his back on her again and vanishing. Fiona growled, screaming skywards in frustration as she stomped back to her dorm. She couldn't be bothered going to her first class and no stupid rule Razor put in place was going to change her mind. She just wanted to lie down, have a nap and forget all about Void and his fiancé. However, it seemed fate would have other plans.

As Fiona jammed her key into the lock and stormed into the room, she stopped dead in her tracks, swearing loudly at what she saw. There, standing over the spare bed, was Lumina. She was putting new sheets on the unused bed.

"Hello roomie," Lumina smiled awkwardly.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me. Razor must be getting his kicks out of this little arrangement."

"I don't like it any better than you do," Lumina grunted, slipping her pillow into a pink case.

"Why did you come back then? Just to gloat? To torture me?"

"The world doesn't revolve around you, Fiona."

"First Scourge decided he go fuck that dumb bat, and now my new boyfriend decides to marry somebody else," Fiona spat angrily.

"He was never your boyfriend," Lumina turned in fury, the word striking a nerve. "He's many things. A coward. A dickhead. A fiancé. But he's not a boyfriend."

"I don't give a shit about Void anymore," Fiona lied, not letting Lumina see any insecurity. "What I do give a shit about, is you being in my room."

"Well Razor put me in this room so you better learn to deal with it," Lumina replied.

"Why should I? It makes no sense, why are you even here?"

"Just forget about it," Lumina turned back to her linen. Fiona wouldn't hear of it, gripping the corner of the bed and, with a mighty tug, ripped the sheet off the bed. "What the fuck?"

"If you are going to be my roommate, you are in for one hell of a time," Fiona threatened.

"Why can't you just let me live. I'll hardly be in the room, only to sleep," Lumina moaned, refusing to back down yet also refusing to fight back.

"I'll leave you alone if you tell me the real reason you are both here. Or else…" Fiona warned.

"You want the truth?" Lumina asked. Fiona nodded. "Void and I came back here because we need to graduate to get better jobs."

"That's it? No, no that's not it. There's more," Fiona uncovered in Lumina's telling eyes. Fiona leant down and grabbed Lumina's bag, pushing open the window and holding it out precariously with two fingers.

"Give that back!"

"Better jobs, sure, but what else? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing, I swear."

"Alright, if that's everything," Fiona said, loosening her grip on the bag.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you, just give me back my bag," Lumina begged. Fiona's eyes met hers, her hand gripping the straps, daring Lumina to lie again. "We needed to graduate. But it wasn't for us. It's so we can be better providers."

"Better providers?"

"Yes… for our son!"

…

Sally picked up her pace, walking as fast as she could through the cafeteria. She was painfully aware of all the sets of eyes trailing her. It wasn't the first time she had garnered the attention of all the students. It had been happening for a couple weeks. She thought she'd have some solace once she crossed over into the senior's section of the cafeteria but again gazes stalked her. The only place people seemed to not be fixated on her was her table of friends.

"Hey, Sal," Sonic greeted cheerily as she sat down beside him. "How you been?"

"I've been alright, just a little tense is all," Sally lied, not wanting to discuss the real reason she knew why everybody was leering at her. She knew it was because of her figure. She knew it was because she had started the year as the beautiful, skinny, chestnut-haired beauty and had now become the fat slob that stared her back in the mirror every morning. Sally had continued her addiction to food to curb her nicotine cravings, but no matter how often she purged with Wave, it seems she'd eat twice as much.

"This is surprisingly delicious," Knuckles spurted through mouthfuls of half chewed chips.

"I didn't think the lunch lady could make anything this edible," Manic added equally engrossed in his meal.

"You're both disgusting," Cream scrunched up her face.

"I don't know, I think I could eat this all day," Sonia chimed in happily, shoveling another fork full into her gullet.

"Gross, seriously, Sonia?" Cream gaged.

"You're so cute when you're eating," Spike mused.

"What did you just say?" Espio asked, furrowing his brow.

"N-Nothing, I just said that, y'know, of course she would be super hungry, she's eating for two," Spike corrected himself quickly, his face flushing a slight tinge of crimson. Sally smiled, glad that despite everything that had been happening recently, she still had some friends to hang around with.

As everybody else continued to argue about the food, Sally reached into her bag and brought out two small energizer bars. She slowly unwrapped one and began nibbling it cautiously like a mouse would eat cheese.

"Sally, you not eating today?" Sonic asked.

"What? Yeah, I am, I'm just eating some of these bars."

"Oh, those are the new Energizer bars, aren't they?" Cream asked.

"Yeah. They're all I've been eating recently," Sally affirmed.

"Let me see those," Manic grabbed the second one lying on the table and examined the packaging. "Seriously, Sally? These are super low fat and have like no calories. How can you survive on eating only these?"

"Guys, can we not talk about this? I just… look at me," Sally glanced down at herself with disgust. He rotund belly, her thick thighs and large arms made her disgusted of herself. She had been eating far too much recently despite her bulimic tendencies and she wanted to put a stop to it.

"What are we supposed to look at?" Julie-Su asked.

"This," she gestured her overweight physique.

"Seriously, Sal," Sonic said with concern. "You can't just eat those bars, they won't give you any energy or fatten you up at all."

"Are you kidding me? Look at me, I'm way too fat. I need to eat less. Three bars a day might even be too much."

"Three bars a day?" Sonia choked.

"Sally, as your friend I need to say you must eat more. You're reaching a dangerous body weight," Espio added.

"Are you guys kidding me?" Sally stood up in a fury, knocking her half-eaten bar to the floor. "I'm disgusting and fat and you guys want to make me eat more? I get it, you just want me to get bigger so you can feel better about yourself."

"Sally, that's not it at all," Knuckles spoke.

"Seriously, you're not fat," Spike added.

"Just stop. I thought you were my friends. I thought you were supposed to help me," Sally moaned.

"Sally we-" Sonic began but before he could finish his sentence she had swiped her backpack and rushed out of the cafeteria. He turned with sorrowful eyes to the rest of the table. "I think we might have a problem."

"Poor girl," Julie sighed.

…

His presence was unknown as he snuck into the back of the kitchen, blue hood obscuring his face and upper body. He glanced left and right to make sure the coast was clear before he stole a couple cans from the pantry shelves and darted back out into the wild. The few people that saw him didn't bother calling his name as he brushed past them and out into the commonly used path.

It wasn't long before he took a detour through some thick, dense shrubbery. He dodged around holes, ducked under collapsed branches and balanced across a thick trunk that had fallen over a babbling river. He finally arrived at the small, makeshift campsite. A tarp tied between two trees by ropes, a small rocky firepit and a couple of pillows and blankets were strewn around the shelter. He took a seat beside the fire, hot coals still glowing, and threw on some dry wood to restart the fire. He reached into his jumper to pull out a can opener as he removed his hood.

"I wondered when you would get back," a dark voice purred from behind a tree.

"I wondered when you would find me," Tails responded, still busy at work removing the aluminium lid of his can of beans.

"Am I really that predictable?" Shadow smiled as he stepped out of his hiding place as trod over to the embers.

"As predictable as I am," Tails replied, looking up to give shadow a detached smile. His eyes still shone the calming azure they always did but they were different, dispassionate and sad.

"Stealing school supplies and running off to hide out in the forest isn't exactly what I would call predictable," Shadow shrugged as he took a seat beside Tails. Without asking, he took the can Tails was struggling with and opened it with ease. He tipped the contents into a small frying pan and hovered it over the blossoming flames.

"I don't need your judgement," Tails replied coldly.

"I'm not judging you. I don't judge," Shadow responded without taking his eyes off the beans. "But if I would judge, it would be about your stealth. It was easy to follow your path and find this place."

"I doubt it would be easy for any other students at this school. It's just because you're special."

"Special, huh?" Shadow said. "That's the nicest thing anybody has said to me since the wedding."

"I… I'm sorry to hear that," Tails' words finally held some emotion in them. "Here I am hiding from my sadness, I didn't even think about how you must be feeling."

"You're not hiding from sadness out here. You're welcoming it," Shadow stated.

"I am not. I just can't deal with school right now."

"Neither can I, nor can most people. But we do. We don't run off to live like a nomad."

"I'm sorry I'm just not as tough skinned as you."

"It's not tough skin. It's just knowing that no matter what other people say about me, I know the truth. I know I'm not worthless and if people want to call me names, let them. Anger makes people say dumb things they don't mean. It'll blow over soon," Shadow lamented philosophically as he shook the pan of now sizzling beans.

"Sometimes it's hard to not let the words affect me," Tails admitted.

"Especially when they come from those you love," Shadow nodded, his eyes finally meeting Tails'. "Just don't let them get to you. You know how Sonic gets when he's angry."

"He was different this time, Shadow. He really meant what he said, I know it."

"Maybe he did."

"You're not helping," Tails pouted.

"I'm not here to help. I'm here to tell you the truth," Shadow shrugged. "Got any bowls?"

"Just some forks. Normally I only eat for one," Tails reached over and rummaged through his backpack to retrieve a fork and a spoon. He handed one to Shadow. "And what is the truth?" Shadow took it and stuck the fork into the beans, scooped some up and shoveled it into his mouth. Tails mirrored his actions.

"The truth is you're not alone."

"But I am," Tails gestured to his surroundings.

"Well, yes, you are now because you ran away," Shadow shook his head, a small smile worming onto his face. "I mean, you're not alone by being sad. There are others who are struggling, going through tough times. We just don't run off into the forest alone like an idiot," Shadow elbowed Tails.

"Point taken," Tails allowed a smile to cross his face. The first emotion other than sadness in days.

"Thanks for the beans, by the way. I sort of helped myself."

"No worries, I did technically steal them," Tails let out a quiet laugh.

"There he is, the happy Tails I know," Shadow beamed. "So, after we polish off these beans would you like some help taking this tent down and carrying some things back to school?"

"What makes you think I'm going to go back now?"

"Predictable, remember," Shadow smirked.

"But… I can't go back to that room with him. I just can't," Tails sighed.

"Look, I wanted to keep this a secret but… I found a room earlier in the year. It's one of the spare rooms where no student sleeps in it. It's never locked. I'll distract Sonic and Mighty so you can retrieve your things and move in there. It's on my floor, too."

"You want me to stay in your room?"

"No, I don't stay there."

"Why don't you sleep there if you know it'll always be free? Don't you want your own space?" Tails asked.

"I've had my own space for too long. I like sleeping with others in the room. The sound of their breathing is calming. It helps me know I'm not alone. I've spent too long sleeping alone in spacious houses," Shadow sighed. "I like living with people. With Manic and Knuckles… even with that annoying porcupine, Spike. And if you ever tell them I said that, I'll hate you forever," Shadow added quickly.

"No you wouldn't," Tails smirked, letting the small happiness Shadow brought flow through him like an electrical current. "But, thanks, Shadow, for everything."

"You know I'd do anything to help. I told you that you'd always have a place in my heart."

"Do you still think about the time we spent together?" Tails asked as he finished off the last mouthful of beans.

"More so recently," Shadow admitted. "We did have some good times together."

"Do you think it could ever work between us again?" Tails asked.

"I don't know, Tails. Life's just too complicated at the moment to think about that."

"Oh… yeah, right," Tails' eyes fell downcast.

"But," the one word struck hope in Tails' heart. "Although high school always has a way of screwing things up, we won't be in high school for much longer."

"What are you saying?"

"I say we make a pact," Shadow said. "If we are both single after we graduate, and are both in the right mindset… We'll give our relationship another try." Tails glanced up at him, searching his eyes for any hint of malice or humor. There was only sincerity found.

"Alright, deal."

"Well, now that's settled, let's clean this place up and head back to school."

…

As Sally stormed away from her group of friends that buys lunch time she brushed past Tikal, accidently ramming into her shoulder. Tikal howled in pain, clutching her elbow as Sally mindlessly continued marching away obliviously.

"What's with her?" Tikal questioned aloud to her table.

"Oh, babe, are you alright," Eclipse quickly jumped to her air, grabbing her arm to check for any bruises.

"I'm fine," Tikal rolled her eyes. "It just hurt a bit."

"Here, I'll kiss it better," Eclipse offered as he leant down to place his lips against her soft skin but she retracted her arm, growling in an annoyed tone.

"No, it's fine, alright."

"Okay, sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Eclipse apologized as he placed a quick kiss on her cheek before sliding back into his seat. An awkward silence fell on the table as Ray and Espio exchanged uncomfortable glances.

"Anyway," Blaze spoke up, reigning back control of the group. "As I was saying, I'm really glad you guys asked me to come sit with you today."

"Please, it's about time you did," Clove smiled.

"Yeah, after Ray invited me I can't imagine lunch time without this group," Espio chimed in.

"Tikal and I are so glad you're here. We love it when the group expands," Eclipse threw an arm around Tikal. She visibly rolled her eyes, but it seems Blaze was the only one to pick up on it. She leant over and whispered into Ray's ear.

"Are those two alright?"

"Yeah, that's just them. Eclipse always gets really close and Tikal just doesn't like PDA, but she does love him. I can tell," Ray whispered back helpfully.

"Speaking of new additions to the lunch crew," Eclipse beamed. "I asked somebody new to eat with us today too."

"Who?" Clove asked.

"Well I invited… speak of the devil, here he is now," Eclipse pointed to the silver hedgehog walking anxiously over to the table.

"H-Hey guys," Silver stammered as Eclipse pet the seat beside him invitingly. Silver glanced at Blaze. She avoided eye contact, as usual, and he sat with a huff.

"What is he doing here," Blaze growled, addressing nobody in particular, but everybody that wasn't him."

"Eclipse, what the hell?" Tikal chastised him in a hushed tone. "You know what he did to Blaze."

"I know… but he's still my friend and he needs a group to eat with since his other friends ditched him," Eclipse argued.

"For good reason," Clove butted in. "You boys are all the same. You think you can just play with girl's hearts and think everything will be fine," her eyes darting to Ray for a second before falling back on Silver.

"You guys don't understand. It wasn't like that."

"Eclipse… it's cool, I can leave. I'll just see you in the room tonight," Silver sighed as he rose to stand.

"Yeah, I think you should leave," Espio narrowed his eyes angrily, hate flowing within him.

"No, stay. Ray, c'mon, back me up here," Eclipse shot him a pleading gaze.

"No, back us up, Ray," Tikal said.

"I-I-I," Ray stammered, his nerves flaring up as he was put on the spot.

"No, it's fine, Ray, I'll leave," Blaze determined as she gathered her things.

"I'll join you," Espio snarled as he followed Blaze out of the cafeteria.

"Nice going, Eclipse," Tikal rumbled.

"Sorry I caused a fight. I'll just go," Silver murmured as he, too, left without lifting his gaze off the messy, food covered floor.

"Well… looks like it's just the four of us… again," Clove sighed, rolling her eyes.

…

"This is incredible," Sonia marveled, staring out over the beautiful, still lake. The wind blew stray blades of grass through the air until the fell gentle on Sonia's knees. She sat cross-legged opposite Spike on a small picnic blanket. Assorted food was sprawled across the blanket. "And places like this have been here the whole time?"

"Yeah, there are so many beautiful little spots around this lake and in this forest, it's insane," Spike sighed as he stared up at the swaying trees. He had chosen a spot on the water's edge behind the sheer cliff that blocked out the burning sun. "Sonic showed me a couple and I've been exploring ever since."

"I never really had time to come out into the forest with everything that's gone on this semester. I guess I just never really thought about how beautiful it would be," Sonia smiled happily.

"I know. I just can't believe we have all these amazing places and ninety percent of the school won't ever see them because they don't leave campus."

"Thanks," Sonia turned to him, her eyes meeting his. "For showing me this, and the food."

"No problems," Spike chuckled awkwardly.

"But… not that I'm not grateful… but did you bring anything to drink?" Sonia asked.

"Of course. I always think ahead."

"As nice as champagne sounds, remember that I am pregnant," Sonia reminded. Spike scoffed, pretending to be shocked at her accusation.

"I'm offended you'd think I'd be so braindead." Spike hid his smile as he pulled out a thermos and two cardboard cups out of the basket. He unscrewed the lid and poured some bubbling brown liquid into one, handing it to Sonia.

"Coffee? Really, at a picnic?" Sonia rose a skeptical eyebrow. "You're obsessed."

"You know me," Spike shot her a goofy grin as he filled his own cup up and let out a satisfied sigh as he tipped it into his mouth.

"You really are something else, Spike," Sonia laughed, taking a sip of her own. Sonia thought it funny. If somebody had told her last term that Spike would come to her rescue in her time of need and become one of her best friends she would have laughed at them. He was always following Breezie around like her little shadow. Sonia frowned.

"How are you and Breezie doing?" Sonia asked seemingly out of the blue.

"What? Why do you want to know about her?" Spike dodged the question.

"I'm just worried about you. You helped me when I was sad about Mephiles so now it's my turn. So, tell me, what happened?" Sonia urged.

"There's nothing to tell," Spike replied bitterly. "She was my best friend. I loved her, and she knew it. She used me to help her in history class while she was off fucking Silver. Then when she found out he was cheating on her, she got mad and came running back to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sonia frowned, placing her hand on his supportively.

"I thought I loved her. I would do anything for her," Spike sighed. "I thought we would be together forever, once I finally won her heart, that is. She was the only girl I ever loved. Or… used to be," Spike looked up, his eyes finding Sonia's again.

"Spike… what are you?" Sonia asked.

"Sonia… this last week has been one of the most fun in my life, which is strange considering the heartbreak. But being with you, hanging out together…" Spike trailed off, losing himself in his speech. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is… will you go out with me?" He looked to her expectantly. Sonia sighed.

"Spike…" she began delicately. "I like you, I really do, but I have a baby coming. By next year I'll be a mother. You don't want to have to deal with that."

"No, Sonia, I really don't mind. I'd take care of him, or her. I'd do it all for you."

"Spike, I'm sorry but… but I just can't right now. Not so soon after Mephiles," Sonia admitted.

"Oh, no, I get it. It's totally cool," Spike shot her his usual goofy smile, but Sonia could see right through the veil. She could see the hurt behind his charade, and Spike knew it wasn't fooling anybody.

"I'm sorry Spike, but I won't say I haven't had a lot of fun recently with you. Can we still be friends?"

"Of course, Sonia, friends is more than enough for me," Spike sighed, his eyes meeting her a final time. "Well… that talk aside, this food won't eat itself," Spike joked.

"We better get started then," Sonia laughed, glad that he was so understanding.

…

"And so can anybody tell me if that makes this molecule a cation or an anion after it has gained the extra valence electron?" Zonic asked the class of bored teenagers.

"It's got a positive charge so that, like, makes it a cation," Honey answered, her hand waving high in the air.

"Very good Honey," Zonic congratulated her.

"Wow, nice one, babe. Since when were you so smart," Storm praised her as he leant over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Just because I'm head cheerleader doesn't make me a total airhead," Honey rolled her eyes. "It's something about Chemistry… I just get it."

"Just look at those two," Tikal groaned, watching as Strom locked lips with her for a second time while Zonic continued instructing the class obliviously.

"What's wrong with those two?" Cream questioned, sitting beside Tikal as she jotted down the definition of a cation in her exercise book. "I think it's kinda nice that they found each other. Those two go together better than burgers and french-fries."

"It's just their PDA. It's like they always have to be touching or kissing," Tikal rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"You're one to talk," Cream pointed out.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You and Eclipse are always all over each other."

"Ugh, I know it's so annoying," Tikal whined, picking dirt from under her fingernails.

"And furthermore, you… wait, what did you just say?" Cream continued before she realized how Tikal had responded.

"It's just Eclipse. He's become so clingy lately, especially since Mighty and I have become better friends. It's like he's jealous. Has it in his head that Mighty is in love with me or something stupid so he'd just become so co-dependent. It's exhausting," Tikal muttered.

"Why don't you just talk to him. Tell him that nothing's going on between you and Mighty?" Cream advised.

"You think I haven't tried that? I tried everything, but he just gets more clingy. Do you know what he told me over break?"

"What?"

"He said that he was actually stalking me the first time we met. How creepy is that?"

"Alright, that's a little weird. But you guys have been together for ages, I can't even remember what you were like without him around," Cream joked with a small giggle.

"Exactly, that's my point! He won't leave me alone," Tikal bemoaned loudly.

"Tikal, Cream, quiet down this instant or it's detention for both of you," Zonic reprimanded them.

"We'll continue this conversation later," Tikal whispered.

"Don't you have plans with Eclipse after class?"

"Fuck it, you and I are hanging out, just like old times. He can survive one fucking day without me," Tikal rolled her eyes, giving Cream a weak smile.

…

The free room was identical to all the other rooms in the boy's dormitory. There were two bunkbeds against either of the two walls and a window opposite the door with a night stand on either side of the window. Tails pushed open the door carrying his yellow sheets when he noticed that, even though the school hadn't assigned any students to the room, all the beds were made and had sheets on them.

"Well… it might not be much but at least I'm alone," Tails sighed as kicked his foot against the door and waited for it to click shut behind him. It didn't. Tails glanced behind him to see a foot had been shoved in between the door and the frame, keeping it open just a crack. The person pushed the door back open and stepped inside.

"Tails?" Mina asked in a surprised tone as she stepped into the room. "Tails, it is you, I thought I recognized you."

"Mina, what are you doing here?"

"I was just visiting Spike on this floor when I saw you and I thought, now that's strange, Tails' room isn't here, and I came to see what you were doing," Mina explained.

"Oh, well in that case, come in," Tails invited her further into the room.

"Thanks, but who's room is this? Where is everybody?"

"It's a free room," Tails beamed. "Shadow found it and said I could room here after… after… anyway, I'm moving in here."

"That's so awesome. So, what, you, like, get to have a room all to yourself for the rest of the year?" Mina said in awe.

"Exactly! No roommates and no worries. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want," Tails cheered.

"So, what you're saying is… we have four beds, a whole room to ourselves and nobody will disturb us?" Mina said as a mischievous grin steadily grew on her face.

"What are you suggesting?" Tails raised an eyebrow.

"Remember what we used to do back when we were kids in your bedroom when Ken was out?"

"Blanket fort?" Tails questioned, his eyes lighting up with happy nostalgia.

"Blanket fort," Mina affirmed with giddy glee as she rushed past him and began stripping the beds of their sheets. Together, the two teenagers got to work. The draped bedsheets over the banisters of the bunkbeds, rushed downstairs to the janitor's closet to steal some supplies to make loadbearing poles and ran string along from one wall to another until finally it was complete. The whole room had been transformed into a mess of blankest, sheets and pillows.

"Blanketopolis is complete," Mina cheered happily as they put the final blanket over the front as a make-shift entrance.

"Care to enter?" Tails ushered her inside. Mina dropped to her knees, pushed through the sheet and crawled into the fort. Tails followed close behind. She shuffled over to a pillow and sat up, marveling at the surprisingly spacious interior.

"This is one of the best we've ever made," Tails admired.

"Well, the last time we made one we were like ten years old, so I'm not surprised," Mina chuckled.

"So… since we're in Blanketopolis again, do the same rules apply?"

"Of course. The sheets and officially considered secret proof and anything said inside can't ever escape of leave this fort," Mina nodded.

"Awesome."

"So, Tails, I need to ask, since we're protected now," Mina began. "How are you? Really? Last I heard you had a massive fight and then vanished for, like, two days!"

"I… um… yeah, sorry about vanishing," Tails blushed embarrassingly as he twiddled his thumbs together, looking down at his knees. "I just got a bit overwhelmed after Sonic basically said he never wanted to see me again and needed to be alone for a bit."

"And you're back at school for good now?"

"Yep. Shadow really put some things into perspective for me," Tails smiled.

"That's awesome news Tails. You do know that if you're ever sad, I'm always here for you and can lend you an ear. Especially now that you're living in Blanketopolis."

"Thanks, Mina. I knew I could always count on you. But the trust we have is a two-way street."

"Hmm?"

"I mean that I'm always here for you. So, I've been meaning to ask this for a while now, but…" Tails trailed off, trying to find the best way to put this without upsetting Mina. "How's the baby?" Mina sighed sadly, her eyes shifting down to her stomach, still showing no signs of pregnancy.

"I haven't told Manic yet if that's what you're really asking."

"You always did get straight to the point. Don't you think he has a right to know?"

"He does… but I just don't know if I'm ready for a baby," Mina admitted.

"So… are you think about-"

"What? No, never. I couldn't bring myself to get an abortion. Wanted or not, it's still my baby and I just can't kill it," Mina sighed.

"What are you going to do, then?" Tails asked supportively.

"I don't know. I'll sort that out later. I'm just trying to focus on studying for finals and make sure I graduate before I start planning about this baby."

"But you'll surely show signs of pregnancy by then. The whole school will know somebody knocked you up and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that it's Manic's child," Tails explained helpfully. "Don't you think it would be better if you told him rather than letting the rumour mill get around to him. Then maybe he'd be more understanding and helpful."

"I guess you're right. I'm going to go to the doctor sometime next week to just get a checkup and make sure it isn't like a false alarm or something dumb like that and he will confirm everything for me. If it's true, I'll tell Manic after. I promise."

"I think that's a very mature choice," Tails smiled, reaching for her hand and wrapping it protectively in his. He lifted his glance, his eyes softening as they met hers. "And no matter what happens, whether he want's nothing to do with it or asks to marry you and support the child, I'll be here to help."

"Thanks, Tails… that means a lot. Would you… would you like…" Mina trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to be my child's godfather?" Tails' eyes opened wide as his heart filled with warmth.

"Really, me?" Mina nodded. "Yes, of course I would. It would be an honor. Thanks, Mina." He shuffled over, ducking under a low hanging blanket to hug Mina. "I won't let you down," Tails confirmed. Long into the night, Tails and Mina continued to talk and gossip in Blanketopolis until dinner was served in the cafeteria and the begrudgingly emerged to satiate their rumbling stomachs.

…

Blaze was getting sick of everything. All the drama that was plaguing her and her friends had her at wits end. It always seemed to amplify when a big group was sitting together at meals in the cafeteria and after Silver's surprise visit that lunch time Blaze had decided that was the last straw.

As she strolled through the labyrinth of tables and chairs, she placed the palm of her hand on the door that separated the senior's section from the rest of the cafeteria. Before pushing it open, she shook her head. Blaze turned around, found an empty table near a group of freshmen and took a seat, eager to enjoy her meal in peace for once.

However, her solitude was broken swiftly when Mighty locked eyes with her and hastened over to her table. He sat down opposite her, sighing as he plonked into the plastic seat.

"Mighty, seriously, I'm sorry but I just can't deal with your complaining about Ray and Clove right now," Blaze rolled her eyes as she stabbed her food with a fork and lifted it delicately to her mouth.

"I know I've been pretty annoying later," Mighty admitted. "But I really need to talk to you, to somebody that isn't Tikal."

"Mighty, you can't do this. You can't just keep asking me for advice and companionship without even telling me what the issue is."

"I know… but I-"

"Yeah, yeah, you promised Ray you wouldn't tell anybody," Blaze finished his sentence, sick of the perpetual song and dance the two had been locked in all term.

"I've never broken a promise before… well I've only broken a promise once before," Mighty said.

"So, why did you come here then? I can't keep doing this."

"I know… so… I've decided to tell you everything," Mighty concluded finally.

"And I understand so could you please… wait… what did you just say?" Blaze did a double take.

"I broke up with Clove, but it wasn't because I had fallen out of love with her like the whole school thinks," Mighty explained. "I broke up with her because of Ray."

"You… you're gay with Ray?" Blaze gasped, covering her mouth when she realized how loudly she had spoken.

"What? No, Chaos, why does everybody think that," Mighty rolled his eyes.

"Well, I mean you guys act like you're dating. Besides, I think you'd make a cute couple," Blaze added snidely.

"Blaze, please, would you just listen?"

"Sorry."

"No, I broke up with Ray because he… he…" Mighty paused, unable to bring himself to say it. "He was in a bad state. A really bad state. He… well, he needed me. He needed me a hell of a lot more than Clove did. Clove was getting annoyed and sad that I was never spending enough time with her and it was unfair on her. I made her sad, somebody I loved. I had to choose between the two."

"Why did you have to choose?" Blaze interrupted.

"Because they both needed me, and I couldn't divide my time effectively. I was just making them both worse, and I couldn't do that to the two most important people in my life. That's why I broke up with Clove. And that's why I've been going crazy."

"Because Ray asked Clove out. How could he do that to you?"

"Because he doesn't know the real reason I broke up with her!"

"Why can't you tell him?" Blaze pushed further.

"Because I know him," Mighty basically screamed, realizing that the two were garnering a small audience. He leant closer, changing to a hushed whisper. "I know if he knew I broke up with her because of him… it would end well."

"I… I'm glad you finally trust me enough to tell me," Blaze said.

"It was unfair of me to expect so much from you without telling you the whole story. You've become a close friend and I know I can trust you. But please, please don't tell anybody," Mighty begged.

"I won't. I promise," Blaze smiled, knowing the power that word held to Mighty. "But if you really want my advice… I'd say you need to talk to Clove about it. About everything."

"I can't tell her, of all people!"

"Mighty, those two like each other. It's obvious, and it sucks, I know, but there isn't anything you can do. If you don't tell them the real reason, then they think they aren't doing anything wrong and you just seem like an envious overreactor. It seems to me you only have two options. You have to tell either Clove or Ray the truth. One, if not both of them, needs to know or else they will just get back together and resent you for not being happy for them."

"What's my other option?" Mighty sighed, unable to accept that's what needs to be done.

"You be happy for them… or move on with your life without them!"

…

Manic lay in his bed, the blankets pulled all the way up to his chin as he tossed and turned, moaning and groaning.

"Hey bro, you coming to dinner?" Knuckles asked as he rummaged through his half of one of the two cupboards and threw on a pair of footy shorts over his boxers.

"Yeah, the gang's already there waiting for us," Spike added as he combed a hand through his orange quills.

"No, I'm not feeling a hundred percent," Manic brought a fist up to his mouth and let out a dry, raspy cough. "Just go on without me, I'm gonna hit the hay early tonight."

"Alright, you want us to bring you back anything?" Knuckles asked.

"No, that's alright. Thanks, though," Manic gave them a weak smile, coughing some more.

"Stay healthy, dude. We'll be back in about an hour," Spike waved as he threw open the door, followed closely behind by Knuckles.

"Later guys." As Knuckles closed the door on the sick hedgehog, he turned from Spike.

"Where you going, Knux?" Spike asked.

"Oh, I'll meet you guys at the caf in a bit, I've got to go take care of a few things first," Knuckles admitted. "See you in twenty?"

"Alright… don't do anything stupid," Spike called as the two parted ways.

Meanwhile, as the door closed, Manic jumped out of bed and raced over to the mirror, fully clothed. He quickly ran a hand through his messy quills, trying to neaten them up a bit before he set a timer on his phone for forty-five minutes. Manic waited a few minutes to make sure his roommates had already left the building before he sprinted out of the room, down the hall and stairs and crossed over to the girls dormitory. Within two minutes, he was standing outside one of the girl's rooms, puffing and panting. He knocked on the door. It immediately flew open.

"You're late," Amy scolded him. "My roommates will be back in half an hour."

"Sorry, Knux and Spike took ages to leave. I wish they were like Shadow and just went straight from classes to dinner or from wherever he goes off to sulk," Manic replied breathlessly as he slipped inside and closed the door behind her. "You sure we've got half an hour?"

"Positive. Now hurry up," Amy glowered.

"Don't talk to me that way," Manic growled.

"Why don't you show some respect, freak," Amy spat back.

"Bitch!"

"Douche!" Before either could get in another word, Manic pounced on Amy, pushing his body against her. Amy let out a groan of pleasure as he back fell against the wall, pinned by Manic's hips. He attacked her lips with his own, his tongue dancing in her mouth. Amy let out a whimper as Manic retreated and began nibbling her ear. He kissed her jaw, travelling down until he was feasting on her neck, leaving a nice red mark. Amy grabbed his face with her palms and pulled his lips back onto hers, crashing them together.

As they continued, Amy occupied herself with Manic's belt buckle. She struggled with it until she finally whipped it free and unzipped his jeans, relieved as they fell to the floor. Manic mirrored her, unhooking the shoulder straps of her dress as she ran her hands up and down his back, wriggling her way underneath his shirt. Manic pulled back to rip off his shirt while Amy's dress fell to the floor.

"I need this now," Amy sighed eagerly.

"After you, princess," Manic stepped backwards as Amy pushed him over to her bed, knocking him down onto her mattress. She quickly unhooked her bra and removed her panties as Manic kicked off his boxers. Amy fell down onto him, rolling over so he was on top.

"Fuck I needed this bad," Manic panted as he began thrusting.

"Stop talking," Amy commanded as she gave herself into pleasure. Finally, after Manic had finished, he rolled over onto the cramped, small bed next to her and let out a satisfied sigh.

"That was amazing," he commented.

"Of course it was. I know what I'm doing," Amy sneered.

"Look, if you're going to be like that, maybe I'll stop these visits," Manic teased.

"Now we both know you wouldn't want to do that," Amy smiled, daintily pressing her lips to his as she reached down onto the floor with her other hand and grabbed his boxers. As she broke apart, she dropped them onto his face. Manic sat up, sputtering.

"Ugh, seriously?"

"Get dressed. They'll be back soon."

"How romantic," Manic replied sardonically as he leapt up and squeezed his legs back into his jeans, throwing his shirt back over his torso.

"Now get out before they come back," Amy instructed, pointing him towards the door as she slipped into her scarlet pajama bottoms.

"You could be a little nicer," Manic commented as he shoved his feet into his converses.

"Now get out before they come back, please," Amy batter her eyelashes.

"Whatever," Manic rolled his eyes as he wrenched open the door and checked the hallway to make sure nobody would see him leaving Amy's room.

"Oh, Manic," Amy called. He peered back inside without a word. "Text me tonight?"

"Whatever you want, princess," Manic smiled genuinely as he gently closed the door, hurrying back to his room before either Knuckles, Shadow or Spike returned.

…

Sometimes Gold wondered exactly how she got herself in this predicament. Less than a year ago she was enjoying a cushy job at Mobius High in Central City, answering phones and dealing with naughty kids. Little paper work, easy hours. However, to Gold, it felt like a century ago. Nowadays, Gold almost felt like she was a prisoner to her work.

She'd get up with the sun, make sure all the girls were awake and ready for breakfast in the cafeteria and then work as the secretary until the school day was over. She'd then have to finish all the paperwork, sort out the constant disappearance of kids as they seemed to come back and forth from the city when they felt like it and after barely dinting the wobbling stack of papers, she'd need to go make sure all the girls were in bed and reinforce curfew. Sometimes it felt like Gold was the only one who actually did any work at Emerald Lake. Sometimes Gold felt she was the only adult left on the whole campus.

"Ouch," Gold groaned in pain and annoyance as she dropped her pen and clutched her aching hand, squeezing the muscles to relieve her cramping hand. She flexed her fingers, rotated her wrist and massaged her palm. Anything to make it more bearable to continue writing. "I'm going to have arthritis before I'm twenty-five," Gold lamented.

"Knock, Knock," Zonic sung out as he pushed the dingy office door open. He almost tripped on a small stack of papers that cluttered the messy floor as he entered. "Whoa… you look awful," Zonic breathed.

"Wow, thanks, that's exactly what a girl likes to hear," Gold rolled her eyes sardonically.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant… um… I meant that…" Zonic fumbled for the right words.

"Zonic, seriously, don't worry I know I look like a mess," Gold sighed with a smile, letting the pen drop from her hand as she swiveled around in her chair to face him. "What can I do for you?"

"You've been hard at work all week," Zonic began.

"All semester more like it," Gold muttered under her breath.

"And I think you need a break. I know I come in here every other day and say this but this time I won't take no for an answer. I'm making my world famous spaghetti again and this time you are going to stay away from work until morning and enjoy me cooking you dinner," Zonic commanded nicely.

"But Zonic I have so much I need to-"

"No, no, no," Zonic interrupted calmly as he snatched the pen off the desk as she reached to pick it up.

"Zonic, seriously."

"You'll get this pen back tomorrow morning," Zonic pocketed it.

"It's just a pen. You know I have several more," Gold replied tonelessly as she opened her drawer and pulled out an identical pen.

"Gold, c'mon, the pen's supposed to be symbolic."

"How so?"

"The pen is your work, and I'm taking it off you, so you can relax and enjoy yourself for one night. And remember, I won't take no for an answer."

"Alright, fine," Gold admitted defeat with a low chuckle. "But I get to choose what you cook me."

"Too late I've already made the special sauce," Zonic grinned cheekily as he stepped out the door. "Staff kitchen, five minutes," he called as he raced away to finish preparing the food. Gold let a long, large smile cross her face as she dropped the pen back in the drawer and closed it, leaving her office with a smile for the first time in a long time.

…

Breezie was nervous. More nervous than she had been in a long time. She could feel her anxieties swimming around inside of her like little butterflies fluttering chaotically in her stomach and churning her cuts. She clutched a tray between her hands as she laid her eyes on the table in the wider school's eating area. Breezie knew this was a long time coming and she knew she wouldn't be able to move on with her life until she hammered the last nail into the coffin and let her past finally rest.

"Excuse me," Breezie breathed as she finally approached the table, her legs wobbling like jelly.

"Breezie?" Mighty asked disbelievingly.

"What are you doing here?" Blaze said bitterly, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"I was just wondering if I could talk to you… alone," Breezie's gaze flitted to Mighty for a brief moment. Mighty shot a wearily look towards Blaze. She nodded slowly at him.

"I should be getting back to the senior area anyway," Mighty stood. "I told Tails I'd sit with him and Mina tonight." Breezie took the opportunity to take a seat as Mighty left before Blaze had time to change her mind. The two girls were locked in a stare, neither one saying a word before Blaze broke the silence.

"So, why do you want to talk, boyfriend stealer?"

"Blaze, I told you, he told me that he broke up with you."

"All you had to do was a little research or ask literally anybody to know that he was lying," Blaze fired back.

"I believed him."

"Why would you just take what he said at face value?"

"Because I loved him!" Breezie bellowed, ignoring the pairs of piercing eyes she felt burning into the back of her head.

"Still," Blaze grumbled lowly.

"Don't pretend you don't know what that boy can do. The feeling he can give. The feeling where when he speaks to you, you think everything is great in the world. Like his words are the purest thing you've ever heard and you'd believe him even if you'd literally watched him commit murder and still he said he didn't," Breezie urged.

"I… I know the feeling," Blaze admitted.

"He told me he broke up with you and I believed him instantly. Because I wanted to, and because I had no reason not to," Breezie sighed. "Blaze, I'm so sorry that I ruined your relationship, but I swear to you I didn't know. I thought Silver loved me. Thought…"

"Breezie I…" Blaze paused, unsure what she wanted to say. She wanted to hate Breezie, needed to hate Breezie to feel better about what Silver did to her. She wanted to hate Breezie for sleeping with Silver while she was in the hospital, but she knew Breezie had no idea. She wanted to hate Breezie for telling Silver he needed to break up with her, but she knew she would have done the same if the roles were reversed. She wanted to hate Breezie for stealing Silver, but technically Silver was hers first.

"Blaze?" Breezie breathed.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known about me at the start and Silver kept lying to you. It's his fault and I… I forgive you."

"Blaze I… I don't know what to say," Breezie smiled. "Thank you."

"Silver hurt you, too. I can't blame you for his actions. He played us both."

"He was a dick. And besides, sisters before misters, right?"

"Yeah, something like that," Blaze let out a low chuckle.

"So… what now? Friends?" Breezie asked.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Blaze sighed. "Acquaintances?"

"Acquaintances," Breezie nodded, surprised at how well her talk turned out.

…

As the sun began to set on the sultry day, Julie-Su and Knuckles emerged from the winding forest path. They walked up to the lake's edge as the sun glowed orange, half hidden by the cliff. The final rays of light reflected off the silver-blue lake, as still as a mirror, and caused it to sparkle. Julie and Knuckles said nothing, their eyes glazing over the water. There was only silence around them. The trees didn't rustle, the birds didn't sing, and the wind didn't blow. It was complete tranquility.

"Did you bring it?" Knuckles asked, breaking the silence. The trees cast shadows over his face as Julie lifted her hand to reveal the breathtaking bangle. Although well used and weathered, it still sparkled magnificently. The golden bangle still held all its gems fixed on the slithering silver serpent. The radiant topaz, the shining opal, the obsidian and silver diamonds, the luscious sapphire and beautiful ruby, the deep amethyst, the gorgeous garnet and, sitting above them all, stuck on the top was the giant emerald. Julie carefully removed it from her wrist and handed it to Knuckles.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Julie asked warmly.

"Lara-Le was right, the beauty of this bangle comes at a cost," Knuckles said solemnly as he inspected the bangle, his face showered in its radiant emerald shine.

"Lara-Le?" Julie looked to him curiously.

"My grandmother. She… well, let's just say this bangle changed her. She lost her mind because of it," Knuckles sighed.

"I never knew." Julie placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It caused our family much woe. First grandad, then mum, now it's played a role in ruining my relationships with both you and Rouge. But, I finally think I understand what she meant," Knuckles nodded, an emotionless smile crossing his face.

"Whatever you decide, know I'm right by your side… brother," Julie encouraged, placing her hand on his. Knuckles closed his fingers tightly around the bangle, blinking away invisible tears.

"It's time for the spirits to rest in peace," Knuckles nodded as he looked up at the salmon skyline. He reeled his arm back and threw the bangle as far as he could. The two watched as it soared through the air. The sunlight glinted off its golden sheen and the gems refracted its light in a kaleidoscope of colours until it splashed into the middle of the lake. Ripples faded slowly as it sunk like a rock. "It's finally done."

"How do you feel?" Julie asked.

"Relieved," Knuckles breathed as the final light of the magnificent emerald got swallowed up by the dark depths of Emerald Lake.

* * *

 _A/N: Lara-Le? Who's that? Well, better go back and read the five extra scenes that were added throughout Sonic High with Knuckles and his dad/grandmother to understand this final ending to his family plot. It involves ghosts (Kinda), murder and insane asylums, fun :P_

 _Blaze has finally come back after attending the funeral of her last family member. Will she change now that she's all alone in the world? Well, she's found a new friendship group with Tikal, finally learnt about most of Mighty's story and has made peace with Breezie so I'd say she's at least changed a little._

 _Tails was hiding out in the forest since he's encounter with Sonic last chapter and all it took was Shadow to talk some sense into him. Is this the beginnings of our old love triangle back again? NO, NO CHAOS NO, I'm so done with that story line haha. But now Tails has a room all to himself, well less a room and more an epic blanket fort. Will this mean anything for the future?_

 _Lumina and Void are now officially students, and Lumina and Fiona are roommates. Fate is a fickle thing. But Lumina and Void have a child! Lumina and Void are only 18/19 years old, so how old is this child? So many questions, and they will all be answered in time._

 _Looks like Tikal is getting a little sick of Eclipse's behaviour and thinks he is getting a little clingy. Now that Mighty/Clove and Blaze/Silver have broken up, Eclipse/Tikal is officially the longest running CURRENT relationship (Since Mighty and Clove's year long relationship would be considered the longest). Is there trouble in paradise for this power couple?_

 _And finally, yes, Manic and Amy are still sneaking around with one another and are in an official secret relationship. They can't let anybody know what they're doing together, though. But this is High school and nothing stays secret for long. Can they change people's minds about the idea of them together before their secret is ousted?_

 _Thanks for reading, and hopefully you enjoyed the newly enhanced Sonic High. Hopefully it makes for a more streamlined, enjoyable and cohesive story when considering all current 55 chapters. And remember, if you enjoyed, don't forget to answer the question of the day and leave a review to let me know what you thought._

Question of the Day: With many secrets, missing people, taboo relationships and heartbroken students, what do you think will be the most dramatic thing that will occur at Quartz Casino?

Next time on SH:EL

Elias throws his biggest party ever at Quartz Casino!

Fiona gives Blaze one last chance to rejoin her as she finally begins her revenge on Sally

Mighty gets drunk and says too much to Tikal

Cream and Wave discover Cosmo and Jet's secret relationship

...and Sticks shows up to give Espio an ultimatum

All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 41: Elias' Bigger Bash Part 1


	41. Chapter 41: Elias' Bigger Bash (I)

_Important A/N in **bold** after this chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 41

Elias' Bigger Bash (I)

Looking down into the plastic red cup that lay clutched in his left hand, Sonic knew he should be nervous. His shoes lay at the foot of his bed, tight denim jeans dropped from his waist and a white t-shirt with a buttoned over shirt clung to his torso. His quills were slicked back and spikey. Sonic remembered what happened the last time Elias had thrown a party. It had been a disaster. Yet, he still felt pumped, excited. All the worries began to drain away as he tipped his head backwards and chugged the rest of the liquid that trickled down his throat. Sonic let out a satisfied sigh, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand with no worry about the past or anxiety about the future.

Sonic glanced around his dorm room, his eyes shifting from one guy to the other as they littered around the room waiting for the busses that would take them all to the casino. A knock at the door silenced the small talk.

"Knux, could you get that," Sonic yawned, stretching as he dipped his hand into a duffel bag resting underneath his bed and pulled out a bottle of vodka. He poured a generous amount into his now empty red cup before filling the rest with warm coke.

"Oh, hey Shadow, come in," Knuckles stepped aside politely to let the last member of their little group for the evening enter.

"Hey Shadow, long time no see," Jet greeted with a nod.

"I thought you said you weren't coming," Spike piped up. "You could've just come here earlier with Manic, Knux and I?"

"Shadow needs time to brood alone before he does anything social," Knuckles added with a sly grin.

"Shut up," Shadow showed his middle finger before he crashed down onto the bed beside Sonic.

"So, Shads, where you been?" Sonic asked as he handed Shadow his plastic cup. Shadow took it without thanks and skulled the entire drink.

"I was just over in Tails' room with Mighty and Espio getting ready with them, but I promised I'd come hang here so here I am." The room instantly silenced as all eyes turned to Sonic. Sonic clenched his fist, his expression stone-faced.

"So, anyway, this party is really going to be something, isn't it?" Jet broke the awkward tension, not wanting the thought of Sonic's annoyance to put a damper on what was shaping up to be one of the best nights of the year.

"Yeah. It's such a great location too. Elias has really outdone himself this time," Spike added.

"Actually, Manic was the one who chose the location this year," Knuckles informed.

"Really?"

"Guilty as charged," Manic smirked proudly. As the guys continued to chat away, the sun began to get low in the salmon sky and eventually the sound of a long, loud horn filled the school. Jet peered out the window, noticing three long busses drive into the parking lot.

"Is that them?" Shadow asked.

"Yep, let's head down there," Jet took the lead as he slipped on his shoes and bolted out the door, followed closely behind by Knuckles, Spike and Shadow.

"Hey Sonic," Manic called as he finished lacing up his last shoe.

"Hmm?"

"Mind if I talk to you quickly?" Manic asked.

"Sure, what's on your mind, bro?"

"Well, it's not really that important but I've been meaning to tell you this for a while. Things have just been really busy, and it slipped my mind a bit after the whole wedding debacle and stuff."

"Spit it out," Sonic chastised impatiently.

"Alright… well, it's kinda about Amy," Manic admitted.

"What about Amy," Sonic furrowed his brow, his tone suddenly becoming serious.

"You see… the truth is… I found out that three years ago mum was the one that put the stupid idea of continually chasing you until you love her back in Amy's head," Manic spewed out the words quickly and sloppily. Sonic tilted his head in confusion, letting the words wash over him until, finally, he let out a small chuckle. A small laugh that slowly built up until he couldn't stop his incessant laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"Aleena?" Sonic choked through gasps. "She caused all this?"

"She told Amy to never give up on you. She told Amy how important love was. It was her words that inspired Amy to hold love above all else."

"Sorry, sorry," Sonic composed himself. "It's just… don't you see the irony in this?"

"Irony?"

"That it was words from your mother that ended up driving the biggest wedge between us. The woman who sacrificed a lot to try to get us to forge a strong relationship together was also the one who provided the biggest wedge between us."

"Sonic, this is serious?"

"Why? That's all in the past. It's not like I'm going to judge Aleena or hold any ill will to her for trying to make a young teenager happy years ago."

"Oh… well, in that case, yeah, I guess it is pretty funny," Manic allowed a smile to cross his face. "Thanks for being so understanding."

"You're my brother and, despite how annoying you are, I love you. And Aleena is like a mother to me too, now, anyway, and I love her too."

"You… you love me?" Manic spluttered, not used to hearing anybody apart from his mother and sister saying that to him.

"Yeah, of course. Just don't start following me around like a helpless puppy in love."

"And you ruined it," Manic rolled his eyes. "You just can't help but ruin any nice moment between us, can you?"

"I couldn't help myself," Sonic winked. "But, seriously, come here bro," Sonic smiled as he wrapped his arms around Manic and squeezed tightly. "I do love you, despite everything."

"I… I love you too," Manic admitted as he pulled back. "Brothers for life?"

"Brothers for life!"

"Honestly, I'm surprised you were so cool about this," Manic said as he closed the door behind the two. They strolled down the hallway, making their way towards the bus.

"Why?"

"Because of everything Amy did to you and others because of what my mum said to her."

"That's all in the past. Besides, Amy has nothing to do with either of us anymore, so it shouldn't matter anyway," Sonic shrugged as he jumped onto the metal railings and slid down the side of the stairs.

"Y-Yeah… nothing at all…"

…

Blaze stood in the public bathroom in the girl's side of the dormitory. She stared at her own reflection in the mirror with puckered lips, tracing a deep shade of purple lipstick. The red band that usually wrapped around her hair was nowhere to be seen as her violet hair fell behind her head. Blaze had already finished perfecting her winged eyeliner when she uncapped her mascara and let the wet instrument coat her long lashes in the purest black.

As she moved onto her second eye she heard the bathroom door creak open and fall back into place.

"Cream, is that you? I said I'd be over in a few minutes," Blaze called absentmindedly to the visitor without taking her eyes off her reflection, scared to make a mistake and tarnish her look.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but it isn't Cream," a voice cooed from the door. Blaze instantly tensed up. She finished her eyelashes, blinking several times before she turned in annoyance.

"What do you want?" Blaze growled lowly, her words laced with suspicion.

"Is that really how you talk to old friends?" Fiona asked in fake umbrage.

"We aren't friends," Blaze hissed.

"Why are you being so rude? And to think, I just came here to tell you how pretty I thought you looked tonight."

"Can we just skip this song and dance?" Blaze rolled her eyes impatiently. "You pretend to be nice, I remind you that we hate each other, you pretend to be offended and then blackmail or mock me in some way. It's honestly getting boring and cliché."

"Okay then, way to ruin the fun," Fiona pouted. "But this new attitude of yours is exactly why I'm here."

"What are you getting at?"

"The mean Blaze, of course. The darker Blaze that I know dwells within you. The Blaze I've seen peek out a couple times," Fiona began cryptically.

"Only when you're around," Blaze fired.

"Please, I've seen you release the beast within on others before. We both know there is a darker part of you inside. The real part of you," Fiona smirked, her eyes glinting.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Blaze turned her back on the cunning vixen, quickly packing her make-up supplies back into her purse.

"I'm talking about giving you one last chance."

"I don't want anything you're selling," Blaze stated confidently as she pushed past Fiona and pushed against the door.

"You do remember the plan you told me about how we get revenge on Sally, don't you?" Blaze froze. She let the door close in front of her and turned back to Fiona.

"Now you listen here," Blaze bellowed angrily. "I made that plan when I was at my lowest. It's cruel and I want no part of it."

"There's the Blaze I know," Fiona sneered as Blaze poked her chest roughly.

"Just leave me out of it and forget about my stupid scheme."

"But I've already ordered the bars. They're sitting in a box in my room, and Sally already left to board the bus. If we act now, she'll never know."

"Don't you dare do it!" Blaze warned.

"But it was your idea," Fiona said pointedly. "And I'm going to do it with or without you. You can't stop me."

"Whatever you do, just leave me out of it."

"Blaze, don't you remember what she did to you… to us?" Fiona asked as Blaze tried to will herself to leave for the second time.

"She said it was an accident. I'm not that kind of person. I don't do revenge," Blaze responded, more trying to tell herself than tell Fiona.

"Now we both know that's simply not true," Fiona tutted. "Besides, Sally started the fire that maimed you."

"The fire she accidently burnt me, sure, but I've moved on. Also, keyword, accidently."

"But she didn't just burn you, did she."

"What are you getting at?" Blaze took the bait and like a good hunter, Fiona reeled in the fish expertly.

"Silver. Remember how he toyed with your heart and stepped all over it? If it wasn't for Sally, he never would have fallen for Breezie and you would still be in your happy little relationship with him. She can say it was an accident, sure, but it wasn't an accident that she was smoking. You told her to stop, but she didn't. She smoked despite you. That cigarette burnt down the school, with you in it, and because of that, Silver cheated on you with Breezie."

"No… but… but she…" Blaze spluttered.

"Face it, Cat, Sally ruined your life." Blaze thought for a moment, her brain and heart at war as she mulled over her thoughts. Her eyes flitted from Fiona, to the floor and over to her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The girl looking back, dressed up with her hair back and eyeshadow around her eyes… that wasn't the real her.

"Alright…" Blaze sighed, meeting Fiona's gaze. "Let's do it."

"Perfect," Fiona purred happily, rubbing her hands together as she lead Blaze over to her room. Together, as Sally waited in the bus, they raided her stash of low-fat, calorie-free bars and replaced them all with Fiona's fake ones. They were the same weight, look, taste and texture with identical packaging, but Fiona had used Claire's money to infuse extra fat into them.

"One of these is like eating half a chocolate cake," Fiona smiled. "And we know how she only exclusively eats these to lose all that weight. This'll teach her a lesson."

"Yeah… this needs to be done," Blaze sighed as she looked out of the window to Sally's room, her glazed eyes falling on the busses waiting below in the carpark.

…

The excitement and anticipation in was palpable, swirling around the bustling bus as students dressed in neat shirts and beautiful dresses chatted absentmindedly. The bus finally pulled into the vast parking lot littered with thousands of cars. As it screeched to a halt, Gold stood up and addressed the eager teenagers.

"Okay, okay, could everybody please listen up," Gold gathered their attention. "Because we know you'd all find a way to do this anyway, Razor has given the okay for this senior party Elias is hosting." Cheers and hoots echoed through the bus.

"Quiet down and listen," Zonic scolded from the front seat.

"Ahem, anyway, because of this, Zonic and I are on chaperone duty. If anything goes wrong, we will be your first point of contact. Understood?"

"Yes," a chorus shouted back in unison.

"Good. Now Elias has booked the two main function rooms and enough hotel rooms for all of you so there's no excuse to leave early by yourself. We will all meet back at the busses at ten tomorrow morning. We couldn't book out the casino so there are still a lot of people here so be respectful. Finally, at the door we will be giving you all wristbands. The bartenders will only serve those students with red wristbands to indicate you are over eighteen. The rest of you who are still underage will not be allowed to drink. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," they repeated back to her.

"Like that ever stopped us before," Shadow whispered to the fox sitting beside him.

"But how will I get any drinks without a wristband?" Tails whispered back.

"Don't worry. I've got your back," Shadow winked.

"Good. When you're ready for bed, give your last name to the lady behind the desk and she will give you your room key. Otherwise, be responsible and have fun." Not even a second went by before the students rushed off the bus in a hurry, leaving Gold and Zonic behind.

"You know they are going to do the opposite of what you said, right?" Zonic informed.

"I know, but legally because we said it to them and are chaperoning the night, we should be fine. Just be vigilant tonight and confiscate drinks if people without wristbands have them," Gold instructed.

"But there's over two-hundred of them. This is going to be impossible," Zonic complained, huffing as he stepped aside to let Gold exit the bus first.

"You shouldn't have volunteered then."

"You and I both know Razor forced this upon us."

"We'll just have to make the most of it," Gold winked as she began to make her way over to the giant glass entry doors.

"This is going to be a long night," Zonic sighed as he followed obediently behind the tenrec like a lost puppy.

…

"Wow, just look at this place," Tikal marveled as she stepped through the sliding glass doors. It was like walking through a portal. The normal outside a stark juxtaposition to the majesty inside the hotel. Red velvet carpets, fancy glass chandeliers like icicles above shrouding the interior in radiance and, conjoined to the east, a vast and loud casino.

"Where is everybody else?" Eclipse asked, slipping his hand into hers as he jogged up to join her side. She rolled her eyes, wrenching her hand away from his like he had the plague and walked ahead. Eclipse's head drooped.

"Dude, just stop trying to touch her all the time and she wouldn't act like that," Ray whispered, patting him on the back as he entered with his friends.

"We would've arrived with them if somebody didn't want to stop for fast food," she shot a playful glare at Ray.

"What? I was hungry, and we didn't get to have dinner because somebody took too long to get ready," Ray fired back with a smile. Normally he isn't the greatest with back and forth repartee but with Clove everything just seemed easier for him. It was like they just clicked, always in sync.

"Oh, are we going to play this game?" Clove warned with raised eyebrows.

"Guys, please, can we not fight?" Silver sighed as he stepped between them.

"Don't worry, Silver, we aren't fighting," Clove assured.

"Yeah, it's not a fight if I know I can't win," Ray laughed.

"Exactly."

"Come on, guys," Tikal urged, beckoning them over to closed doors with a flex of her index finger. "They're all through here. I don't want to miss out." As Eclipse, Ray, Clove and Silver walked up to join her, Tikal eagerly pushed open the doors. The blaring music instantly assaulted her ears as her eyes were overcome.

The grand, spacious room almost as big as a football field was littered with decorations. A kaleidoscope of balloons besieged the roof while tables lined some of the wall with a plethora of snacks, both sweet and savory. Near the main doors was a small bar with a man checking wristbands before handing out the alcoholic beverages. Tikal was amazed at just how cramped it seemed despite the large space.

"C'mon, Ray, let's go dance," Clove grabbed his arm and pulled him into the sea of faces, instantly disappearing.

"I'm gonna go get a drink, you coming?" Tikal asked Eclipse, sounding more like it was a burden to invite him rather than a happy request.

"Yeah, I'll see you around, Silver," Eclipse called as they joined the long line. Silver stood alone, his head hung low. He darted his eyes left and right, searching the room for anybody he could go hang out with. Unfortunately, the universe decided to play a cruel prank on him. There was only one face that seemed to acknowledge his presence. The face of Breezie the Hedgehog. She locked eyes with him for a split second, utter disgust on her face before she turned and sunk deeper into the expanse of faces in front of him.

Silver turned, exiting the room with all his friends as he crossed the lobby to get to the casino. He decided if his friends didn't want him, maybe he could distract himself from his sadness by betting away his hard-earned money, alone.

…

It was like entering hell through a gate made of flashing lights. The only toll to enter was a soul, which Cosmo had gladly given up a year ago. The high-pitched tones like a sirens call, beckoning her further inside with the prospect of unthinkable heights. The technicolor world invited her in, but hidden beneath the blaring sounds and radiant lights hid a world of nothing but black and pain.

Cosmo tried to resist, but the pull was too strong. It smothered her perception as she took more tentative steps. Before she knew it, Cosmo was sitting at one of the biggest, flashiest slot machines. Her hands shook as she reached into her wallet and pulled out a crisp fifty-dollar bill. She struggled, begging herself not to do it but before she could coax herself out of the hypnotic spell she had found herself under, the note was slipped into the machine.

"I'll just play a few spins and then I'll cash out," Cosmo promised herself. She reached down to press the spin button, but before it contacted the glass a hand shot out and pressed the cash out button.

Confused, Cosmo spun around as her ticket was spat out by the machine, coming face to face with Jet. His face was washed with disappointment.

"I… I… I…" Cosmo fumbled, unable to meet his gaze from shame. His eyes were heavy and hard to read as he looked upon her figure.

"I thought you said you had kicked this addiction," Jet said silently.

"I had but… but it's hard. Elias hosted his party at a casino. Do you not see how hard that is for me?" Cosmo argued passively, her eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

"Cosmo, look at me," Jet instructed forcefully.

"Jet, I know I fucked up, okay, but you don't have to-"

"Look at me," Jet interrupted her. Surrendering, Cosmo lifted her head, her baby-blue eyes shimmering with doubt and the beginnings of fresh tears. "I…" Jet paused.

"Just say it."

"I'm sorry."

"I know I'm… wait, what?" Cosmo did a double take, cleaning out her ears to make sure she heard him right.

"I said I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I… because I promised to help you with this. I said we'd work through this together, as a couple, but I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I knew the party was going to be at a casino and did nothing about it. I'm sorry."

"Jet I… I don't know what to say," Cosmo let a smile creep its way onto her face as her heart beat fast in her chest. "This isn't your fault at all."

"I shouldn't have abandoned you in there. I should have been by your side."

"You just went to get us some drinks."

"I know… but still, Cosmo. I want to be there for you."

"Jet… thank you… I love you," Cosmo smiled as she tilted up onto the tips of her toes and pressed her lips against his. Jet wrapped his arms around her back, squeezing tightly as he returned the gesture.

"I love you too," Jet smiled.

"What?" A loud voice screamed in disbelief behind them. In complete shock, Jet and Cosmo jumped apart, their eyes whipping around their surroundings like frightened baby birds. That's when they saw her standing there, mouth agape.

"Wave… how long have you been standing there?" Jet asked softly, taking a hesitant step forward. Before he could say anymore, Wave spun around on her heels and sprinted out of the casino.

"Wave, wait," Jet called, chasing after her with Cosmo right on her tail.

Meanwhile, Silver walked past the slot machine, his pockets empty as the blackjack table drained all his money. He sighed, sadness drowning him when he noticed the small slip of paper sticking out of the machine.

"Fifty bucks?" Silver asked aloud, bewildered. "Maybe my luck is finally starting to turn around."

…

The two spun around, the music swirling around them, lifting away gravity. Sonia was always a clutz when it came to dancing, and she had lost count just how many times she had squished his toes beneath her high-heels. Still, he smiled through the pain. Spike watched as she twirled, her hair flowed behind her and bounced with the beat.

Beside them, Julie-Su pivoted with a twist of sharp meticulousness and precise refinement, her toes pointed, and calf muscles flexed. She ran a hand through her wild hair, combing it out of her eyes. Sweat glistened off her forehead and a big smile was plastered on her face.

As the slower song faded into an upbeat techno tune, Sonia and Spike parted as they danced in their small group of three.

"I've got to go use the bathroom," Julie called through cupped hands at her companions beside them. Her loud voice was lost in the blaring sirens of melodic music.

"What?" Spike called in confusion.

"I said I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Julie stepped closer, her voice just as loud.

"What? I can't hear you," Spike repeated. Julie just shook her head as she squeezed through more dancing teenagers, making a beeline for the lineless bathroom.

"What did she say?" Sonia whispered into Spike's ear.

"I've no idea," Spike shrugged as the two continued dancing. Suddenly, Wave rushed up to Sonia and gripped her wrist, tugging her along without stopping.

"We need to find Cream," Wave insisted.

"Wa-ah-ve," Sonia cried out as she was whisked from the dance floor with complaint. Spike reached out his hand to grab hers, but he grasped at nothing but air. His eyes darted around, but he saw no sight of her.

"What?" Spike said to thin air as the gap was filled by more dancing teenagers.

Meanwhile, Julie pushed on the admittedly rather gross doors to enter the bathroom. Her ears thanked her, lapping up the dull tones as they got a much-needed break from the blaring music outside. Julie walked past the stalls, noticing that only one was occupied. She went into a free stall and clocked the door behind her, ready to relieve herself when she heard an eerily familiar sound. It was unmistakable, and one that Julie knew all too well.

She peeked her head underneath the divider just to make sure, but when she saw denim knees on the ground, her fears were answered. Without a second thought, she bolted out of her stall and banged her fist against the wall.

"Whoever's in there, open up," Julie called. The words came out angrier than she intended, but she had garnered their attention.

"Sorry, I'm almost out," an embarrassed voice responded.

"S-Sally?" Julie asked, her heart breaking.

"Yeah, I'll be a few more minutes."

"Sally… open up, I know you're not using the toilet in there," Julie pleaded, her voice softening as she placed her palm on the door. She was greeted by silence. Julie looked left and right, double checking that she was alone in the bathroom before she knocked again and spoke as softly as a whisper. "I know you're purging."

Sally didn't respond, but Julie's pleas hadn't been ignored. Instead of words, she was awarded with the sound of a bolt unlocking and the door swinging open to reveal Sally, disheveled and flushed of colour.

"Sally… are you alright?" Julie cooed with worry.

"Please, Julie, don't tell anybody I'm doing this," Sally spoke, ashamed as her head fell.

"Sally, it's okay, it's nothing to be ashamed about. And of course, I won't tell anybody," Julie affirmed.

"Yeah, it's shameful. I just… I'm so fat and this is the only way I can get any thinner. Chaos knows those bars are hardly helping."

"Sally, you are definitely not fat. Trust me. And this behaviour is certainly…" Julie paused to find the words, treading carefully in this delicate situation. "Destructive, but with a little bit of help, you can get through this."

"Help, that's a laugh. Everybody keeps saying I'm skinny, but look at me," she poked the flab of her rotund stomach, the need to purge again rising inside her like bile.

"Sally, this isn't the answer," Julie urged.

"Like you'd understand," Sally turned away bitterly.

"Actually… I would," Julie admitted. Sally cocked her brow, but said nothing further. "I… I used to be bulimic, last year before you guys came here. I'd do it twice a day, sometimes more, after every meal."

"I didn't know. Are you still?"

"No, not anymore. I got over it thanks to somebody I loved," Julie sighed. "He showed me why it was destructive and helped me see how beautiful I was, the way he saw me."

"Where is he now?"

"His parents moved to Soleanna late last year and he went with them. I'll never forget him, or what he taught me about myself."

"You're lucky you had somebody. I've got nobody," Sally's eyes shifted to the floor again.

"Hey, that's not true," Julie let a smile cross her lips as she forced Sally to look up at her. "You have me, and I'll make sure you get through this. There's nobody better for the job."

"Thanks Julie, you're the best."

"Anytime, now come on, let's go back out and find our friends. I've been itching for a good dance all night," Julie laughed as she slipped her hand in Sally's and lead her out of the bathroom.

…

A row of closed booths lined the back wall of the wide, spacious room that Elias had booked out for his classmates. Manic smirked, his eyes glancing around the table of some of his friends as he walked up with a tray of shots.

"Fuck, bro, how much did you get?" Sonic asked as he stared at the plethora of small glasses filled to the brim with a yellowish substance.

"Enough for three each," Manic winked, plonking down next to Knuckles. He grabbed three shots and began pushing them around the table, giving a triangle of glasses to Sonic, Knuckles, Mighty, Spike and Espio.

"Okay, ready boys?" Knuckles asked as he raised his first glass skywards. The rest of the table mirrored his actions as they all thrust their hands forwards and clinked their glasses together. In complete synchronization they all tilted their heads back and tipped the liquid down their throat. Spike scrunched up his face and Espio gagged as Mighty let out a satisfied sigh.

"Not bad," Sonic commented, inspecting invisible stains on his glass.

"Quick, no breaks, round two," Mighty smirked mischievously as he held up his second glass.

"Do we have to?" Spike complained.

"You're free to leave any time you want, lightweight," Manic coaxed. Spike narrowed his eyes determinedly as he raised his glass.

"Cheers," Espio smiled as they clinked glasses and downed the second shot.

"Last one," Mighty quickly grabbed the last glass and rose it skywards. The rest of the small booth copied, and they repeated the act one last time, slamming the final glass down on the table.

"I don't feel so good," Spike commented, his hand resting on his forehead as he leant down over the table.

"That last one might've been a bit much," Manic agreed, his face turning a few shades paler as he leant back and closed his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths.

"You're all weak," Mighty chuckled as he stood up, wobbling slightly on uneven feet. "I'm gonna go grab a rum and coke. Anybody want anything?" Mighty offered.

"I'm good for a bit," Knuckles responded, whipping out his phone to take a picture of Manic at his expense, a sneaky smirk plastered over his face.

"I think I'll make sure these guys are alright first," Sonic replied rubbing his hand in slow circles around Spike's back. "I'll join you for another drink in a little bit," he promised.

"Espio?"

"Hmm?" Espio asked, his eyes staring straight past Mighty where they lay on the tense figure of Gold, arms folded as she scanned the crowd, searching for wristbands on those who held drinks in their hands.

"I said are you gonna get a drink," Mighty waved his hand in front of Espio's face, snapping him back to reality.

"Huh, what? Oh, yeah, sure, why not?" Espio shrugged, knowing it would be impossible to spend any time with Gold while her shadow, Zonic, skulked beside her. Espio rose and followed closely behind Mighty as the two waded their way through the dancing sea of sweaty bodies, squeezing through gaps until they arrived at the bar. However, before Espio even had time to see what they had on offer, something grabbed his hand and removed him from the line.

"So, what do you want…" Mighty trailed off as he turned around to speak to an empty space. Meanwhile, Espio felt himself be lead through the crowds until he was pulled out through the doors and into the fiercely lit lobby of the hotel. Finally, his eyes adjusted on his captor and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Sticks…?" Espio questioned with uncertainty, unsure if she was really there or if it was just a figment of his imagination brought to life in a drunk haze.

"I knew I'd see you again," Sticks smiled.

"How did you find me?"

"I'm your biggest fan. I know everything about you." Espio took a step back in worry.

"Look, I'm glad you like my music but there are boundaries that you need to acknowledge," Espio tried to explain.

"There are also rules that you need to acknowledge," Sticks fired back. Espio furrowed his brow.

"What are you on about?"

"Rules. In life. Y'know, like, love your neighbor, you shall not murder, steal, covet, etcetera, etcetera."

"What does this have anything to do with me?"

"Well, as well as those rules, we, as a society, have made rules too. Rules that you broke," Sticks jabbed a finger into his ribs.

"Look, I don't have time for this bullshit," Espio scoffed as he tried to return to the party but the next thing she said made his blood turn cold.

"I'm talking about rules such as, I don't know, teachers shouldn't date students. Pedophilia is a thing." Espio froze. Sticks gripped his shoulder and forced him to face her again, his face as pale as a ghost.

"Wh-what does that have to do with anything?" He tried to act dumb. It didn't work.

"I mean this," Sticks showed him her phone, which displayed a very graphic picture of him and Gold in a loving embrace, their lips crashed together.

"Where did you get that?"

"I took it. Now if you don't want me to expose your little girlfriend as the pedophile she is-"

"She's not a pedophile," Espio interrupted angrily. "I'm nineteen. It's legal."

"It's not legal because she is a teacher. And it's rude to interrupt people. Don't speak out of term again unless you want this to be uploaded to the internet faster than you could say don't," Sticks warned menacingly.

"This is blackmail. This is extortion," Espio complained. "I could have you arrested."

"And yet Gold would be arrested too," Sticks smiled victoriously.

"You're a monster. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I'm your biggest fan. You're supposed to love me, not her," Sticks said as a matter of fact, a crazed glint sparkling in her eye.

"What do you want me to do?" Espio sighed, his head low.

"Simple. I promise I'll never upload this picture to the internet… if you have sex with me."

"What?" Espio's pupils grew wide.

"You heard me. Fuck me, in your room tonight, and I promise I won't upload it."

"How can I trust you? How do I know you won't just go back on your word?"

"You can't. But, if you don't have sex with me, then there is a hundred percent chance that it will go on the internet and she will be arrested. Your choice," Sticks sneered.

"What if I just take the phone and smash it now?"

"You really think this is my only copy of the photo?" Espio sighed. He knew he had been defeated. He bit his bottom lip, his gaze travelling back to the closed door, and to the golden secretary that stood on the other side. His thoughts encompassed her. He loved her, he knew he did. It was a long, slow realization but Espio knew with all his heart that he had fallen for Gold. His thoughts then travelled to a horrible simulation of what would happen if he refused Stick's proposition. Gold would be found out, fired and arrested. Not only would he never see her again, but she wouldn't even be able to live freely. She'd be confined to a prison for her life. He couldn't do that to her. No matter what.

"Okay…"

"What was that?"

"I said okay," Espio confirmed. "I'll have sex with you." Sticks lit up with joy as Espio trotted over to the main desk and asked for his room key. With one final look at the door, he let desperation wash over him as he ascended the steps into the bedroom with Sticks in toe.

…

Cream and Amy sat at one of the booths in the back of the room absently chatting away while sipping on some ciders. Amy had just finished the punchline of her joke when Wave stumbled forward through the crowd with Sonia stuck behind her.

"Cream, we need to talk now," Wave said seriously, her eyes meeting Cream's in a staring contest. Sonia let out a breath and steadied herself, fixing her dress and shoes.

"Nice to see you too, Wave," Amy responded brashly. She didn't like being completely ignore.

"We need to go where it's quieter," Wave decided.

"Wait, Wave, what is this about?" Cream asked, refusing to budge.

"It's about Jet." The one name of the bird was all Cream needed. Cream apologized to Amy before excusing herself to leave the hedgehog alone and followed Wave and Sonia back through the crowd of people and out through the main doors into the quieter lobby, passing by Espio arguing with a strange girl none of them had seen before.

"Alright, it's quieter, now tell us what's happened," Sonia urged, trying to catch her breath from being pulled around like a ragdoll.

"I saw Jet and Cosmo-"

"Wave, stop," a voice bellowed from the casino entrance, interrupting Wave. The three girl's heads all turned to lock onto Jet and Cosmo's increasing frames as they rushed to join the group.

"Please, don't tell them. It won't end well," Jet begged but his pleas fell on deaf ears as Wave finished uninterrupted.

"They were making out." Sonia's eyes grew wide and Cream's mouth fell open, unhinged.

"Are you two… dating?" That was all Cream could bring herself to say. Cosmo looked up to Jet but the look he gave her showed her that it was too late to argue and there was no point in lying. She turned to her friends and nodded.

"That's great news," Sonia smiled, happy for her friends. Wave and Cream both turned to her.

"No it's not!" They both cried in unison.

"Girls… please…" Cosmo begged.

"No, Cosmo, this isn't okay. You guys can't be dating," Wave cut through, worry in her voice.

"Why not?" Jet countered. "It's not like it's any of your business. Why do you have to be jealous?"

"It's not jealousy," Cream piped up.

"Do you just not want us to be happy?" Cosmo asked, surprised by how her friends were taking this news. Most friends would be like Sonia, should be like Sonia, and be happy for her. Now Cosmo understood why Jet had requested to keep it a secret. "I thought we were friends."

"It's not that at all, Cosmo. I promise. We are friends, it's just…" Wave trialed off, shooting Sonia a look of help.

"It's just that… it's not the healthiest thing at this time," Cream searched for the appropriate words.

"The fuck does that mean?" Jet bellowed.

"It's just… we know how you… cling… to girls. How you always need somebody in your life to, I don't know, feel validation. It's unhealthy and we care about you, so we want to make sure you can get better and I don't think Cosmo is the best choice at this point in time, no offence," Cream continued. "Maybe wait until after high school?"

"How can you be saying this?" Jet growled, clearly getting worked up.

"Alright, alright," Sonia tried to quell the situation. "Let's all just calm down and take a quick breath."

"What's wrong with me?" Cosmo asked, feeling like she was being personally attacked. "What did I do to hurt you?"

"It's not you, Cosmo, it's Jet," Cream tried to reason.

"Yeah, he's done… things and right now he needs to help himself before he gets sucked into another relationship. He gets destructive after a break up," Wave added.

"If you're talking about these…" Jet began, rolling up his sleeve to reveal some of the red lines along his arm and wrist. "Then she already knows."

"Wait… you've been cutting yourself?" Sonia gasped, worry flooding her but it was like she was invisible to the other four teenagers.

"And, as a matter of fact, since she's been with me I haven't done anything to hurt myself. I love her!" Cream and Wave's eyes grew wide as they cocked their heads. They didn't expect that.

"You… you love… me?" Cosmo whispered, unsure what to say.

"You don't know what love is," Wave tried to argue.

"Bullshit. I loved you, and I loved you before, too," he turned to Cream, his eyes pleading for her to help stand by his side.

"And it only hurt you more…" Cream sighed. "I just can't see you go through that again, Jet."

"No, fuck you guys, why can't you be fucking supportive of me?"

"Jet, it's okay, let's just go enjoy the party and deal with this later," Cosmo urged.

"I agree with her," Sonia stated.

"No, I want an answer, now!"

"You've gotten plenty," Wave challenged.

"It's just not healthy," Cream added.

"Fuck you guys!"

"That's it," Cosmo screamed, the sudden volume of her voice silencing her companions. "This is ridiculous. You're all acting so childish. I need some fresh air," Cosmo shook her head as she stormed out of the building, ignoring both Sonia and Jet's cries for her to stop.

"Now look what you've done," Jet growled.

"This is exactly what we were afraid would happen."

"Don't give me that. Just… just leave me alone," Jet stomped past them, hoping to get lost in the bright lights of the bubbling casino.

"Girls… why?" Sonia sighed as she watched both Cream and Wave exchange unsure glances.

"You wouldn't understand what he's going to do to himself if this falls through," Wave said solemnly.

"He can't handle more heartbreak. Not right now…"

…

"C'mon Blaze, Mina's waiting for us," Breezie urged with delight as she forced more of Blaze's drink down her throat.

"Breezie, stop, I'll finish it just give me time," Blaze insisted.

"Alright, but we have to go so bring it with you!" Breezie took her by the hand and expertly navigated through the dancing mess of bodies before she found Mina bobbing on her own.

"Breezie!" Mina's face instantly lit up with delight as she threw her hands around her. "This place is so crowded, I thought I had lost you."

"Nope, I just went to find a friend," Breezie smiled as she pushed Blaze forward. Mina and Blaze locked eyes, uncertainty evident in both. They both knew each other, shared some classes, but had never really had a proper interaction before. When Blaze saw Mina, all she could see was the girl that ruined Sonic and Manic's shot at being proper siblings. Yet, when Mina saw Blaze, all she could see was the girl that ruined Breezie and Silver's relationship.

"Hey," Blaze said awkwardly.

"Hey," Mina repeated, her gaze shifting to Breezie, his eyes screaming out for help.

"Look, I know you two don't really have the highest opinions of each other but we're at a party and we should be having fun. Let's just leave whatever hesitations we have in the past and just dance and get along. Please, for now?" Breezie begged as she grabbed both Blaze's and Mina's hands.

"Well, Tails has always said nice things about you, so sure, let's dance," Blaze smiled as she began to let the rhythm infect her.

"And I guess you couldn't have known about Silver and Breezie, so I'm in," Mina agreed, swishing her hips from side to side with the beat. The three girls danced, laughed and moved together as song after song continued to play. Soon, Blaze began to feel light headed for already having a little too much alcohol.

"Here, you want the rest?" Blaze offered to Breezie. She shook her head politely and continued to dance, her head whipping from left to right violently.

"What about you?"

"No thanks," Mina refused.

"Come on, I haven't seen you drink anything all night," Blaze urged, pressing the glass into Mina's hands. "I know you haven't had the greatest year either so we should loosen up and just live a little before exams."

"Blaze, please, I said no," Mina looked down at the glass, wanting nothing more than to wallow away her pain with the mind-numbing alcohol. But she knew better than that.

"Why not?"

"Blaze, seriously, stop," Breezie cut in. "Mina can't drink anything because she's pregn-ouch!" Breezie whined as Mina reeled back and sunk her fist into Breezie's arm. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry Mina."

"You… you're pregnant," Blaze gasped. "Is… is it Manic's? Does anybody know?" Blaze was suddenly inundated with questions she needed answers to.

"Look, Blaze, please, just don't tell anybody, alright? I'm not sure if I'm actually pregnant, it could just be a false alarm. I'm going to the doctors next week but until I know for sure, please don't tell anybody. Especially not Manic or Sonic," Mina begged.

"Alright, I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

"Hope to die," Blaze affirmed as she took the glass back apologetically and quickly downed the rest of the cider.

"Well… since that's settled… let's dance some more," Breezie beamed as the trio continued to dance the night away.

…

The cool night air hit Cosmo immediately, calming her raging nerves and soothed her angered soul. The night was eerie, darker than normal. There was no moon that night and a thick blanket of dark clouds billowed in from the east, covering the few stars dotting the heavens. If it wasn't for the spectacle of lights beaming from the casino, it would be impossible to see your own hand in front of your face.

"Stupid Cream. Stupid Wave," Cosmo mumbled as she shoved her hands into the pocket of her cardigan and walked around to the back of the building, hoping to avoid them if they came looking for her.

"Cosmo? Is that you?" A voice asked through the dark. Cosmo raised her head enough as she rounded the corner to see Rouge leaning against the back wall, a joint hanging out of her mouth with a faint red glow.

"Rouge, what are you doing here?" Cosmo asked as she approached.

"I just needed to chill for a bit," Rouge admitted, letting out a puff of smoke. "Everything is pretty hectic in there at the moment."

"Tell me about it." Rouge could see the torment on her face and, without a word, held out the joint to Cosmo. She quickly glanced at Rouge before taking it thankfully, breathing in deeply. Cosmo spluttered a bit, coughing violently as smoke exploded from her mouth and nose.

"First time?" Rouge asked with an amused smirk.

"No, you gave me a bunch the other day, remember?" Cosmo coughed as she took another drag, handing the joint back to Rouge.

"It sure seems like that was your first puff," Rouge chuckled.

"I'm still getting used to it. I just think my lungs are adjusting. I've only been doing a joint a day, after all," Cosmo shrugged like it was nothing.

"A joint a day… it hasn't even been a week," Rouge frown in concern.

"Don't worry, I'm not addicted. It just puts my nerves at ease and curbs my need to gamble."

"But Cosmo…"

"Rouge, seriously, look where we are," Cosmo gestured to the building behind them. "We're at a Casino, and yet I haven't gambled yet. That must mean something, right?" Cosmo conveniently left out the part where it was only thanks to Jet's intervening that she hadn't gambled away fifty dollars, and not any amount of drugs.

"I guess that is a good point," Rouge mulled it over in her head. "I guess if it is helping you, but just slow down on the stuff a bit. Don't have a joint everyday, or if you do, roll it with half as much as you have been, alright?"

"Alright, deal. And thanks again, Rouge, you're really helping me."

"Anytime," Rouge bit her bottom lip in uncertainty before drawing another breath from the joint.

…

Tails was nervous. Very nervous. It was like he had an entire lepidopterarium lodge inside his gut with small butterflies tearing up his insides. He knew she had no reason to talk to him. She had no reason to help him, especially after her turned his back on her. But before, when he thought there was nothing, she was there to help him when he needed it just like he had been, long, long ago.

Tails noticed her sitting by the bar, alone, drink in her hand. He observed how she kept glancing over to two people dancing on the dancefloor but paid no attention. He waddled over to her and plopped down on the stool beside her, clearing his throat.

"F-Fiona," Tails began with a gravelly, anxious voice.

"What do you want, twerp?" Fiona growled, displeased at his presence.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to have a drink with me. Y'know, like we used to, like before." Fiona couldn't help but let out a cackle. The absurdity of his request tickling her funny bone.

"A drink? Like before? What, was that before you sat by and watched me get sent to jail for something you know I didn't do, or was that before I came back and you avoided me? Oh, or was that before you helped Scourge learn about Void and got him sent back to jail? Yeah, you think I didn't know about that, didn't you?"

"Fiona, I-"

"Get the fuck out of here," Fiona barked. "I might be at the lowest point in my life right now, but I can't stoop low enough to hang out with you. Nobody might like me, but at least my mother and father still. That's more than I can say for you."

"Fuck you," Tails growled.

"I doubt you could even keep it up long enough," Fiona scoffed as she turned her back on him, focusing back on her drink. Tails grumbled sadly to himself as he scooted off the stool and jumped to the ground, his eyes scanning the room. That's when they locked onto Shadow, a drink in each hand. Tails smiled slightly as he approached.

"Shadow, hey," Tails called out as he rushed over to the swaying hedgehog.

"Hey Tails, how's it are you going?" Shadow asked with a hiccup as he tilted the rest of one drink down his throat.

"Are you alright?" Tails asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Shadow stumbled forward, reaching out to grip Tails' shoulder to steady himself.

"Shadow, seriously, you're drunk. You should maybe take a bit of a break from the booze."

"Tails, don't even. I'm not as think as you drunk I am, alright."

"Shadow, stop," Tails tried to take the remaining drink from his drunken friend, trying to be helpful and return the favour bit it only angered him.

"Tails, stop," Shadow growled as he snatched the drink off Tails and skulled the entire glass in one breath. "You need to chill out. Maybe Sonic was right about you," Shadow stammered.

"You… you don't mean that," Tails froze, unable to say anything further. He could feel tears threatening to spill over but he didn't want to be a coward. Tails didn't want to keep being a weakling. He always seemed to be sad or upset and always acted like a coward instead of facing his problems head on. He didn't want this time to be like all others. Not to Shadow.

"I'm gonna chill go with them for now in a bit. See you around," Shadow gurgled as he turned and fumbled his way over to the booth where Sonic, Spike, Knuckles and Manic all sat. Tails sighed. He knew Shadow only got that drunk because of how the school had been treating him since Mephiles had ran away but Shadow's words still hurt. It seemed that nobody wanted anything to do with him anymore.

With his head hung low, Tails walked back over to the bar and ordered a whiskey. The bartender reached down to pull out a glass and filled a small amount with the golden-brown liquid.

"Wait," Tails said. "Leave the bottle." With a weary frown, the bartender obliged. One by one, Tails slowly began to down the entire bottle of whiskey.

…

Mighty leaned against the bar, periodically bringing the cooling drink to his lips as he bobbed his head to the infections beat and tapped his toes on the carpet. He watched the dancing faces move to the rhythm with a smile until his eyes fell upon one dancer in particular.

Ray felt the hair on the back of his neck prick up and turned, his baby blue orbs wide as they met Mighty's in an intense stare. Ray's eyes shone with hope, never leaving Mighty's as he bit his bottom lip. Finally, after minutes of nothing but stares, Mighty turned his head, letting his eyes fall shut and he tipped the rest of his drink down his gullet. With a sigh, Ray turned back to his dancing partner, Clove.

"Hey, why the long face, chum?" Tikal asked with a laugh as she playfully punched Mighty in the arm.

"Oh, hey Tiks," Mighty sighed. As he opened his eyes he felt a flash of dizziness attack him and he took a shaky step forward, falling into Tikal. With quick instincts she shot out her arms and snatched him out of the air.

"Whoa, take it easy, Mighty," Tikal smiled softly as she helped steady him. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Enough," Mighty replied groggily as he rubbed his temples, a splitting headache plaguing his brain.

"Here, come on, let's go sit on the couches in the lobby away from this noise," Tikal draped one of Mighty's arms around her shoulders as they stumbled out of the pumping room and into the quiet lobby that bridged the casino, the hotel rooms and the party room altogether in a localized area.

"Why are you always so nice to me?" Mighty asked as he collapsed on a couch next to the echidna.

"What do you mean? Why shouldn't I be?"

"Because I do bad things. I've done bad things. I've hurt those closest to me," Mighty explained through slurred words and hazy visions.

"You haven't hurt anybody close to you," Tikal soothed.

"Clove…"

"Mighty she…" Tikal paused, unsure how to proceed considering his drunken state. "Yes, Clove was upset when you dumped her but sometimes relationships don't work out. That's not your fault."

"You told me to dump her, remember?"

"Are you saying it was my fault?"

"What? No, of course not, Tiks, you da best," he tried to wink but failed miserably. "You helped me make an impossible choicision. You've always been there to help me since you arrived at this school."

"Thanks, Mighty. Are you sure this isn't just the alcohol talking?" Tikal asked with hesitation.

"Not at all. I've never been clearer… more clear, in my forever," Mighty tried to answer.

"Well thanks."

"You've always been so good to me. I love you, Tikal," Mighty smiled blearily. It was true. He did. Their friendship had grown strong and they had shared much about their pasts. They had been there for each other in hard times. Even though their friendship was still young, Tikal had felt like a sister to him.

"You… you what?" Tikal stammered, her heart stopping. She cleaned out her ear with her finger, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

"I said you're one of the best friends I've ever had."

"Did you say you love me?"

"Of course," Mighty grinned innocently.

"Mighty… I need to ask you something," Tikal suddenly became serious. "But you have to promise you won't lie to me."

"Somebody is trying to use promises against me, aren't they," Mighty gave her a playful smirk as he pushed his finger into her arm.

"Mighty, I'm being serious," she said stone-faced.

"Wow, alright Mrs. SeriousPants," Mighty said with a faked deep voice. "I promise."

"Do you love Ray?"

"Yes."

"But you said you weren't gay the other day. Were you lying?"

"No."

"But you love Ray?"

"Yes." The conversation continued in circles until Mighty could string together enough words to properly explain himself. "I love him, yeah, but I'm not in love with him. Not the way I was in love with Clove, y'know. He's my best friend, and I sacrificed everything for him… an he hurt me," Mighty sniffed.

"So, there's nothing going on between you two?"

"No," Mighty sighed, thoughts of the squirrel flashing through his brain. He thought back to a couple months ago when they were inseparable and compared it to now, where the two couldn't even look at each other without one having to turn away. It made him sad. Very sad.

"Mighty, don't cry," Tikal sighed.

"I'm sorry," Mighty forced the tears back into his blue eyes as he leant over and wrapped his arms around Tikal, burying his face into the crook of her neck. Tikal rubbed his back, her mind racing a hundred miles a minute, filling in the gaps. She understood why Mighty broke up with Clove and she helped him make the decision but a part of her never really knew why he couldn't just tell Ray the truth. She always assumed he harbored hidden feelings for the other boy, but was told otherwise. And she believed him. But then he said he loved her. Was it a friendly love, like his love for Ray was, or was it something else entirely? Tikal wasn't sure, but if Mighty did have hidden feelings for her, it would explain all the holes in Mighty's story.

"Sorry Mighty… I need to go," Tikal pulled away, standing up with flustered speed.

"What? Why?"

"I need to go to Eclipse… my boyfriend," she over announced the last word.

"I know who he is. But can't you just stay here?" Mighty asked, not wanting to be alone.

"No, Mighty, I can't. I'll see you around," Tikal said her quick goodbyes as she sped back into the main party room to find Eclipse and to tell him what happened.

* * *

 _A/N: Cosmo and Jet's relationship is out in the open, but it seems Cream and Wave aren't as thrilled about it as Sonia is. They know Jet's past. They've both dated him before and they know what he can be like. They are scared that if this ends badly, Jet might take things a step too far. But was that really the best way to handle that situation?_

 _Poor, drunk, Mighty. You told Tikal you loved her, you idiot. In Mighty's head, he was showing her his affections because he thought of her as like a sister. A good friend he could rely on for everything but it seems Tikal might not have taken it that way. What will happen now that she thinks Mighty broke up with Clove because he loves her?_

 _Blaze, Blaze, Blaze. I've teased darkside Blaze twice now, but it seems like this time she has finally pulled an Anakin and crossed over. And her target... poor Sally Acorn. But has Blaze truly turned bad? That remains to be seen. But speaking of Sally, it seems she now has somebody who is willing to help her, and not in the way Wave has. She has somebody who is openly going to try to help her stop purging, not just to validate her feelings._

 _Tails is sad... what's new? Blaze now knows about Mina's pregnancy, but has promised to keep it a secret... at least until Mina goes to the doctors._

 _Espio, Espio, Espio... what did you do? Well, he thought he was protecting Gold. If only Gold knew what Espio was doing above her head with Sticks. At least now that he's given Sticks what she wants, that pesky photo will give Gold and Espio no further trouble... right? And in reviews most people think the Gold/Razor/Zonic storyline is the least interesting, just wait things are about to be stirred up. I promise :P_

 _Thanks for reading and you know the drill, leave a review to let me know what you think. Now, instead of a QotD, I give you my little surprise..._

 **If you're just here to read a story and nothing more, skip this bold. Otherwise, read on... In just 2 short weeks, it will be Nov 26 2017 and you know what that means? That means it'll be exactly 2 years since I started writing. Yes, technically this specific story universe I started in December but I want to celebrate two years of writing on this site. As a special little thing, I thought it would be cool to answer any questions you might have. These could be questions about the story (Except future spoilers), the characters I've created or anything about me, my life, my likes and dislikes, anything at all! I'll publish the next chapter on the 26th so you have until the 25th to ask your questions and I'll answer any and all questions I get in the A/N. You can leave them as a review or send me a PM and you can ask as many questions as you like. I look forward to answering :)**

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Eclipse vs. Mighty?!_

 _Secrets are revealed when a group plays 'Who's Most Likely'_

 _Espio and Gold have a much needed chat_

 _Fiona cracks down on Rouge, Scourge and Lumina_

 _...and Void's victims and his bloody past are revealed_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 42: Elias' Bigger Bash (II)_


	42. Chapter 42: Elias' Bigger Bash (II)

Chapter 42

Elias' Bigger Bash (II)

Mighty stood to one side, leaning against the wall. After letting his head stop spinning, he had hopped off the leather couch and ventured back into the party to join the others. That was a bad idea. The music was so loud it made his skin tingle as the deep bass thumped with his heart and his pounding head. Neon lights flashed all around like police sirens, dousing the room in a rainbow kaleidoscope.

Over the thunderous roar of the music Mighty could hear distant chatter, specifically one voice. Eclipses. He was yelling, his words angry and hate filled. Mighty couldn't make out the words, they were indistinguishable over the music, but the tone was as clear as day. Clearer than anything else in Mighty's hazy mind.

As he held himself against the wall, his eyes caught sight of Eclipse turning to him. He narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists as he began to stomp over to Mighty.

"Eclipse, seriously, don't," Clove grabbed for his arm as she rushed after him.

"Let go of me," Eclipse growled, never taking his eyes off the armadillo. "He deserves this."

"I'm not arguing that," Clove tried to reason. "But this isn't how to handle things."

"You don't understand. He needs to be taught a lesson. He can't get away with this."

"You think I don't know that? This hurts me as much you, if not more, but violence is never the answer," Clove pleaded. Eclipse bit his bottom lip, his head glancing from Mighty to Clove. Finally, he chanced a look behind him to see Tikal's doubtful eyes. Her gaze flitted past him to Mighty. Eclipse furrowed his brow, swallowing the uncertainty.

"No, this can't stand." Eclipse wrenched his hand free of Clove's surprisingly tight grip and stormed up to Mighty.

"Hey man, what's up?" Mighty smiled as he swayed slightly.

"Don't what's up me," Eclipse snarled, jabbing his finger into Mighty's ribs.

"Ouch, dude, stop," Mighty slapped his finger away.

"How could you? I thought we were friends."

"What are you talking about? You are your friend. I mean, I am my friend. I mean…" Mighty circled his words aimlessly.

"This isn't a fucking joke," Eclipse shouted over the bumping beats.

"I don't understand. What did I ever do to you?"

"Tikal is mine. You were the one who fucking got us together. You seriously need to back off, now," Eclipse threatened.

"Back off? Why? She's my friend, too."

"I said leave her alone, or else," Eclipse warned.

"Your threats don't scare me. I can be friends with who I want," Mighty narrowed his eyes, the haze slowly lifting from his brain.

"One last chance. Back away, now," Eclipse rolled up his right sleeve.

"Make me," Mighty dared. There was a loud crack as Eclipse sent a punch across Mighty's jaw. The force knocked him backwards and he tumbled to the floor with a thud.

"Mighty!" A concerned voice called out as he rushed over to stand between him and Eclipse. "What the fuck was that for?"

"Back off, Sonic. This is between me and him," Eclipse pushed Sonic aside.

"No, what did he do?"

"It's okay Sonic," Mighty snarled, rising to stand. He draped the back of his hand across his mouth, taking with it the small trickle of blood the dribbled down his chin. "If Eclipse wants a fight, I can give him a fight."

"Bring it on," Eclipse waved. Mighty let out a guttural growl and stepped up to Eclipse despite Sonic's warning words but before he could deliver a punch, a scared voice stole his attention.

"Mighty… please don't." Mighty turned, his eyes meeting Ray's pleading stare.

"Ray?"

"Don't do this. Just walk away. Please." Mighty bit his bottom lip in contemplation, his eyes shifting from Ray's shaking figure to Eclipses imposing stare. Finally, Mighty sighed, nodding as he turned to leave.

"You're not worth it."

"Good riddance," Eclipse snorted, marching back over to Tikal. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, glad it didn't escalate any further.

"I don't understand," Ray sighed. "What happened?"

"Basically, Mighty's a dick," Clove growled as she took Ray's hand and lead him back over to their friends.

…

"Well there you are," Scourge smirked as he slid further into the booth to allow Rouge to collapse next to him. "Where'd you run off to?"

"Just went out to relax a bit," Rouge winked as she leant back into the red velvet backrests of the booth.

"Well, for your information, you reek of smoke."

"Shit," Rouge lifted up her arm and took a quick sniff.

"Babe, don't worry, I like the smell," Scourge quelled her worries. "This party isn't as cool as I thought it would be."

"Yeah, the last one he threw at the stadium was more dramatic. I mean, it was for me, at least."

"Why don't we spice it up a bit," Scourge smirked wickedly, showing his pointed teeth.

"What are you planning?"

"Just a fun little game. I think we should all get to know each other a little better. Let's go get some people and send them here." Rouge nodded as she stood and waltzed around the room. As she spotted her friends, she rounded them up one by one. Shadow was her first victim. Being her best friend, she wanted him to be there, if not just to learn a little more about him. Rouge had felt like she was slowly drifting from him and thought this would be as good an opportunity as any to remedy that.

As Rouge flitted around the room, Scourge got to work recruiting his own people. Those who he'd like to know a little more about. The trio of dancing girls, Mina, Blaze and Breezie were first on his list but soon he had invited both Spike and Sonic as well as Amy.

As Scourge returned to the table, a frown crossed his face when Rouge slowly sent more and more people over to their little booth. Manic, Knuckles, Julie, Storm and Honey didn't matter much to him either way, but when he saw a slumped silver hedgehog shuffle over to join them, he felt a lump crawl up his throat.

"Why did you invite him?" Scourge hissed into Rouge's ear.

"Don't you want to know what went down between him, Breezie and Blaze behind closed doors?" Rouge asked with fluttered eyelashes.

"Good point," Scourge agreed, though his nerves didn't leave him. He was worried Silver might spoil something. Something he didn't want anybody else to know.

"So, what are we playing?" Sonic asked aloud.

"Yeah, let's get this party started," Mina cheered. Scourge stood to address the group, surprised so many faces of those who hated each other would stomach sitting around the same table as them. He figured they all had motives of their own, or were just too drunk to care.

"Alright. The name of the game is Who's Most Likely," Scourge announced. "The rules are simple. We go around the circle and somebody asks a question that starts with who's most likely. Then, on three, we all point to somebody who we think is most likely to do it, or who we know has done it. That person gets to argue their case why they wouldn't be and then if anybody has a good enough retort, they say it and we move on. Simple as that."

"Sounds easy enough," Breezie sighed, her gaze purposely avoiding Silver's.

"Awesome. I'll sta-"

"What's this little shindig over here?" A curious voice perforated from behind Scourge's ear, making him shudder.

"Fiona, what do you want?" He said through gritted teeth.

"Hey, Fi, we're just playing Who's Most Likely," Storm answered indignantly, sipping his beer.

"Yeah, you should, like play with us," Honey offered.

"Honey," Rouge scolded angrily.

"Lighten up Roo, it's just a game. If you can have both Sonic and Amy, or Blaze and Silver at the same table, surely you can deal with her," Honey smirked, knowing Rouge would never back down when being called out.

"Fine, she can sit," Rouge huffed.

"Perfect, but I get to start first," Fiona sneered.

"No, I'm star-" Scourge tried to argue but Fiona's question interrupted him.

"Who's most likely to betray their best friend," Fiona smiled. On three, hands were thrust forward, and all pointed at either Breezie or Sonic.

"Fuck off, he betrayed me first," Sonic grumbled, narrowing his eyes at Shadow and Rouge, who's fingers pointed straight at him.

"What about you, Breezie," Julie asked subtly, both her and Spikes fingers directed at her.

"I… I have no comment," Breezie folded her arms. "Wait, you too, Mina?"

"Sorry, but you gotta be honest," Mina shrugged.

"Dick move, you know the truth about it."

"Yeah but you can't lie in this game. It's the rules."

"Alright, my turn," Scourge reined back control of his little game. "Who's most likely to cheat on their partner." Fiona took no time shooting her hand straight into Scourge's face.

"Whoa, Fi, calm down, I never cheated on you once," Scourge said defensively.

"You're a snake. I hope you stay single forever," Fiona fired back.

"Why is everybody pointing at me again? This is fucking ridiculous," Sonia growled when both Shadow, Mina, Manic and Knuckles all shot their hands at him.

"You do remember what happened back at the other campus at the start of the year?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, but Shadow cheated too!" Sonic argued.

"But mine wasn't as bad," Shadow slurred.

"Guys, I think you're missing the point," Julie shouted over the ensuing argument. They all looked to see almost everybody else was pointing right at Silver. Silver's eyes shone with hurt as his giant orbs turned to Scourge.

"Why would you ask that question, Scourge?" Silver asked, his voice weak and shy. Silver didn't understand why Scourge had turned so angry and mean. Scourge answered with a scowl and a stare. His glare was deep and the message was clear. Don't say anything, or else.

"Don't worry, I get the hint," Silver sighed as he stood up. "Fuck this game, I'm going to my room," Silver grumbled as he wondered off.

"Good riddance," Blaze huffed. "Anyway, it's my turn now," she cheered. "Now… let's see… who's most likely to flunk out of high school and become homeless." This question was less controversial as different people pointed to seemingly random individuals with no rhyme or reason. It had been the most split since the game begun with an equal number of fingers pointed at different people.

"Alright, my turn," Rouge announced, her eyes at Sonic. "Since you banned me from your sister's wedding, I'm curious to see which one of the two of you they point to more," Rouge began. "Who's most likely to fuck their sister?" Knuckles and Julie exchanged a worried glance as most hands fired through the air, pretty split between both Manic and Sonic. However, there was one hand that was aimed squarely at Knuckles.

"Umm… Shadow, how much have you had to drink?" Spike asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he assured the porcupine with clearly slurred words.

"Then why are you pointing at Knux? Did you mean Manic?"

"No, I meant Knux." Knuckles raised his eyebrows, pleading for Shadow to lie and move his finger slightly to the left but Shadow stood steadfast in his opinion.

"Um, hate to break it to you, buddy, but Knuckle-head doesn't have a sister," Sonic chimed in.

"Yes, he does. He asked me to find out who it was, remember? Did you all forget about that?"

"Shadow, that's enough," Julie growled angrily.

"No, out with it, Shadow, who's the mystery sister?" Scourge asked, licking his lips with a long tongue.

"It's Julie!" A shocked gasped echoed through the group as they all turned to stare at the two lovers turned siblings with horror.

"You… you…" Blaze mumbled.

"We didn't know," Julie defended.

"You slept with your sister?" Fiona burst out into hideous laughter, holding her sides with uncontrollable laughter.

"Fiona, seriously, stop," Spike growled.

"That's amazing! That's the greatest thing I've ever heard. You're a freak. Incest freaks!" Fiona called.

"I swear to god, Fiona, you better shut it this second," Knuckles warned, his face flushing red from all the judgmental stares.

"Or what? You'll fuck me up? Oh wait, you already did that to your sister."

"That's it. Fuck this and fuck you," Knuckles stood and pushed past the cramped bodies blocking his path, angrily knocking knees as he stormed out of the booth.

"Julie… that's, like, disgusting," Honey mentioned.

"Yeah, Knux is my bro and all, but that's pretty fucking gross," Storm added.

"We didn't fucking know," Julie cried, burying her shame in her hands as she, too, rushed out of their little booth.

"Probably going to fuck him," Scourge mouthed. He was silenced by a swift elbow to the ribs.

"Seriously, Scourge, shut it. Now," Rouge warned. "Never mention this again. Or else." Scourge opened his mouth to argue but the look in her eyes was enough to make him stop. He nodded obediently.

"Alright, well since they're gone… my turn," Honey smiled. "Now, nobody can point to Blaze because we know that was a false alarm, but who's most likely to be pregnant."

"Breezie… don't," Mina whispered.

"Sorry but I can't lie, it's the rules," Breezie mimicked.

"Well, this was fun but I've gotta get going," Mina stood up as all eyes flocked to her.

"Something to hide?" Scourge smirked.

"Yeah, surely you have nothing to worry about, unless it's true that you're a big slut like everybody thinks," Sonic added snidely.

"Three, two, one, point," Manic quickly shouted before Mina had time to escape and almost every finger was pointed squarely at Mina.

"It seems everybody agrees," Sonic smiled nastily.

"Hey, Mina is not a slut!" Breezie defended her friend.

"But you pointed at her too," Spike argued.

"Because she… Nevermind," Breezie trailed off.

"Why don't you just leave, Mina," Manic barked. "It's obvious everybody here thinks you're a massive slut and nobody likes you."

"Manic, you fucking idiot, she's not a slut. We pointed at her because she is pregnant. With your child you dimwit," Blaze growled, refusing to sit by and watch this verbal abuse.

"Blaze," Breezie hissed.

"What?" Manic's eyes grew wide, his jaw unhinged.

"I… I think I'm pregnant," Mina hung her head low, ashamed and embarrassed. Manic stared at her for a moment, unsure what to do. "M-Manic?" Mina peeked open an eye.

"You fucking bitch!" Manic finally growled.

"Wh-what?"

"How dare you not tell me?" Manic was getting worked up, an uncontrollable anger coursing through him.

"Because we had a falling out. After what happened what was I supposed to do? Oh, hey Manic, I know you hate me but, well, you're gonna be a dad," Mina argued facetiously.

"Still, you can't just hide that from me."

"I was going to tell you when I was sure I was actually pregnant."

"Bullshit," Manic spat.

"Alright guys, let's all just take a deep breath," Rouge tried to remedy the situation she helped create.

"No, you know what, Rouge is right," Mina snarled. "Let's just keep playing, and it's my turn. Who's most likely to have a secret relationship with Amy? Three, two, one, go," Mina grinned victoriously as she jabbed Manic in the ribs with her index finger.

"Hey, don't drag me into this," Amy piped up finally.

"Mina, this is seriously uncool. They fucked once, but they both said sorry about that," Sonic tried to defend his brother.

"Oh, how little you actually know, Sonic. You want to know what your perfect little brother was doing while his sister was getting married?"

"Mina, enough is enough," Amy warned.

"What, you can fuck me around and trick me into ruining Manic and Sonic's relationship for your benefit, but I can't get some revenge?"

"Just let her talk," Fiona silenced the interrupting hedgehogs.

"Thank you, as I was saying, I saw Manic and Amy fucking in the bathrooms at Sonia's wedding. And it wasn't the last time either. They've been sneaking around ever since," Mina informed.

"Sonic it's not what it sounds like," Amy said.

"It seems it's exactly what it sounds like," Sonic countered.

"Nothing is going on between Manic and I. I swear, it's just angry sex and nothing more."

"That fuck is that supposed to mean?" Manic growled. "Is that all I am to you? Just a piece of meat?"

"No, that's not what I…" Amy stumbled over her words. "I just mean that…"

"What do you mean?" Manic narrowed his eyes.

"We're all ears," Sonic added.

"I just… I…"

"No, fuck this. If you can't just admit that you like me because of Sonic then fuck this, we're done," Manic announced. "And fuck this game, and fuck you, Mina. I'm out of here," Manic stormed off.

"Amy, you're fucking pathetic," Sonic grumbled. Without another word, Amy jumped up and bounded away from the table without another word.

"I think we better go too…" Blaze and Breezie rose silently.

"Nice one, Honey," Spike said sarcastically.

"I was just following Shadow's example," Honey shouldered the blame.

"No, I love it," Scourge smirked. "I love Shadow when he's drunk. It's the only time he's tolerable."

"Oh, I'm just tolerable, am I?"

"He's not wrong," Fiona added.

"Well, if you two hate me so much, maybe I should have another turn. Who's most likely to be dating Scourge?" Without waiting for people to point, he pointed at Rouge. "I saw you guys having sex!"

"Come on, Shadow, that's not even a secret," Honey rolled her eyes. "Everybody knows."

"What!?" Fiona bellowed, slamming her fist down onto the table.

"I guess not everybody knew," Storm laughed.

"You… you're dating Scourge?" Fiona gasped.

"Yes, yes I am."

"Rouge… seriously, him?" Sonic asked judgmentally.

"Don't pretend you care about me at all now, blue. You made it very clear how you felt about me," Rouge huffed.

"You're just as much a slut as everybody says you are," Fiona continued to berate Rouge. "Dating Scourge… that's pathetic."

"Nobody even wanted you here anyway, Fiona."

"Rouge, c'mon, we've had our fun, let's just go. This party's pretty lame, why don't we just go back to our hotel room?" Scourge offered seductively.

"Yes, good idea," Rouge grabbed his cheeks and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on his lips, gazing at Fiona mockingly through her peripherals.

"Fuck this game, I'm out too," Fiona huffed as she left, too.

"Shadow… you really are a piece of work when you're drunk," Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Thanks," Shadow grinned dopily as he felt bile race up his throat. "Oh no…" Without warning Shadow leant over to the side and spilled his guts all over the carpeted floor.

"Ew, gross. Some of it splash on me," Honey cried in anguish as she jumped out of her chair as fast as lightning and bolted for the bathroom.

"Honey, wait up," Storm chased after her.

"I don't feel so good," Shadow choked groggily as more of his insides gushed out of him.

"Karma's a bitch, ain't it," Spike smiled.

"Yeah, he deserves this, but I think we should help get him to bed," Sonic helped Shadow stand up.

"I guess we can't just leave him here," Spike shrugged. Together, the two helped steady Shadow with one of his arms draped around each other their shoulders. They stumbled awkwardly through the crowd and up the stairs, almost losing their footing multiple times, until finally they managed to get him into a hotel room.

"Now that he's taken care of, wanna go dance?" Spike offered.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Sonic nodded, giving one last sidelong glance at Shadow's unconscious figure before he switched off the light and closed the door quietly.

…

Espio felt dirty as he descended the concrete steps. He combed his fingers through his messy, disheveled hair and tucked his crinkled shirt back into his pants. He tried desperately to make himself look presentable again but no matter what he did to alleviate his appearance nothing changed the stink that plagued him. To anybody who passed him in this state, it was clear he was having intercourse mere moments ago.

"Out of the way, loser," Fiona shoved Espio out of the way as he quickly shuffled through the open door and into the raging party, hoping to get lost in the crowds of feverish dancers still going hard in hopes to use it as an excuse. His eyes never left Gold as guilt washed over him. He wanted to make sure she didn't see him. He couldn't risk talking with her tonight. Not after what he just did. He couldn't.

"Espio!" A voice called out. A hand tapped his shoulder. Espio stumbled forwards to escape the grip, scared that his fears were being answered, but he couldn't have guess whose body that hand was attached to. Espio found himself staring back at crystal baby-blue eyes that he never thought he'd look at so purely again.

"Tikal?" Espio blustered as his eyes unconsciously scanned her figure. She was beautiful. She wore seemingly plain clothes that made her figure pop. Waist high auburn pants the melded into a black laced top with two straps over her shoulders with slight midriff showing. Black high-heels adorned her feet with small ribbons trailing up her ankle.

"Can we talk?" She asked, almost pleadingly. Her tone was alien. He hadn't heard that much compassion, care and fearfulness in her voice since she had left him at the mid-year formal. Espio swallowed, nodding cautiously as he let her take his hand. It was strange, having her fingers interlocked with him like she used to. However, despite all the time and the change, their hands still fit together perfectly.

Tikal carefully lead Espio through the labyrinth of seniors until they managed to find their way to an unoccupied booth. They could hear the angered screams of Manic and Amy fighting in the booth adjacent to them but Espio was too occupied to pay attention to what they were saying. It seemed everybody was in that booth.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Espio asked casually although his heart was beating rapidly.

"I just…" Tikal's voice faded as her eyes fell downcast onto the table.

"Yeah?" Espio urged. Tikal exhaled before a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"It's funny really… how this all turned out."

"What do you mean?" Espio asked.

"You and me. Us… How did it get so toxic?" Tikal asked through nostalgic glasses, reminiscing happily like she had forgotten the past semester.

"You found out that I helped Amy trick Blaze about her pregnancy and then refused to ever speak to me after I accused you of spreading those nudes Silver leaked," Espio answered robotically.

"Oh… yeah… that's true…"

"Tikal, what's the real reason you wanted to talk? We mightn't have talked in a while, but I know you. I know there's something burning under your skin. A question you need answered."

"I never could hide anything from you, could I," Tikal let out a humorless laugh. "I just… I need to know. All those songs you've written and sing. I can see the pain swimming in your eyes when you sing them and I need to know what the inspiration for them are."

"I don't know," Espio shrugged. "The lyrics just sort of came to me."

"Espio, please, tell me the truth. On the surface, our love was strong, but I was wrong, in truth the truth was that there was nothing all along." Espio bit his bottom lip, unable to meet her glare. "I know I've tried to stay sane all these years apart. Despite the lies I can't feign my hollow heart."

"What's your point?" Espio acted dumb.

"Rainy days, My friend, Nicotine… are they all about me?"

"Tikal… seriously… don't do this. You dumped me. I was sad, but I moved on. I'm finally happy again. Please don't dredge up old wounds," Espio begged.

"It's true, isn't it?" Tikal asked almost hopefully. "Do you still love me?"

"Tikal, please, just don't."

"Tell me, Espio. Tell me you still love me."

"You're with Eclipse. This is inappropriate."

"But I… I might still have feelings for you. The words you wrote, the pain I can hear in your voice when you sing… it's beautiful."

"If that's true then why now?"

"What?"

"Why tell me this now. Why not back at Elias' first party when I was singing. Why not after Parent's day, or when I released new songs?"

"Because I wasn't thinking about that then," Tikal responded. "I loved Eclipse… I love Eclipse… but lately he's just… he's not like you, Espio. The things you said… the pain you felt, that I gave you."

"Tikal, I think you should leave."

"Espio, please, just tell me those songs are about me. Tell me you still have feelings."

"You want the truth?" Tikal nodded. "Alright. Yes, Rainy days was about you. I wrote that early this semester after I was left so alone and both Manic and Knuckles helped me finish it. But that's as far as it goes. My friend was about Bean, not you, and Nicotine was about somebody else. Somebody I know I shouldn't love, but I can't help it, hence the nicotine metaphor. And, if you were paying attention, I'm still standing was actually written about you. It was about how I moved on and how, as I put it, am not still set on you."

"You don't have to be a dick about it," Tikal looked away, ashamed, saddened and embarrassed.

"Now, please, get out of here before I go tell Eclipse about this."

"Fine, but don't come crawling back to me later."

"Really? That's how you want to end this conversation?"

"I…" Tikal sighed. "I'm sorry, Espio. I'm sorry for this, for before, for everything. You deserve better, anyway. I just want you to know, I'm sorry for giving you so much grief. Have a nice life." With that, Tikal stood and shuffled away without another word.

"Goodbye, Tikal."

…

"Don't you walk away from me," Fiona bellowed as she stomped after Scourge. Fire danced in her eyes and rage kindled in her belly. With clenched fists and narrowed eyebrows, she marched after Scourge.

"Out of the way, loser," Fiona shoved Espio out of the way as she pushed through the only door to the party.

"Fiona, seriously, fuck off, we're going to bed," Scourge warned, his hand holding Rouge's as he lead her up to the receptionist in the lobby.

"No, don't you run away from me. Explain yourself. How did this… this thing, happen?" Fiona asked, her hands tracing the two of them.

"None of your business," Scourge hissed back.

"Why do you care, anyway," Rouge finally spoke, sick of their new stalker. "Scourge and you broke up last term, so move on. Envy really doesn't suit you, honey."

"This isn't about me being jealous."

"Really," Rouge raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"This is about how Scourge had to ruin my relationship and my love life even though he was with you the whole time," Fiona growled.

"You what?" Rouge asked, surprised as she turned to her boyfriend.

"I have no idea what she's on about," Scourge folded his arms.

"Oh really, well let me show you," Fiona commanded, disappearing back into the party. Scourge and Rouge exchanged a confused glance, curious what Fiona was doing but Scourge's heart instantly lurched when she stormed back into the lobby with a certain somebody caught in her grasp.

"Fiona, seriously, let go of me," Void complained, struggling against the iron grip she had on his wrist. However, when he looked ahead, his eyes instantly widened.

"You," Void growled lowly.

"Me," Scourge sneered.

"You know him?"

"You could say that," Scourge shrugged.

"Fiona," a feminine voice growled as the door was once again slammed open. "Bring him back here right now. This is unacceptable behaviour," Lumina cursed as she chased after them.

"Her too?"

"Now she's knew to me," Scourge admitted.

"Lumina, just give me five fucking minutes with him. I'm not gonna fuck him," Fiona growled, annoyed at the interrupting.

"Now that's debatable. Last time I saw him, that's exactly what you two were doing."

"What? Void, explain yourself," Lumina growled.

"Don't trust anything this punk says. He's a fucking liar," Void ambled.

"Takes one to know one," Scourge threw around playground insults, enjoying the show. Rouge watched on in intrigue.

"You know this guy, Void?"

"He's the guy the called the cops on me and got me thrown in jail," Void explained.

"What, how dare he? You," Lumina jabbed his ribs. "You were the one that made it so hard to find him again. Do you just get off on ruin people's lives?"

"Yeah, kinda, but mainly Fiona's. Why, what's this guy to you?"

"He's my fiancé." Scourge couldn't hold it in. A loud, obnoxious laugh escaped his throat as he threw his head back. "What's so funny?"

"It's just… Fiona's trying to lecture me on ruining love when she's literally breaking up a marriage," Scourge choked through his humored gasps.

"They aren't married yet," Fiona grumbled.

"You do know those two fucked multiple times, right?" Scourge grinned, enjoying himself too much.

"Void and I have had a long discussion about this, yes, but we decided to work through it for our child," Lumina explained calmly.

"You have a child too?" Scourge gasps, more chuckles escaping his lips. "This just gets better and better. Fiona is literally a home wrecker."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Void asked angrily. "The first time we met, you broke Fiona's heart."

"True, but that fell right into your master plan, didn't it? You pretended to love her to get out of jail. Don't go lecturing me about who's more fucked up."

"At least I don't take pleasure in other's misery, you fucking bastard," Void countered.

"I'd be careful who I insult if I were you," Scourge warned.

"Why? What are you gonna do, tell on me?"

"I'm warning you. Don't make me make you regret it."

"Is the widdle baby gonna go cry to the teacher," Void pouted with his bottom lip, wiping his eyes of invisible tears in mockery.

"That's it," Scourge bellowed. "Wait right here." Scourge pushed through the teenagers and disappeared into the party.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," Fiona murmured.

"I'm not scared of him."

"You probably should be. As much as I hate him, he's not one to mess with without being prepared."

"What's the worse he can do?" Void asked. However, as if Chaos himself wanted revenge for Void's unfaithful actions, Scourge walked back into the lobby with the one-person Void had been avoiding like the plague. Jet the Hawk.

"Jet?" Rouge and Fiona asked, utterly confused.

"Ah, you recognize him, don't you?" Scourge smiled.

"How… how can that be. I thought I was just imagining it…" Void trailed off.

"Void, baby, do you know him?" Lumina asked, finally finding her voice again.

"No, he's never met Jet before. But he thinks he has, don't you, Void?"

"Scourge, what the fuck is going on. You said Gold wanted to see me," Jet complained.

"That was a lie you idiot," Scourge scoffed. "I just wanted you to meet my good friend here, Void."

"Why?"

"Void, Jet looks pretty familiar, doesn't he? He's nearly the spitting image of somebody you know quite well, isn't he?"

"Void, seriously, what the fuck is he on about?" Lumina asked, growing rather annoyed at the unnecessary theatrics. Void stood frozen, unable to talk or even move.

"Well, maybe this will clear things up. This here is Jet. Jet the Hawk." That name. That last name. Void had hoped it wasn't true, but deep down, as soon as he had seen Jet roaming the gardens of the school, he knew.

"What's my name got to do with anything?" Jet asked.

"Fiona," Scourge ignored the boy, turning instead to his ex-girlfriend, thoroughly pleased. "You've always wondered why Void was arrested in the first place, weren't you?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," Lumina interrupted.

"Well, I got curious and so I forced Tails to do some research and he discovered something rather interesting."

"Scourge, please don't," Void begged. "What did I ever do to you?"

"He found out why our good friend here was originally sent to jail."

"Wait… Tails knew, and he never told me? That son of a bitch," Fiona muttered under her breath.

"I don't understand what any of this family drama has to do with me. Why am I here?" Jet said annoyed.

"Simple. You see, Jet, would you like to know what Void was sent to jail for?" Scourge grinned evilly as his eyes locked with Void's.

"Please…"

"He was sentenced to jail for… Vehicular Manslaughter." Jet shot up straight, his eyes growing wide as a spark flew up his spine. It was like somebody had just stabbed him, and pain resonated all through his body as old wounds were torn open again.

"You… you…" Jet mumbled.

"Jet, I'm so, so sorry. I was drunk, I was angry, I was stressed. They just came out of nowhere, I didn't mean to hit them," Void apologized.

"It can't be," Fiona gasped.

"You… you murdered my parents!" Jet screamed at the top of his lungs, a pyre dancing in his iris'.

"Now Jet, please, just take it easy," Void took a tentative step backwards.

"You'll pay for that," Jet screeched with maniacal fury as he leapt forward and pounced on Void. Jet sunk his nails into Void's shirt as he collapsed in a heap on top of the frightened teenager. Jet yelled as he began delivering a barrage of punches one after the other into Void's unprotected face.

"Jet, stop," Lumina called frantically as she grabbed his arm when he reeled back to deliver another punch. "Guys, don't just stand there, help me," Lumina shouted desperately. Rouge snapped out of her shocked stupor and fell to help the injured boy, struggling to keep Jet at bay as he straddled the beaten, moaning teenager.

"Fiona, he's going to kill him. Help us, please," Lumina begged, tears in her eyes. Fiona hesitated for a moment before she delivered a mighty kick to Jet's face, knocking him out cold. Rouge and Lumina fell backwards and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, now, you really didn't have to do that to him," Scourge tutted.

"Just help me get him up to a room where he can't hurt anybody else," Fiona scowled as she struggled to haul the unconscious body. Scourge didn't move a muscle.

"Seriously, babe, help her," Rouge growled.

"Fine," Scourge grumbled as he knelt down and scooped Jet up.

"I'll go let Cosmo know what happened. Somebody should really be there to comfort him when he comes to," Rouge sighed as she recoiled into the party in search of his boyfriend. Meanwhile, as Jet was lugged away, Lumina fell onto Void's unconscious body, his face in her hands.

"I told you that you can't always run away from your problems," Lumina sighed as Void slowly fluttered his eyelids, groaning in pain as nice, black marks began to take form over his eyes.

…

His senses were shot, his thoughts muddled. His brain was drowning in the murky, boozy waters but still Tails managed to find bravery deep within him. He knew he had to do this, whether he was abused again or not, he couldn't keep living this way. Tails had been a coward for too long. He had let Sonic run his life for almost a year and it was time he took a stand. Maybe it was just the alcohol talking, but Tails was determined to finally stand up for himself.

Tails eyes scanned the room as he lounged by the bar. Finally, after what felt like hours, he finally saw Sonic through a crack into between dancers. Tails pushed past some seniors, apologizing through slurred words as he bumped into Storm and Honey. Eventually he stumbled into the small space where Sonic was jumping and dancing happily next to Spike.

"S-Sonic," Tails pushed the words out. "Can I… can we talk?" Sonic could barely hear him over the thumping of the beats blaring out of the speakers dotting the room.

"You sure about this, Sonic?" Spike asked wearily. Sonic wasn't sure what to do. The sight of Tails angered him, but when he saw the look in his eye, that same look that Sonic had fallen in love with multiple times before, he knew he couldn't refuse Tails. Sonic didn't want to admit it, he still wanted to hate Tails, but avoiding the kit was the hardest thing Sonic ever had to do.

"I'll just be a moment. Grab us a couple more drinks, would you, Spike?" Sonic asked politely, giving him a knowing nod as he slipped out of the venue with Tails in toe. The two made their way across the lobby and collapsed on the same couches that loitered the entrance.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Sonic asked dejectedly, the walls he had put up around him towering sky high to protect his vulnerabilities. If Sonic knew one thing for sure, it was that Tails was his biggest weakness and he wouldn't crumble to the fox again.

"I just wanted to… I wanted to apologize," Tails breathed.

"Apologize?"

"For what I said last week. About your dad and you and stuff," Tails looked down, his head swimming but the words as clear as day.

"That was pretty uncool," Sonic folded his arms protectively.

"I know. I just got angry and heated and… well I'm sorry. That's about it. I'll let you go have fun with Spike now." Sonic said nothing, widening the hole that was already unbearably empty in Tails' chest. He sighed, struggled to stand on his shaky feet and began walking back when he stopped.

Tails closed his eyes and clenched his fists. That wasn't how he wanted it to go. He wanted to apologize, yes, but he wanted to let Sonic know the truth. He wanted to stop letting everybody push him around. He knew if he truly wanted to move forward with his life, he had to face his past instead of running away from it.

"Tails, wait," Sonic called. Tails turned around, nearly tripping on his shoelaces in the process. Sonic stood, warmth in his cold heart. His lips curled slightly as he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry, too-"

"And another thing," Tails bellowed over the top of Sonic, his vision hazy and his ears almost deafened by the music as he stood on the other side of the lobby.

"Tails, wait, I just wanna say-"

"I'm still talking," Tails was finally filled with confidence to face Sonic and he didn't want to hear any more hurtful words. He knew this might be his one chance, while liquid courage still coursed through his veins.

"You're despicable, Sonic. I loved you, and you used me. Whether you realize you did or not, it's true. You forced us to hide our feelings last semester because you cared more about your reputation than me. Then you cheated on me with Shadow and made me feel horrible. You even turned to drugs when he liked me more than you because you couldn't cope. Well, at least you knew how I felt for once."

"Tails, just listen for two seconds. I-"

"I was happy, when it was us," Tails continued, blinded by pent up fury. "Then you dumped me because, as you said, you liked it better when we were best friends. That hurt, but eventually I moved on. So did you, with Amy. But then this term you come to me after she cheated on you with your own brother and tell me you always loved me and you want me back. It seems you only ever like me when it's convenient. Then I say it like it is and you say you'd rather me move away forever. Well no more, Sonic. I'm done letting you rule my life."

"Tails!" Sonic growled desperately, trying to explain himself.

"No, this is my turn to talk and yours to listen," Tails stomped his foot down. "I need this. I need to say this so I can finally move on. You used me, and you didn't see how much it hurt. But I love you Sonic, I always will. But this is it. I need this to be it. We can't be together, no matter how much I want it, because we're toxic together. I know this now. Now that everybody's abandoned me, I understand why we can't ever be together. And I can finally move forward, now that I've said it to you."

"Tails I… I agree."

"But I can't just be friends with you either. It's too hard. I need you in my life, but I know I can't have you in my life anymore."

"Good," Sonic said bitterly.

"What?"

"Good. I don't want you in my life anyway," Sonic attacked. He didn't know what came over him, but Tails, in his speech, had somehow managed to find a crack in the walls he built around him. He always had a way of finding the cracks. As his defenses crumbled around him, Sonic did what he always does when his vulnerable. He lashes out.

"Sonic, can't we just end on good terms?"

"There are no good terms between us, don't you get it?" Sonic grumbled. "Don't come to me and try to take the moral high ground. Don't play the victim card. Don't pretend I used you, because you used me too. You emotionally blackmailed me, you made it so I had to spend all my time with you and I couldn't have any other friends. Then when I pulled away you lashed out. It hurt me to see you like that, but you were suffocating me Tails," Sonic breathed deep. "You and I should have never gotten together. I know that, and you know that. And because of what happened, we can't be friends. I agree. But don't you dare try to paint me as the villain. We both fucked up."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Alright then."

"Why are you still here, then?" Sonic asked when neither one of them moved. "It's over. Our relationship and our friendship. So go away. Go to the academy, move away and let me live my own life with my own friends, and I'll let you live yours."

"Have a nice life, Sonic," Tails sighed he brushed past Sonic to get some fresh air. He hid behind one of the pillars, watching with misty eyes as Sonic shoved his hands deep in his pockets and footed it back into the party. Tails willed his tears away, but it was no use. He knew that would be the last conversation he would ever have with Sonic, and it killed him inside. But he knew this was what he had to do. It was the only way to move forward.

"Farewell… Sonic," Tails whispered to himself through tears, knowing he was truly all alone.

…

Espio sat still at the booth, his eyes never leaving the red velvet spot where Tikal once sat. He sighed, rubbing his temple between two fingers as his heart beat fast. He didn't think Tikal could ever make him feel that way again. He thought he had fully moved on, but somehow she still managed to acquire a strangle hold over his heart.

Espio knew sending her away was the right thing to do. He knew nothing good could come from Tikal, despite how much his body tried to betray him. He loved Gold. He loved her with all his heart, and nothing Tikal could say or do would change that.

As if he was being rewarded, the spot he continued to glare at was suddenly filled as somebody scooted into the booth, her face lit up and a smile plastered across it.

"Hey Espio," Gold smiled.

"Gold, what are you doing here? I thought we weren't allowed to be seen together in public," Espio warned, his head quickly scanning their surroundings. The last thing he wanted was for Sticks, who he had left asleep in his room, to stumble down stairs and catch him immediately talking to Gold again. That would be disastrous.

"Don't worry, Zonic is in the bathroom so we have a couple of minutes to talk before he comes looking for me," Gold assured, but her smile slowly faded as her face dulled. "But, there's something we need to talk about."

"Did something happen?" Espio asked, suddenly worried. His mind instantly fluttered to the worst possible outcome. Gold had seen him with Sticks. He clenched his eyes shut as he awaited her next, angry words as she berated him, but the response came in a calm whisper.

"This is getting too dangerous," Gold admitted.

"What do you mean?" Espio peeked open one eyelid, relaxing when he saw nothing but love and sorrow in her eyes.

"Us… I… I don't think we can continue seeing each other," Gold sighed.

"Wait, what? Why?"

"I… I'm scared, Espio. I'm scared about what would happen if they found out. I don't want you to get in trouble. And I… I don't want to be arrested."

"Gold… I promise, as long as I'm here I won't let that happen," Espio said determinedly. He wanted to assure her properly, to wrap his arms around her but he knew an action like that in such a public place would be suicide.

"Espio, please, I really like you, but I think we need to stop this. At least until you graduate. Graduation is less than two months away now, we can wait that long, can't we?" Gold was asking herself just as much as she was asking him.

"Gold, I don't know if I can. I can't see you every day and pretend there is nothing if I can't see you when the doors are closed," Espio admitted in a hushed whisper, just loud enough that she could hear over the music.

"But Espio-"

"Gold, I promise I'll protect you. I'll do everything in my power to make sure nobody finds out about us. As long as I'm around, I won't let anything bad happen. No matter what the cost."

"Espio…"

"I'll always protect you because… well… I love you, Gold," Espio finally admitted aloud.

"Espio… I… I love you too," Gold smiled. "And, alright, if you say so, but we need to be more careful from now on, especially around Zonic, alright?"

"Deal."

"So," a playful smirk crossed Gold's face. "Should I meet you in your room later tonight when everybody finally goes to bed?"

"No!" Espio answered immediately. "No, Gold, sorry, I didn't mean I don't want to, I do, I swear, but…" Espio bit his lip, trying to think of a lie but all he could think of is Stick's naked body sleeping beneath his satin sheets. "It's too risky, anybody could see you enter or leave my room."

"Yeah, I guess. I just, I miss you."

"I miss you too. Maybe we can sneak into the forest one-night next week before the moon becomes bright again?" Espio offered.

"Maybe if you're lucky," Gold winked before she glanced back over to the bathroom, noticing Zonic step out whilst buckling up his belt. "Shit, I've got to go, he's already suspicious enough of you as it is. I'll see you tomorrow," Gold said her hastily goodbyes before she rushed away.

"What am I going to do?" Espio whined as he let his head fall back onto the hard table.

…

Tikal burst through the main doors, her heart thumping and her breath short. She didn't have time to stop and gasp for breath as she sprinted through the lobby. She was a mess, in tatters. Her make-up was smudged, her mascara was ruined by streaked tears streaming down her face and her hair was a chaotic mess.

"Clove!" Tikal called out frantically as she saw the girl push through the doors to that party that still raged inside.

"Tikal? Oh my Chaos, what's wrong?" Clove asked with worry as Tikal sprinted up to her.

"Call triple zero," Tikal forced the words quickly out of her mouth, running a shaky hand through her hair. "We need an ambulance, now."

"Why? What happened?" Clove asked quickly, panic rising in her voice. "Did somebody get hurt?"

"I said now!" Tikal snapped furiously as fear overthrew her. She didn't know what else to do.

"Okay, okay, but what do I tell them?" Clove asked as she fumbled with her phone, thumbing the buttons frantically.

"Tell them to bring an ambulance. I don't know how much longer he can last."

"How long who can last?" Clove asked but Tikal didn't have time to answer as she pushed past her best friends and pounded through the small door.

"Hello, emergency services, how can we assist?" A feminine voice broke through the ringing.

"H-Hi," Clove began with a shaky voice. "We need an ambulance. Quartz Casino."

"It's on its way. What happened, ma'am?" came the response.

"I… I don't know, but I think it's serious."

Tikal could hardly breath. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had in her life and she had a lump in her throat that she couldn't get rid of no matter how hard she tried. Her eyes were wide and lifeless, filled with fear. A thousand thoughts were running through her mind, scolding her about what she should and shouldn't do but one thought was louder. One stood above the rest. Help him.

Tikal's eyes scanned the crowd, trying to find the one person she knew he would want to comfort him. Her glazed eyes skimmed over Espio talking to Gold, Manic and Knuckles chilling together, Scourge, Fiona, Lumina, Void and Jet arguing at the top of their lungs, Ray and Eclipse dancing together. Finally, she spotted him chatting with Spike.

"S-S-S…" Tikal blubbered, unable to choke any words through her spilling tears.

"Whoa, Tikal, calm down, what's wrong?" Sonic asked as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"

"I… I… I didn't know what to do. I-I went out to get s-some fresh air and I-I saw him," Tikal sobbed. "H-He seemed drunk and d-didn't look where he was g-g-going."

"Tikal, I don't understand. Please, take a breath." Tikal tried, inhaling deeply before letting out a long, slow exhale but it didn't alleviate her tears.

"Th-the car came out of n-n-nowhere. It was a b-b-bad hit. They didn't stop. Th-they just kept driving but he… he… he…" Sonic felt his heart lurch in his stomach as he began to understand what Tikal was talking about.

"Tikal…" he said slowly as blood drained from his face to leave a pale phantom behind. "Who's hit?"

"It… it was… T-T-Tails…" It was like Sonic was punched it the gut by a ferocious punch. All the wind was knocked out of him and his limbs felt numb. The loud noise drowned into a deafening silence as his eyes widened. Before Sonic knew what was happening, his legs were carrying him through the crowd of faces, knocking all in his path to the ground. He ignored their angered calls as he burst out the door and shot past Clove.

The twilight air was cool on his face, the clouds still thick and foreboding. He darted his head left and right frantically until he spotted a small crowd of people circling something in the middle of the road.

Sonic ran up to them, shoving them violently out of the way to see what it was. The sight was unbearable. Sonic dropped to his knees. He crawled over to the object that everybody was crowding around. It was a body. A mangled, bruised, broken body. It was Tails' body.

Blood stained his clothes and soaked his golden fur. Sonic crawled over to the body, gripping his shoulders. Fresh tears dropped from his eyes, mixing with the blood pooling around the boy. Sonic's jeans were streaked with Tails' blood, but Sonic didn't care.

"Tails… Tails, buddy," Sonic sniffed, lightly shaking the boy's shoulders. Tails' body felt limp, cold. Sonic cried out as he pulled Tails' body up to his chest and hugged it tightly. "Tails, please," Sonic whispered as he ran his hands through the boy's hair. "Please wake up. Please don't be gone. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said and I'm sorry for what I did. Just please… please wake up."

"S-S-Sonic?" A small, weak voice whispered. Sonic's face lit up as he pulled back. Tails eyelids fluttered slightly as they opened half-lidded. Tails coughed, blood soaked mucus spewing from his mouth. "Is… that… you?"

"Yes. Yes, buddy, it's me… I'm here," Sonic smiled. Tails opened his mouth to speak but instead of words, a low moan came out of his mouth, like the last air inside of him. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limp.

"Tails…" Sonic asked softly, shaking his shoulders again. "Tails, Tails please, wake up. You've just gotta wake up. You can't die on me. Tails… Tails!" Sonic bellowed, lifting his head skywards as he screamed at the invisible moon. As Sonic howled, the darkness descended upon the casino parking lot, broken only by the flashing red and blue lights that steadily grew brighter and brighter.

* * *

 _A/N: And it's finally here. The death. And the final contender is... Tails, ding ding ding. A lot of you had Tails as one of the top contenders since the fight with Sonic, I guess it did become a little obvious, but at the same time every single person assumed it was going to be death by suicide. That was never, ever my plan. The thing about life is sometimes death just happens, quick and without reason, like somebody on their phone in the car who just wasn't looking. And Tails was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It literally could have been anybody, but I was done with Tails' story and him finally standing up to Sonic felt like a nice way to finish his character. I'll talk more about it in the authors notes next chapter (You'll understand why soon) but, yes, Tails is dead. Or is he?! This might all be one big trick, like it was with Blaze and the fire. Am I that evil? Well, you all thought it was going to be suicide and although I'm many things, predicatble is not one of them, most of the time. So I try :P_

 _Moving on, more happened than just Tails. The big one being the drinking game. Although not really a secret, Scourge and Rouge's relationship is finally out in the open thanks to a drunken shadow. However, more important is said hedgehog also ousted Knuckles and Julie. Don't think those two have heard the last of this, but one more secret seemed to blow even the incest siblings out of the water. Mina's pregnancy and Manic and Amy's relationship. Manic hates Mina, Sonic hates Amy, everybody hates everybody else._

 _Tikal isn't happy with Eclipse at the moment, but going back to Espio was never going to work. Besides, Tikal, he has a little more important things on his mind in regards to Gold, Sticks, Zonic and Razor at the moment. But speaking of Tikal and Eclipse, it seems she took what Mighty said the wrong way and everybody thinks he's been crushing on Tikal for ages and that's why he never revealed the truth about why he broke up with Clove. And they are not happy._

 _And finally, yes, Void's secret is revealed. He did kill people, and it was murder, but it wasn't premeditated. It was an accident, right? Just a freak car accident (We're getting a lot of them recently). Why didn't Lumina know where he went, though? What happened between the family that lead to all this mayhem. It's coming, I promise :P But Jet is not happy, and it looks like Void is in a world of hurt. Jet wants him dead, Lumina is angry he slept with Fiona, Fiona is always angry with him and Scourge hates most people. But for a while, people complained Scourge never did anything as bad as Fiona. Are we there yet with him?_

 _Thanks for all the reviews, and happy two years to me :P I'd like to give a special thanks to those people who review every chapter without fail, and they are long reviews too. It really makes my day when I read them and you all have a place in my heart. You know who you are (Soniclover, Red Rain and TheGameNguyener). But for everybody else who reviews every now and then, a big thanks to you too, and those who just read. It's always fun to see how people react to events, and how characters can go from really hated, to like, to hated, to liked. I think Fiona is the only character that's stayed perpetually in the middle because everybody seems to love to hate her. As for the QotD, there isn't one, because this time I'm answering your questions from reviews and PM's! So, here we go..._

 _Questions!_

What inspired me to write this story?  
A whole host of things. I've always loved drama, it's one of my favourite genre's. The betrayal, the secrets, the sneakiness, the surprising twists! Love it! However, not so much in real life. Like everybody, my high school was filled with a lot of drama. I loved highschool (at least until half way through my senior year when everything turned to shit but I digress) but I wasn't a stranger to drama. I went to an all boy's school but one of my highschool girlfriends went to a co-ed school and I made friends with all of hers and became friends with heaps of people in our year at their school. That was where most of the drama stemed from (Also see the whole Mighty, Ray, Clove, Tikal debacle!) I always seemed to end up in the middle of not only my own, but somehow everybody elses drama, too. People came to me to help settle things and people wanted me to help solve their drama (No idea why I was the one people came to) and so I always seemed to be in the middle of everything whether it involved me or not. So I have a lot of experience and I thought, hey, let's write a drama. If you read the original, it started out small and then the drama and complex relationships grew more and more. Some of the plots and arcs and even characters are like myself, people I know or things I was directly or indirectly involved with. But others I just made up for drama or an interesting story. My plan was originally to subvert old tropes (For example, the love triangle. I subverted it by making all three people in the triangle the same gender, which means it didn't become which guy would the girl choose, but instead became who will end up with who?) I knew sonic highschool dramas were all the same, with Amy the lovely girl and Sally the bitch, and I wanted to make a realistic highschool setting with real world issues, relatable and complicated characters and an entertaining read. Hopefully I succeeded. So yeah, that's my inspiration :P

Why do you hate Amy so much?  
Okay, okay, I don't hate Amy. I hate the way she is portrayed in the fact that she's just an obsessed fan girl who can't live without Sonic, but I know she has hidden layers. I think Amy is an intriguing character, but she seems to have no character without Sonic or is depicted as a Mary Su. That's why I've given her so many flaws (Which are all pretty much cannonical anyway. Obsession, Anger, short temper etc.) but I don't hate her, at all. I hate Cream a lot more than her, actually.

Have I always been a Sontails supporter or just go with cannon relationships / how did I get into Sonic?  
I wanted to write about characters I liked, and I always loved playing Sonic as a kid, mainly for the characters rather than the actual games. There is such a rich treasure trove of characters to pull from Sonic I knew that there would be somebody that fit any character I wanted to write. As a kid, I woke up every morning early before school and ate cereal in front of new episodes of Sonic X as a kid and I always loved the dynamic of Sonic and Tails. Even though I didn't know much about love at the time, I always asumed that they must be in love and were more than just best friends. Even as a kid the way Sonic and Tails acted in shows and games it always just seemed to me that they were gay lovers, like Bert and Ernie were. For other cannon relationships, some I enjoy like Blaze and Silver or Spike and Sonar, Knuckles and Rouge, but others I think only seem to be paired because it's convinient. Tails and Cream for example. I hate that ship because it's so forced. Just because they are both young and innocent. They have no chemistry. I much prefer Tailsmo. (And yes, TGN, that was a copy and paste answer from WoF but same question gets the same answer :P)

Do I own any videogames/systems?  
Right now, no, I mainly play games on PC, and not that often. I don't really play many video games anymore, I did a lot more when i was a kid. Currently I'm playing AFL evolution, Yooka-Laylee (Since Banjo-Kazooie was my favourite game as a kid) and me and some mates ocasionally play a game of Civilisation V, but we are all very competitive when it comes to Civ since we've all been playing it for years. Seriously, if you haven't played it, buy it since it's amazing. I do have a 3DS and used to play it all the time but the only times I really bring it out to play is when there is a new fire emblem game or a pokemon game (Haven't played the ultra games yet) but I adored Shadows of Valentia. As a kid my first system was Nintendo 64, and I played hours of banjo kazooie, and from there I had a gamecube, PS2, PSP, Wii and every nintendo hand held system from the gameboy colour do the current new 3ds. (Again, same question gets the same answer.)

Which character is my favourite and least favourite?  
Do you mean in Emerald Lake or Sonic in general? If you mean Sonic in general, Tails is my favourite and Eggman is my least favourite (Unless it's the eggman from the SonicBoom cartoon!) If you mean in my story, it's hard because I try to stay neutral since I'm writing but I really like what I've done with Spike in terms of his development and arcs he's been involved in. As for least favourite, probably Wave since she's just kind of a drag to write for. I promise I'm about to give her more interesting story lines but right now she's more just involved in other peoples arcs, or is purging. I just need to get her, and others, to a certain point before I start my final BIG story for her (and yes, we will finally get to see why she suddenly disapeared and ran from Jet all those years ago).

Which character do I relate most to?  
Well, I've kind of already explained this, but it would be Mighty since he is more or less based off me. I've dramatized and emphasized some of his traits more, like I have a short temper but I don't get as physical as Mighty does, and I'm definitely not as strong as Mighty, but more how he treats friends so highly and his treatment of promises is a direct copy of me. Plus his storylines echo my life and things I went through for the most part, mainly regarding Clove and Ray, but if you want to know more about that read the A/N of chapter 20.

Batman or Superman?  
Strange question, but I love it. Honestly, superman would win let's not kid ourselves, but I'm a batman fan through and through. Superman is cornflakes and Batman is frootloops. Way more interesting. But Spiderman is my all time favourite hero. He was my hero growing up as a kid and Tom Holland is currently killing it as Spiderman, he's great!

What made me get into Fanfiction?  
I always loved writing. Worte my first 'book' in the first grade (And it's only like 4000 words and impossible to read haha) and since then I've just loved writing. I discovered fanfiction through a South Park story and it changed my perception of what FF is (Since I thought it was just for people to write pron for characters) but when I saw how well written, intriguing and interesting some stories can be I decided to write my own. And now here I am...

Which character do I prefer to write for?  
Already sort of answered it above in my favourite and least favourite. Long story short, Spike prefer and Wave for not prefer. Although I always love writing for Fiona because she's just a lot of fun. She has a hard backstory, she loves to stir the pot and I can make her just be a massive bitch without having to really think about why. I can't have Sonic do the things she does because his character and the one I've created for him just wouldn't do that, but Fiona, well there isn't anything she wouldn't do.

What is my favourite character arc at this point?  
I'd have to say Mighty's current arc with Ray and Clove, but mainly beacuse that same thing happened to me (Again read chapter 20 A/N for more on that). If you want a more interesting answer, though, I'd choose... hmmm, tough question. A couple that are coming up in the final part (Chapters 49-65) have me really excited, but I think Espio's relationship with Gold along with Zonic and Sticks is one of my favourites to write about currently. Also Silver and Scourge. Their whole thing. As for a character arc that's completed, I'd say Sonic and his relationship with Manic (And Sonia to a lesser extent), since it really helped them both grow and the culminating fight with their father. That was my favourite scene to write, just because it made Sonic's character that much deeper since we finally understand why he runs so much and why he has this desperate clinging for popularity. Also my father left me when I was a child and I recently discovered I have a half sister and two half brothers I never knew about. My have sister Jess and I are pretty cool and tight now, but still never met my other two half brothers. Anyway... Or I would have to say the giant arc that culminated in 'Fruition' Seeds were planted as early as chapter 2 with Rouge blaming Tails for Shadow's exit in the last story. It added the arson, Amy putting Fiona in prison, Amy tricking Mina to get to Sonic, Mina breaking apart Manic and Sonic and it ended with 2 break-ups and Fiona manipulating everybody. It took so many other arcs and threw them all together for a big confrontation and it was a blast to write.

Biggest inspirations?  
That's hard because I don't really have any inspirations, at least in terms of writing. I can't think of any authors who directly inspired me. I'd say J. because of how much she had to persevere to get her work published and how she maintained her never give up attitude, but I really dislike her as a person. So, honestly, I have no idea. Sorry.

 _And that's all of them. Hopefully I didn't miss any questions. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and get ready for either your favourite or least favourite chapter. The one where Tails is dead?!_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Spike reveals a shocking truth about Sonia_

 _A stranger comes to deliver Razor some bad news_

 _Void reveals what happened that fateful night_

 _Zonic's ex finds him again_

 _...and Tails' life flashes before his eyes before he..._

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 43: Sweet Dreams_


	43. Chapter 43: Sweet Dreams

Chapter 43

Sweet Dreams

 _It all happened so quickly. It's funny, really, how things can change so quickly. A distracted driver, a freak accident. Life is a precious thing, something that some people take for granted. However, it's so fragile. It needs to be cared for because it can be whisked away from you, or somebody you love, in an instant. Death is a cruel mistress, and the one thing that can't be bargained with. It can't be out run, and everybody will face it and it looks like today is finally my time to be visited by the skeleton in the ashen cloak. My name is Tails Prower, and this is how I died._

 _My brain was hazy and everything around me seemed foggy as I hid behind that wall, watching him return to the party. An absolute feeling of sadness washed over me, but I knew it was something I had to do. Sonic had just kept hurting me over and over and I was too much of a coward to do anything about it. I had finally put it in the past, but I couldn't go back into that party. Shadow seemed like he couldn't be bothered dealing with my shit, Mina was furious, Mighty was injured, Fiona wanted nothing to do with me and Blaze was trying to console people. I was truly alone._

 _I needed to clear my head and let the alcohol leave my system. Fresh air seemed like it was the perfect solution. I just needed to think, to fix myself so I could move forward. I didn't get far._

 _I was crossing the road, head down and hands in my pockets when they blared into life around the corner. Like the eyes of an angel peering through the dark to come and whisk me away from this place. The headlights of that car. I don't think they saw me, but they definitely felt me. If only my reaction time was better, but I was in no position. By the time I understood what was happening, I felt the most painful thump I'd ever felt. My entire body felt broken and bruised. Air brushed through my face as I soared over the car and collapsed with a nasty thud against the welcoming pavement. My head ached, my body was hot with searing pain. I tried to move, but I had no control of my limbs._

 _I noticed the car screech to a halt, like the driver was contemplating what to do before it roared off again. I let my eyes close, the pain unbearable as I drifted out. The next thing I remember was a horrified voice calling my name breaking through the darkness. I pushed through heavy eyelids as I saw Tikal's shocked face._

 _"_ _Tails, Tails please be okay," she cried through sobs. "I saw what happened, are you alright?" I tried to speak but I couldn't force out any words. I just lay there, blinking to show her I wasn't dead. "Don't worry, I'll get help!" Suddenly I was alone again, my only companion deafening silence and blackness as my eyes snapped shut again._

 _I lay there for what felt like an eternity, drifting in and out of consciousness until I felt strong arms grip my shoulders and shake me. Undecipherable words tried to reach me but I couldn't make them out. Finally, I heard the despair in a familiar voice as the words found me in the ocean of darkness. "Please wake up."_

 _"_ _S-S-Sonic?" I asked, my eyes fluttering open, half-lidded. I coughed, blood soaked mucus spewing from my mouth, but I didn't care. All I cared was that he was standing over me. "Is… that… you?"_

 _"_ _Yes. Yes, buddy, it's me… I'm here." I saw him smile. I opened my mouth to try to speak but I couldn't choke out any more words. Instead, all I could do was let out a low, long moan before everything became too much and I passed out._

The monkey burst through the sliding glass doors of the hospital, hastening up to the front desk. He was disheveled, his shirt untucked and crinkled, and sweat doused his forehead as he panted.

"Where is Tails Prower?" Ken asked the lady at the desk. She calmly typed something into the computer.

"He's being looked after by Dr. Geoffrey in the east wing, fourth floor." Before she could say anymore, Ken raced past her and bounded into the closing elevator. It didn't take long before he was sprinting down the corridor, dodging past people until a skunk in white scrubs approached him.

"Sir, please calm down," Geoffrey announced calmly. "What is the matter."

"Tails Prower, where is he?" Ken croaked.

"He's just down there, past the waiting room in the critical area, room four-one-seven." Ken muttered his thanks as he walked past, stopping in the spacious area where chairs lined the walls and made corridors through the center. A dozen kids littered the room, each looking up as Ken appeared. He scanned the faces, most asleep. Some of them were familiar. Cream frowned as her eyes met him and Blaze shook her head, bags under her eyes.

"Is he…" Ken asked but couldn't will himself to finish the sentence.

"No, he's stable and breathing, for now, but he still hasn't woken up," Cream sighed as she gave the caretaker who had been so nice to her his whole life a hug.

"Oh Ken," Mina cried as she rushed up to hug him. She hadn't seen him in many long years, since Tails and her graduated from primary school. "Geoffrey thinks he might be comatosed if he doesn't show signs of waking up soon."

"It's okay, Mina, everything will be okay," Ken hugged her back, his eyes meeting Sonic's. Although no words were exchanged, they were both thinking the same thing. They both were devoid of hope.

…

 _I couldn't do it anymore. I knew I shouldn't have run away and left her, left them, but I was still young. I was only eighteen. I couldn't be a dad and I couldn't provide for a family. We had been fighting a lot recently, and, like always, I was already a six pack deep that night when I finally snapped._

 _I grabbed my things, jumped in the car and drove away. I needed to get away quicker so I sped up, my brain a little hazy as I gripped the steering wheel tighter with white knuckles. I inhaled deeply as I surged onwards into the night. That's when it happened. It only took a second, but it was a second that ruined my life. My name is Void, and this is how I ended up in prison._

 _I sped around a corner, but I couldn't react quick enough to see them in the middle of the road. I tried to break, but all I saw was a flash of green before my car smashed into them. I jumped out of my car and raced over to their unconscious bodies. It was bad, blood pooled everywhere. I'll never forget the look on the man's face. A face that haunts me every time I look at Jet._

 _"_ _Why?" the man choked before dying in front of me. I was scared, and I didn't know what to do, so I leapt back into my car and sped off. They were already dead, there was nothing else I could do. What I didn't realize was that somebody saw the whole thing. They must have noted down my license plate number because it didn't take long before the cops caught up with me. The alcohol was still in my system and soon I found my new home in prison._

 _To this day I regret my actions, but the past is in the past. Luckily, I wasn't in jail for long before a beautiful fox caught my eye. When she told me she was Fiona Fox, daughter of the infamous Claire Fox, I knew this was my ticket out. I flirted with Fiona, but what I didn't count on was actually falling in love with her. It broke my heart when she was let out. She was the only bright thing in the dingy prison._

 _I knew I had to see her again, so I planned my escape and was a free man again. The first thing I did was hitch a ride to Mobius High, but when I got there all I found was a large, fenced off area with construction workers dotting the site._

 _"_ _Isn't this Mobius High?" I asked a man standing out the front, watching the construction._

 _"_ _Yes, it is," the man replied. He had long legs, a rotund belly and a big, busy moustache._

 _"_ _What happened to it?" I asked._

 _"_ _A terrible fire ravaged it, but I'm making sure it is built back up to its former glory."_

 _"_ _What happened to all the students?"_

 _"_ _They were all sent to the sister campus up north, by Emerald Lake."_

 _"_ _Thanks, sir," I nodded courteously. I was about to turn, but curiosity got the better of me. Fiona could wait another day for my return. "By the way, why do you seem to care so much about this place? Did your kid go here?"_

 _No, I actually used to be principal of this school. I need to watch over it and make sure it's restored properly. This place was my baby, after all."_

 _"_ _Your… your baby…" I stammered. I had almost forgotten about him, about Lumina. I missed them both so much. But I couldn't return to them. That's the first place the cops would like, I'm sure of it. I didn't want to involve Lumina in all my mess, but I didn't want her to suffer._

 _That night, I hit up a bank and stole a bunch of money, stashing it in a duffle bag. I had made plans for a friend to get it to her secretly, but he was away and wouldn't return for a few nights. I knew I couldn't survive alone for three days trying to save this money while being hunted by the police, so I went to the one place I knew I could hide. Emerald Lake._

 _I didn't plan to sleep with Fiona. I only wanted to hide out, just long enough until I could get the money to my fiancé. But as soon as I saw her, saw how happy she was, I remembered why I had fallen in love with her and things just sort of escalated. It was a mistake, one I would continue to pay for._

Void stood in the parking lot. It was deserted. The busses had taken everybody back from the hotel after the ambulance had whisked Tails off to the hospital. Those students who didn't follow him to the hospital had returned and all slept, nursing headaches and hangovers. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, but Void couldn't be more awake.

Void couldn't keep doing this. He already felt horrible for what he did. He ran away from his family, he tricked Fiona and cheated on his fiancé. He robbed a bank, murdered two people and ruined five lives in one single night. Every time he looked at Jet, he was wracked with unbearable guilt. Lumina barely talked to him, still angry about what he did with Fiona and Scourge had officially made his life worse.

"I'm sorry, Lumina," Void whispered aloud as he shouldered his backpack and took one last look at the campus. It was in his nature, he couldn't help it. Void breathed a pitiful sigh before turning and escaping in the wee hours of the morning, never looking back, for the second time.

…

 _It's funny, the old saying. They say when you are about to die your life flashes before your eyes. It's true, but it is slightly greyer than that. When I first got hit by that car, the entire seventeen years of my life flew by like a ravaging cyclone with no time to properly appreciate it. But now, lying in this hospital bed waiting for the inevitable, only certain events I end up revisiting. It's the same five events. I guess they are the five most important moments in my life, at least the five that I think are subconsciously. My five highlights. Well… the first of those five happened the longest time ago._

 _I was still in primary school, probably in the second grade, definitely no more than seven years old. I had made it all the way to state levels in the annual spelling bee. Dad had just gotten his new job as a professor at Mobius academy and so it was mainly mum and I around the house. She had come seen me win again and again, but this time dad had flown all the way down south to see this one._

 _"_ _Alright, Mr. Prower, your final word is ambidextrous," the adjudicator spoke clearly. I was nervous, sweat beaded on my brow. I fiddled with my hands nervously. Amadeus had come all the way down just to see me. I couldn't let him down._

 _"_ _Could you… um, use it in a s-sentence, please," I stammered._

 _"_ _I can write with both my left and right hands, which makes me ambidextrous."_

 _"_ _Ambidextrous. A-M-B-I-D-E-X-T… um, R-O-U-S?" I waited with baited breath, my heart refused to beat as the seconds ticked by before he rang the bell._

 _"_ _Correct," he beamed. "Congratulations Mr. Prower, you are our winner." I was ecstatic. Afterwards, mum went to get the car while dad and I waited out the front of the venue, the gold trophy snug next to us as we sat on the curb._

 _"_ _Congratulations today Miles," Amadeus said sternly._

 _"_ _Th-thanks, dad," I mumbled anxiously. Even though I'd won, it was still nervous. I was always nervous around my father, ever since I can remember. He just had this air about him._

 _"_ _I'm… I'm proud of you, son," he said, turning to me with a smile. I almost didn't believe it. He hadn't smiled at me in years, not since I was a baby and he certainly never told me he was proud. That's when he hugged me. One of the last hugs my father had ever given me…_

 _I never forgot that moment. It seemed like, for the first, and only, time in my life my dad truly loved me._

A sliver of light poured into the small, smelly hospital room through the slit in the drawn curtains. The beam fell cleanly over Tails' face, the silver light stinging his closed eyelid. He stirred, his eyelids twitching before they began to slowly flutter open.

"Tails…" a distant, unclear voice asked. Tails struggled through the darkness, walking blindly towards the voice which grew steadily louder. "Tails, are you finally awake, dude?" Tails managed to peer open his eyes. A shadowy image of somebody sitting beside his bed was the first he saw but as his eyes slowly began to adjust to the light, the person grew clearer.

"Mighty?" Tails asked.

"Hey bro, how you feeling?" Mighty asked, care flooding each syllable. "You were pretty banged up back there."

"I feel like I got hit by a car," Tails laughed, but even the simple motion proved incredibly painful like somebody was prodding his lungs with a searing iron.

"You kinda were," Mighty smiled. Suddenly, memories rushed back into Tails like a stampede and the foggy echoes of the previous night became clear.

"Oh… right. Why are you here?"

"Why, not happy to see me?" Mighty pouted playfully. "It's not just me, don't worry. A bunch of us are here, out in the waiting room. At first it was just Sonic who sat by your bed but Blaze and I forced him to let us take it in turns so he could get some sleep. We didn't want you to be alone when you finally came to. I guess I got lucky," Mighty rubbed the back of his neck with a grin.

"Thanks, Mighty," Tails replied as he tried to sit up. A jolt of indescribable pain shot up his spine and he cried out in pain, falling back onto the bed.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy," Mighty soothed as he helped Tails get more comfortable. "You're still in a bad state, try not to move much. I think almost every bone in your body is broken."

"At least I'm still alive."

"We… we weren't so sure a couple hours ago," Mighty admitted. Before who could control himself, he felt the water works begin and he hid his face. "I'm s-sorry," he blubbered. "I just… I was scared. You were my roommate. You were a good friend, and you were there for me when many people weren't, especially over the break. I just… if you died I…" Mighty gave into the tears and leant over to give Tails a delicate hug, burying his face in the white sheets.

"C'mon Mighty," Tails smiled sadly, managing to lift his arm up enough to let it fall onto Mighty's back. "No tears or sadness, I don't want our last conversation to be like this."

"I don't want this to be our last conversation," Mighty moaned. Mighty finally gathered enough composure to sit up. He watched Tails with unflinching eyes. The state he was in, the news the doctor had given him. Mighty wasn't sure Tails would be able to make it much longer without a miracle and Tails knew this too.

"Ah, Mr. Prower, you're awake," Geoffrey announced happily as he strode into the room, clipboard in hand. "I wasn't sure when you'd wake up, if at all."

"Wow, thanks for the hopeful words, doc," Tails quipped cheekily before a fit of coughs overtook him and he seized up in pain again.

"At least your spirit isn't broken," Geoffrey smiled.

"He's a tough one to crack," Mighty added.

"I'm sorry, but I'll need to do some preliminary tests now that Tails is awake. I'll have to ask you to wait out in the waiting room."

"That's alright, I'll tell the others the good news. I'll send somebody in soon once the doctor's finished," Mighty waved through a happy mask, his cheerful façade never faltering in the doctor's presence as he slipped out of the room. He only let his features fall when he was alone again in the corridor.

…

It had been a tough night, and an even tougher morning. As soon as the ambulance had came and collected Tails' battered body, Zonic and Gold had the seemingly impossible task of rounding up all the drunken teenagers in the wee hours of the morning and shove them onto the busses. Gold had travelled with them back to the campus but Zonic remained behind. They didn't have all the students. Those that had already retired to their hotel rooms couldn't be left behind so Zonic volunteered to stay.

Zonic struggled to sleep that night, the guilt of his negligence weighing on his conscience. As soon as the sun began to rise in the sky, Zonic found himself pacing back and forth in the hotel lobby, hands clasped together behind his back as a million _what if's_ rummaged around in his brain, stuck in an endless, destructive cycle. It seemed nothing could curb his plagued brain. Almost nothing.

"Zonic?" a perplexed voice sounded from the elevator as it's silver doors slid open. "No way, Zonic, it is you." Zonic froze, his body shooting up stiff and rigid as he dared to crane his neck around to get a good look. It was unmistakable, like a cruel twist of fate.

"Zally…" the name rolled off his tongue with regret.

"It's been too long, where have you been?" Zally asked in the way an old acquaintance would. Zonic was confused. He thought she hated him.

"I've been working at- ouch!" Zonic cupped his red cheek as Zally delivered a nasty slap, her ring cutting deep into his cheek.

"How dare you do that to me," Zally growled.

"Zally I-"

"I was so devastated, so embarrassed," she interrupted. "Can't you imagine how it felt. Daddy was right about you… but I never gave up searching. Zector finally told me where I'd be able to find you, but I didn't expect to see you here."

"You… you kept the ring," Zonic whispered, his hand dropping from his cheek to stare at the thing wrapped around her finger.

"I couldn't bring myself to take it off, even after all this time… even after what you did."

"Zally… I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're sorry, are you? Is that supposed to make everything okay?" Zally scoffed. Zonic looked at his shoes. "You left me at the altar, Zonic."

"I know, I know, and I'll never forgive myself for that but-"

"But what? What kind of excuse could you possibly have? If you didn't want to marry me you could have just said so and we would have cancelled the wedding, but running away at the altar. Who does that?"

"No, Zally, I did want to marry you, I really did."

"So, what happened? And don't say something dumb like you were kidnapped, I want the truth," Zally shot him a stern glance. She meant business.

"Your father…" Zonic sighed. "He never liked me. He came up to me before the wedding and told me how I wasn't worth your love and he didn't want me in the family. He said if I really loved you, I would leave… so I did."

"That's bullshit, and you know it. Don't blame daddy!"

"It's not the fact that he disapproved, I always knew he didn't accept us. He offered me ten thousand dollars to dump you after our one-year anniversary," Zonic explained.

"What? I'm gonna give him a piece of my… Nevermind that, daddy always was reckless with his riches," Zally shook her head. "But if you didn't take the money then, why did you run now?"

"Because… after he told me that, I felt… released," Zonic sighed. "It was an out, and when I realized that I considered taking his offer to leave, it made me see that I wasn't ready for marriage. Your father said he'd make sure everything was fine and so I ran and never looked back. That's when I found work out here, and I made Zector promise he wouldn't tell you where I was, but I'm sure your dad paid him to keep quiet anyway."

Without a word, Zally delivered a second slap across his face, this time cutting deep enough to draw blood. She took off her ring, the same engagement ring he gave her and threw it at him.

"All this time I thought if I found you… you might want to come back," fresh tears appeared in her eyes. "You're nothing but a coward," Zally spat before storming out of the casino. Zonic looked down, his eyes stuck on the glittering ring. He bent over and scooped up the ring, holding it in his open palm.

"I'm sorry…"

…

His friends had all piled into the cramped hospital room, each taking turns to hug him and sing sweet niceties about how happy they are that he was alright. However, Geoffrey had finally strode in and said that Tails was limited to one visitor at a time after all the fuss and racket the students were stirring up.

Tails looked over to the squid lying in the bed next to him, her face pale and one of her legs missing. He felt sorry for her, but even worse that she had to deal with all his friends talking loudly in their shared room. He understood why Geoffrey wanted to clear them out.

Sonic was the first one to stay behind after everybody else vacated the room, but after exchanging a few words he decided he'd let somebody else talk with Tails for a bit. Tails expected him to send in somebody like Blaze or Cream, but he never would have expected the next face to slide through the room to be Fiona's.

"Fiona?" Tails questioned. "Sonic sent you?"

"Of course he didn't," Fiona sneered. "He tried to stop me but I used my charm and Geoffrey insisted Sonic let me through."

"You threatened them, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah," Fiona admitted with a laugh. Tails couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Even in a hospital, Fiona couldn't help but pick a fight with somebody.

"So, why are you here? Last time we talked you hated me."

"Yeah, and don't get me wrong, I still do."

"…But?"

"But…" Fiona sighed. "You were still there when I needed you… the first time, so I guess I thought I wanted to make sure you were okay, or whatever," Fiona shrugged.

"Fiona, do you actually have a heart somewhere under all that black leather?" Tails teased.

"Actually, it's because you got hit by a car, I came to see the damage. I love a good bit of carnage."

"And you ruined it," Tails rolled his eyes, but smiled just the same. Despite their toxic relationship, neither one could deny that there was at least a slight bit of mutual respect between the two.

"Well," Fiona stretched after a few moments of tranquil silence. "You're not as damaged as I'd hoped so there's really no point for me to stick around any longer. Have a painful stay."

"Fiona, wait," Tails called as she waltzed to the door. She paused, head craned back to look at him. "Thanks for coming."

"Don't die, there's still more torment I need to give you," Fiona smirked weakly before slipping out of the room.

"Are you happy?" Sonic snarled as she entered the waiting room. All eyes flocked to meet her. "What did you say? You laughed at him for being hurt?"

"What Tails and I say and do in private is none of your business," Fiona winked as she took a seat. Sonic growled, grinding his teeth before retreating to his seat.

"So, where's Scourge?" Fiona asked the bat sitting next to her.

"Do you need to sit right next to me," Rouge said bitterly, her arms folded across her chest.

"I can move, as long as you tell me where he is?"

"He's not here. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Why isn't he here?" Fiona feigned shock. "Doesn't he care about Tails, especially since Tails helped him ruin Void's life."

"Look, I don't care about how much you hate me, or him, or how bitter you want to be but this is not the right time for that shit," Rouge scolded her. "We're all here for Tails. Look over there," Rouge gestured to Jet and Cosmo sitting opposite Cream and Wave, both parties sitting happily. "They managed to put their drama aside for Tails' sake so why can't you?"

"I just wanted to know where he was," Fiona said innocently. "You don't have to get so aggressive. I'll see you around, slut," Fiona said as she found another seat far away from everybody else.

"Well, I guess it's my turn," Tikal stood and made the journey down the corridor to Tails' room. As the door creaked open, Tikal peered her head in and Tails visibly lit up.

"Tikal, what a pleasant surprise," Tails coughed happily, clutching his chest as pain shot through him.

"Oh, Tails," Tikal whimpered from the door, taking shallow breaths. "I… I…" Tikal couldn't say anymore before she dashed over to his bed and flung her hands over him, her face doused in hot tears.

"Tikal, you're… hurting… me…" Tails forced through Tikal's tight squeeze.

"S-Sorry," Tikal blubbered as she sat back up. "I just… I can't bear to see you this way."

"Tikal, I'm fine, I swear."

"I just… when I saw you on the pavement… one of the first friends I made at this school after Cream introduced us… I-" Tikal couldn't finish as sobs masked her words.

"You have nothing to be sad about," Tails soothed with a struggle. "If it wasn't for you, I'd probably have died on that road. But you found me. You saved me. I owe you everything, Tikal."

"T-Tails…" Tikal stared at him through glistening eyes. "I… I hope you get better," she sniffed as she threw her arms over him again.

…

 _"_ _Son of a bitch," I cursed under my breath as I threw the glass I had fetched for her against the ground. It smashed, shards shattering everywhere as red splotches of wine stained my pants. I didn't care. All I could feel was the envious jealousy that began to fill up the hole where my heart used to be._

 _I sagged my shoulders and stomped through the stadium, my path clear. The bar. I wanted to rid myself of this pain I had felt by being rejected by the one person I loved while she ran off to fuck another guy. I ordered a shot, then another and another. Finally, as haze enveloped my senses I finally felt a little better. That's when you tapped me on the shoulder._

 _I wasn't sure what you were doing there. I didn't really know you, but you just started flirting with me. I don't really remember what you said or how it happened but the next thing I remember in my drunken stupor was you feverishly undressing me as I was doing the same to you. I don't think I used a condom that night…_

"Spike… what are you trying to say?" Sonia asked after Spike finished explaining what he remembered the night of Elias' first party in the hospital hallway while all their friends waited in the waiting room.

"I… I think, well, I know we slept together that night. I'm saying I think, maybe, that I might be the father," Spike admitted, holding his head in shame.

"How… how dare you," Sonia growled. "Don't come to me now and tell me this. This is the last thing I need to hear."

"But it's the truth."

"Why? Why now? Why after all this time. If you really thought you were the father, why didn't you say anything sooner?" Sonia asked, saddened as she held her bulging belly. She was now well into her second trimester and showed very noticeable signs of pregnancy.

"Because I was scared," Spike admitted, peeking up to peer into her skeptical eyes. "At first the whole night was a blur, but as time went on my memory began to come back to me and that's what I remember. At first I thought of confronting you about it, but I didn't want word to get out that we had sex because I was still hung up on Breezie. Besides I thought nothing of it. It was just a drunken hookup, after all."

"Gee, thanks," Sonia rolled her eyes.

"No, that's not what I mean. I… ugh," Spike fumbled for the right words to say. "I just mean that I didn't think it meant much since you never came to talk to me about it either so I thought you didn't care about it."

"I didn't remember that night at all!" Sonia raised her voice.

"I know that… now, but I didn't back then. Besides, you were Sonic's sister and I knew he'd lose his shit if he found out. But then I found out that you were pregnant…"

"And you decided to just let me suffer?"

"Sonia, no… I tore myself up over it once word got out. I was going to tell you, I swear, but I wanted to talk to Breezie first. I needed to show her how I felt first. Then suddenly I heard rumours that Mephiles was the father. At first, I was confused, but it would make sense. You probably had sex with him, and then had sex with me. But then I got to thinking… what if you and him never actually had sex?"

"Spike, that's crazy talk."

"Is it? Think about it. Neither of you remember that night at all. You can only go by what Fiona said, and she's prone to lying. Whereas I at least remember it happening. Maybe that's why Mephiles ran… because he knew he couldn't be the father."

"So why are you telling me this now?" Sonia asked again, tears brimming in her eyes. She had had about enough baby drama, and dredging old wounds hurt.

"I was going to say something after the wedding but you told me you didn't want to talk about it so I decided maybe I could at least be there for you in another way. And then when we grew closer, I started to fall in love with you. I thought maybe you'd hate me if I told you what happened that night and so I decided I'd ask you out first and be there for you through the pregnancy and then if he looked like me, I'd tell you the truth and if he didn't I'd hold my tongue."

"So… so why are you saying something now?" Sonia asked, unable to believe his tale, thinking it too good to be true.

"Because when Tails got hit, it showed me how precious life it. Look, Sonia, Mephiles could be the father, or I could be, but that doesn't matter to me. I like you, and if there is a chance it isn't mine, I'm willing to take that because I'd still treat it as if it were my own… if you'd let me. I love you, Sonia the Hedgehog, and I'm sorry it took me this long to come and say something."

"What do you want me to say?"

"I'm not asking you to marry me or anything, I don't think that would be good for either of us," Spike chuckled and smiled when a small laugh escaped Sonia's tear stained lips. "All I'm asking is for you to give me a chance. Go out with me, and I'll help support you through this hard time in your life."

"Spike… I don't know what to say?"

"Say yes," Spike smiled.

"I… I…" Sonia mumbled before leaning in and crashing her lips against his. Spike couldn't help but embrace the euphoria that enveloped him as her lips touched his. Apart from his drunken adventures, it was his first real, sober kiss. He had spent so long following Breezie around like a lost puppy he never had eyes for any other girl. Not until Sonia was thrust into his life. His grinned giddily as he kissed back sloppily.

"Okay, I'll give it a try," Sonia smiled, her eyes finally dry.

…

 _The second moment that flashed through my mind was a strange one, but the more I thought about it lying in this hospital bed, the more I began to realize why it was one of the five most important moments in my life._

 _I was in primary school, I think it would have been the fourth grade. Mina had invited me over to her house that afternoon so mother dropped me off at her house and I rang the doorbell. Mr. Mongoose answered the door and let me inside._

 _"_ _You here for Mina?" the man asked me in his gruff voice. He always scared me. He was a cadet blue otter that bared a strange resemblance to a pirate. He always wore a white shirt under a black and yellow sleeveless jacket. I rarely ever saw him without his big, black boots or his golden black gloves. I think what made me think of pirates when I saw him was the eyepatch he had slung over his right eye. Mina never told me what happened to him, but I just think he warned her never to tell anybody. I'm glad Mina now lives with her mother and her other father. I like Arthur better. Besides, I don't think Shellbreaker liked me at all. Mina told me he called me a faggot and that he didn't want her hanging around me but I think my mother won him over. She always had a way with people and carried herself with a certain aura around her. I always thought she would have made for a beautiful movie star back then. If only I knew…_

 _Anyway, I walked upstairs and was about to open the door to Mina's room when I heard the most beautiful and melodic voice I had ever heard chime out of the crack beneath her door. I stopped, frozen as I let the notes wash through me, reverberating my entire being. I wrenched open the door and burst in with a huge grin on my face._

 _"_ _Mina, was that you singing?" I blundered loudly._

 _"_ _T-Tails, what are you doing here?" Mina shrieked, hiding herself as if she were naked._

 _"_ _You invited me over, remember," I tilted my head._

 _"_ _Oh… right," she let herself relax slightly. "How long were you standing outside my door?"_

 _"_ _Long enough," I smirked. "You're amazing, though. You should really be a singer or something because that was seriously great."_

 _"_ _You really think?"_

 _We went on and on that night, planning out Mina's entire future together. It seemed like an insignificant moment back then, but I only realized how much of an impact I had on her earlier this semester when she came to me on one of our first days back from the break. We were just hanging out together when she suddenly brought up that moment._

 _"_ _Of course I remember that moment," I replied. "But why do you bring it up."_

 _"_ _You know, when I get sad I think back to that moment and I kept replaying it over and over in my head these holidays," Mina explained. "That moment changed my life, Tails. It helped me find a goal in life to aspire to. I know to you it might seem insignificant, but after all she shit dad put me through, it was the first real, genuine show of affection I had ever received. You inspired me, Tails, and without you my life would have been a whole lot different."_

 _It was a small moment to me, but my simple enthusiasm for my best friend had altered her life. When looking back, I always think back to that moment. The moment that helped shape Mina as a person. It really puts things into perspective when somebody tells you how much you influenced their life._

"Please don't die," Mina bawled, her face, like many others that day, buried into my stained white sheets.

"Mina, it's going to be okay. I won't die, the doctor's just say I'm going to be in the hospital for a little bit," Tails soothed, although he was unsure of that fact himself.

"Tails, you have to get better," Mina sniffed. She lifted her head to look at him, trying her best attempt at a smile. "Remember what you said when we were little?" Tails tilted his head in confusion. "You said when we grow up we would get married, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Tails let out a small chuckled before his broken ribs sent a jolt of unbearable pain through his body. "We were going to have kids together and live happily ever after. I'd be an engineer slash scientist and you'd be a famous singer."

"That's still going to happen, right?" Mina asked innocently. "That can't happen if you stay here, so you better get better."

"Of course, it's going to still happen," Tails replied, both of them knowing full well it was just a happy dream of two young children but neither one wanted to ruin the moment. "Just wait until I get out of here, then you can be Mrs. Prower."

"I think you'll be Mr. Mongoose," Mina smiled through glistening tears, letting another small chuckle escape her lips.

…

The car rolled down the spotless street stuck right in the hard of Central City's most expensive and prestigious suburb. As it approached the large, profligate home, the car took a sharp left off the curb and came to a halt outside the tall, black pointed gate. Aleena removed her sunglasses and pressed a button on the intercom.

"Who is it?" The annoyed scowl of the most respected lawyer in all of Mobius, Clare fox, crackled to life.

"It's Aleena," Aleena replied clearly.

"Ah, Aleena, darling, it's been far too long," the exaggerated tone that laced Claire's voice felt forced as a loud hum emanated from the speaker and the gate slid open. Aleena sighed, the many warnings of Bernadette flashing through her mind as she drove up through the snaking driveway that trailed through a lavish front garden until she pulled up outside of the front door.

Aleena tripped up the front steps and before she could knock, the door swung open and Claire stood at the doorstep. Her hair was pulled back into a neat pony tail and a long, scarlet laced dress clung to her figure. Two diamond earrings dangled from her ear lobes and four of her ten fingers were wrapped in an assortment of golden rings.

"Sorry I'm so informal, I wasn't expecting any visitors today," Claire apologized.

"This is your informal clothes?" Aleena mumbled silently in astonishment as Claire invited her into her home. Claire lead Aleena through the foyer with refinement as she marched with purpose into her study.

"So, are you here about the papers?" Claire asked as she took a seat behind her desk, wrenching open a metal filing cabinet. Everything inside was neat and arranged immaculately. It took no more than a few seconds for Claire to locate Aleena's file and drop it onto her desk, flicking through to examine the contents.

"Yes, Mrs. Fox," Aleena nodded.

"Aleena, please, you might be a client but with our children being such good friends, I think we've made it to a first name basis," Claire flashed a fake smile.

"Good being the operative word," Aleena muttered under her breath.

"Besides, now you've seen me in such informal attire. I'd never let anybody see me this exposed. Not a suit in sight," Claire laughed. Aleena bit her tongue, not wanting to upset the cunning lawyer.

"So, the papers, Claire?"

"Ah, of course. I drafted them up fully last week. All you need is his signature and the divorce is final."

"And what of the kids?"

"It's all in there. He won't be able to claim custody of the kids if he signs this. It doesn't strip him of his rights as a father, but he won't be able to see the kids again unless they wish it," Claire explained.

"I don't think he'd agree to that," Aleena fretted.

"Then just get him to sign it without reading the fine print, sweetheart. That's law one-oh-one."

"Alright, thank you for this."

"Now, about payment… I've added some extra clauses and had to find loopholes through some laws to create that document and it wasn't easy."

"I'm sorry, Claire, but I don't have a lot of money at the moment. Jules was my main provider but I can't use his money, it would just be wrong," Aleena sighed.

"Heavens no, Aleena, you're a friend. If money is tight I'm sure we could come to some… other… agreement," Claire grinned maliciously, tapping her fingers together.

"Like what?" Aleena asked skeptically.

"My daughter, Fionnula, has recently come back into my life but I wish to keep a closer eye on her until she comes back to live with me. Since you have two children who go to school with her, plus Bernadette's son, I was just hoping you could get them to keep tabs on her and report their findings back to me."

"Claire, I'm sorry but I can't do that. I can't force my kids to spy on somebody for you. I don't want them involved."

"Alright, alright, fair enough," Claire smiled carefully. "How about we call the work I've done for you a favor for a friend and end it at that."

"What's the catch?"

"What? A catch? I am offended," Claire faked offense, much like her daughter. "It's just that friends do favors for each other. I do this for you, and sometime in the future you'll do one for me?" Aleena bit her bottom lip, unsure whether to accept her offer. She didn't like owing favors, especially not to somebody as manipulative and slippery as the infamous Claire Fox, but she needed this nightmare with Jules to be over. She couldn't risk the possibility that he beats her to the punch and takes custody of her children away from her.

"Alright, you've got a deal," Aleena nodded, extending her hand.

"Excellent," Claire grinned as they shook over the divorce papers.

…

Amy sat in the waiting room attacking her thumbs with her fingers to alleviate her nerves. She couldn't help but notice the snide looks Manic threw her way, the judgmental glares Sonic occasionally shot or the general disapproving sidelong glances she noticed. He sighed, her eyes studying the floor as she picked at the skin on her hands haphazardly.

After what felt like an agonizingly long time as one by one her friends got up and took it in turns going in to talk and comfort Tails, Knuckles rose opposite her with a grunt.

"Come with me," Knuckles instructed.

"But I-"

"Just do it," Knuckles interrupted her. "We need to talk." Amy obliged obediently as she was lead down the hallway, dodging past Sonia and Spike deep in conversation, and was pushed into an empty room.

"What's this all about?" Amy asked skeptically.

"How did you let things get this messed up, Amy?" Knuckles sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"With you, and the group, and Sonic… When this semester started everybody hated you, but I stuck by you. I gave you a chance and you proved yourself to me, but then this happened," he shook his head. "You cheated on Sonic with his own brother after tricking Mina into driving a wedge between the two of them."

"Okay, okay, I didn't think Mina would take things that far. And when I had sex with Manic I didn't mean to. We didn't plan it, it just sort of happened. And Sonia had basically told me he wanted nothing to do with me anymore so of course I would take that as getting dumped," Amy defended herself.

"But you kept seeing him after…"

"Because I liked feeling good, and apparently he did too. I'm not the villain here. Manic is just as much to blame. I didn't force him into anything, so why don't you grill your best friend and not somebody you hate," Amy hissed.

"Amy… I don't hate you," Knuckles exhaled. "I just… I need to know the truth."

"I've got nothing to hide. Ask away."

"Were you only fucking Manic because he is Sonic's brother and since you couldn't have Sonic you decided to try the next best thing?"

"What, no!" Amy retaliated disgustingly. "I wouldn't do that to Manic."

"But that's the kind of thing you would do."

"Maybe, to other people, but not to Manic."

"Why not?" Knuckles probed further.

"Because I couldn't do that to Manic."

"Why?" Knuckles echoed.

"Because I love him!" Amy's eyes bulged wide, her mouth falling agape as the realization finally dawned on her. Knuckles smiled knowingly, nodding approval as she began to understand why she had been feeling this way. "I… I love him."

"It's about time you figured that out," Knuckles smirked.

"You… you knew?"

"Well, Manic told me about your little secret and I promised not to tell anybody. I asked if it was serious and he said it wasn't, but I've been secretly studying you two ever since."

"And?"

"And I would have said you should ask him out, if you didn't fuck it up last night," Knuckles frowned.

"What? How?"

"I heard about what happened. How you tried to disregard what you two had to placate Sonic. It was just angry sex, and nothing more, I think you said."

"Shit, I really screwed up," Amy moaned. "I should go tell him now, tell him how I really feel."

"Amy, wait," Knuckles called. "We are all here for Tails. He is in critical condition. Maybe hold off on any more possible drama until after we get back to school?"

"Right, good point. Thanks, Knuckles, it seems even in my darkest hours you're always the one that's there to stop me from falling too far."

"And I always will be," Knuckles smiled.

…

 _Number three was a memory that I like the think back on when I'm feeling home sick. Don't get me wrong, I loved living with Ken, but a boy needs his mother. Her and I were inseparable when I was a kid and I told her everything. We watched shows together, she helped make all my Halloween costumes._ _She told me about how she had run off in her youth to become an actress and dad followed her, but only stared in small movies and commercials. She had dropped that dream shortly after I was born.  
_

 _Then, one night when I was about eight years old, Amadeus came back to Central City for some unknown reason and took mother and I out to dinner._

 _The restaurant was fabulous, extravagant. The best in the entire city. Normally it was a six month wait but father pulled some strings and got up a booth near the back. The food was exquisite, the desert mouthwatering and it was the first time in a long time I saw both my parents together in the same place looking so happy._

 _"_ _So, sweetie, we have an announcement," Rosemary smiled when the waiter brought me my chocolate cake for dessert._

 _"_ _It's very exciting news," Amadeus smiled, a rare occurrence for the usually stoic man._

 _"_ _You guys are having another baby?" I gasped, my brain instantly plucking the thought out of millions. I had always wanted a sibling._

 _"_ _No, darling, but it's still going to change our lives for the better."_

 _"_ _I got that part," Rosemary squealed with delight. I froze, my eyes lighting up with glee as I stared in disbelief._

 _"_ _You mean…"_

 _"_ _Yep, she's going to play the lead in the upcoming film, Echoes," Amadeus nodded._

 _"_ _That's fantastic news," I applauded._

 _"_ _There's just one thing," Rosemary's voice altered slightly. "It's filming over in Spagonia, so I'll be away for the next six months."_

 _"_ _Is that why dad's home?" I asked._

 _"_ _Not quite, Miles," Amadeus shook his head. I asked more questions but they both held a stiff lip until we arrived back home. When I went to open the door, a strange monkey dressed in a suit answered the door and bowed politely._

 _"_ _Hello?" I asked questioningly at the strange man who appeared to have made himself at home in my house._

 _"_ _Hello, Master Williams," the man nodded. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Monkey Khan, but you may call me Ken if you wish."_

 _"_ _Son, this is Khan, he will be your new caretaker while your mother is off filming and I'm at work."_

 _"_ _B-B-But-"_

 _"_ _Sweetie, don't worry," Rosemary knelt down and placed her hands on either side of my arms. "It's only for six months, then I'll be home and it'll just be you and me again. I promise."_

 _It's funny how that memory stuck into my head and seemed so important, because it was a sad day. I was so happy and proud of my mother, but it marked the start of my life where both parents became distant. Mum broke her promise that day, but I can't blame her. She didn't know Echoes would become such a critical and box office success, catapulting mum's career and making Rosemary Prower a household name._

 _However, it was when I first met Ken, ten years ago, and he became one of the most influential people in my life. It was a bittersweet dinner, but one that I always think back to, especially the ecstatic smile that radiated from my mums face that night. She was so happy, and it made me happy, too._

"I guess I never really thought about how one day Rosemary was just gone and Ken was your new caretaker," Cream responded as Tails talked about his parents and their careers. "I never really put two and two together."

It was finally Cream's turn to sit with Tails, and he had asked her not to talk about his condition or the crash. He couldn't take any more tears and he didn't want to make Cream worry, especially because he knew how once the waterworks were turned on, nothing could stop the emotional girl.

"I wish I had your mother, even if she was never around," Cream replied. "I think my mum hates me."

"Come on, that can't be true. Vanilla always seemed so nice." Suddenly, as Cream and Tails continued to reminisce about some old times they had during primary school and their parents, Creams phone buzzed.

"What's that?" Tails asked.

"I guess my time is up," Cream frowned, peering up through her eyelashes to look at Tails' sorrowful face. "It's Blaze's turn in here."

"Oh… well you don't have to go if you don't want to," Tails muttered, not wanting Cream to leave him. "Couldn't you just stay and both you and Blaze could sit with me?"

"You know what Geoffrey said. Only one at a time," Cream sighed. "I'll see you back at school when you get better, though, right?"

"Y-Yeah, of course," Tails smiled a weary, uncertain smile. It didn't fool Cream. Geoffrey had performed some more tests on Tails, but he hadn't shared the result to any of them, and the look in his eyes seemed to affirm all of Creams fears.

"Just, please, don't leave me," Cream forced back the tears and fought the sadness in her shaky voice as she gave Tails a quick hug. "You promised we'd always be friends, remember."

"It's a promise I intend to keep," Tails nodded.

…

Razor removed his reading glasses, rubbing his temples with his fingers as a stark headache infected his senses. His head pounded from the mountains of paperwork that littered his desk. Police reports, negligence enquiries and concerned parents angered emails took up most of his morning. His bones ached, his wrist hurt and his eyes watered from staring at screens since the wee hours of the morning.

Razor leant back with a sigh as he tried to think of how to appropriately word the email. Razor was tasked with sending a wide email to all parents and guardians about the accident and was looking into hiring another school psychiatrist to help deal with the influx of cases that were sure to appear.

Thankfully, a knock on his door dragged his attention away from his duties. Razor called for entrance as an equally exhausted looking tenrec tiptoed into his office. Her eyes were droopy and thick, black bags hung off them. Her hair was ungroomed, tangled and disheveled.

"Gold, what can I do for you?" Razor asked, jumping at any reason to help him procrastinate from his depressing tasks.

"There is somebody here to see you, sir," Gold replied.

"As much as I'd love to shirk this work, I'm in the middle of some important documents," Razor sighed, wishing nothing more than to have a break and squeeze in a few hours of sleep.

"Razor, it's pretty important. I think you should listen to what he has to say," Gold urged.

"Gold, I appreciate the help but can you tell him to come back some other time when things are less hectic?"

"Razor… he's a lawyer." That word garnered Razor's undivided attention. The last thing him or the school needed was a lawsuit, especially after all the recent incidents and the students that kept skipping classes and leaving school.

"Very well," Razor coughed, trying to iron out the crinkles of his shirt with the palms of his hands as he tightened his striped tie. "Send him in." Gold quickly departed, slipping out of the office before a tall, elderly red echidna dressed in a white suit entered.

"Principal Razor?" the echidna questioned.

"In the flesh," Razor shook the man's hand before gesturing for him to have a seat opposite him. "How may I help you?"

"My name is Cobar, and I'm here for a client," Cobar responded didactically.

"Is somebody suing the school?"

"What? No, nothing like that. I'm here on behalf of the Cat family."

"You're Blaze's lawyer?"

"Not quite. I work for her aunt, actually," Cobar informed. "I came to deliver the bad news. Unfortunately, she passed away a few days ago."

"Oh dear, that's horrible. How'd she die, if you don't mind me asking?"

"She was carrying a plate of food when she tripped over her dog. The plate shattered as she fell and it cut deep into her throat. She bled out on the kitchen floor and died a day before her neighbors discovered what had happened."

"That's awful," Razor gasped.

"I'm their estate planning lawyer, but I thought I'd pop by in person to deliver the bad news to Blaze. I was very close with her aunt and worked with her mother before she died of lung cancer all those years ago," Cobar frowned. "Is she around?"

"I'm sorry but Blaze is currently at Central City hospital. One of her close friends was hit by a car and slipped into a coma," Razor said.

"That's horrible. Two tragedies in one day is hard to deal with for an adult, let alone an adolescent."

"Don't worry, I'll deliver the new to her when she returns," Razor promised.

"Thank you, because I don't have time to wait around," Cobar fretted. "I was named her executor and thus I must get back to the office and sort out her will. I'll return once everything is in order and meet with Blaze to tell her what her Aunt has left her."

"Thank you for letting me know. I'll make sure a spare room is free for you upon your return," Razor thanked him formally as he stood.

"Thank you as well, Mr. Shark. I'll return in a few days."

"Goodbye, Cobar," Razor nodded as he showed Cobar to the door and left her in Gold's capable hands. Razor returned to his desk and let out a mighty sigh as he stared at the draft of his email, his mind thinking to the poor teenager who's had to deal with so much suffering and death in the past year.

"Poor girl."

…

 _The next moment that my mind constantly returned to was the most recent event. It happened in the summer when all my closest friends went on a camping trip up into the woods to the north. It didn't have the greatest start. Shadow twisted his ankle and Bernadette showed up to take both him and Sonic back to the city, leaving me with my then current girlfriend Cream, Blaze and Silver, Rouge and Amy and Knuckles and Tikal._

 _As the roaring sounds of Bernadette's engine faded in the distance, we were left to worry about our own situation. Namely finding fire wood and cooking our dinner. Knuckles offered to go collect the fire wood and Silver joined him. Cream, Amy and Tikal decided they'd begin to prepare dinner whilst Rouge continued unpacking her enormous pack._

 _"_ _We should try to be useful, too," Blaze said aloud as her and I sat back watching the girls work._

 _"_ _We could always use some more water," Amy commented as she sliced the carrot._

 _"_ _I think I saw a stream we passed about a kilometer that way," I thumbed off into the distance._

 _"_ _Alright, let's grab a jug each and head over," Blaze nodded._

 _"_ _Don't forget the water purification tablets," Rouge called, hurling a small packet through the air. I caught it effortlessly and Blaze and I grabbed the empty plastic jugs and set off into the forest. The walk was short and filled with constant chatter until the sounds of the babbling brook caught out attention._

 _The river was slightly turbid and brown at the edges where the soil plunged into the water beside some reeds._

 _"_ _I'll have to wade over to where the water is clearer and rushing faster in the middle to get a cleaner source," Blaze decided as she slipped out of her shoes and plunged into the cooling water. I watched her as she splashed to the center of the river and began to fill up the jug. After a few minutes, it was filled with slightly muddled water. She popped one of the white tablets and placed it inside the bottle, screwing on the lid and shaking it vigorously._

 _"_ _Alright, take this one and hand me the other empty jug," Blaze instructed as she walked back over to the edge where I crouched. However, something was following her. My heart fell and my eyes widened with fear as I realized what was behind her. At first I thought it was just a stick floating down the river but it wriggled and slithered through the water with purpose like a long, thin line._

 _"_ _Sn-sn-sn…" I choked, unable to form a coherent sentence as the snake paddled through the water, it's green reptilian eyes focused on Blaze's back. It seemed that she had disturbed it and the animal was angry._

 _"_ _What are you babbling about?" Blaze asked as the snake drew closer. Without even thinking, my instincts took over. I lifted up the empty jug, reeled back and threw it with purpose. Blaze ducked in shock as it soared over her head and landed on the serpent. With a hiss the snake turned and slithered back into the reeds on the other side of the river. Blaze yelped in fear upon seeing the snake and jumped out of the brook._

 _"_ _You… you saved me," Blaze breathed._

 _"_ _I don't know what came over me," I responded, looking at my shaking hands. "I saw the snake and then suddenly I was throwing the jug._

 _"_ _I would have been a goner if it wasn't for you," Blaze laughed in relief. To this day, I knew I didn't really save her. I was just a guy with a jug. I could have easily angered the snake further. Besides, even if she did get bitten, I'm sure we could have called Sonic or Bernadette and they would have been back in time to get her to a hospital so she could get the antivenom. Blaze always insisted I saved her life, but I don't believe that. Still, I think back to that moment when I'm sad. It was the first time I was actually brave. I felt like a hero that day._

"And so we replaced her bars with the ones I had suggested and Fiona ordered," Blaze recounted, glad to finally get her hidden secret off her chest.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Tails asked with a yawn. His legs were still suspended in the air with casts encasing them, along with his arms.

"I don't know," Blaze murmured aloud. "It's cathartic. And you're one of my closest friends so I guess I'm asking for advice. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but Fiona was going to do it anyway, right?"

"Blaze, I think you of all people should know that revenge is never the answer."

"I know… Silver used to always tell me that to but then he-"

"It doesn't matter what Silver did," Tails cut her off. "He also cheated on you, would you cheat on somebody too?"

"No, never. But I…" Blaze trailed off when she noticed Tails' increased breathing. His eyes bulged as he struggled to suck in oxygen. The beeping from his monitors grew faster and more incessant. "Tails… Tails, are you okay?" Blaze asked as Tails began shaking. Before Blaze knew what was happening, the chaotic lines on the machine were replaced by one, long flat line and a lone beep.

"Doctor, doctor quick," Blaze shrieked, frantically pressing the help button beside Tails' bed. In a few short seconds, Geoffrey raced into the room, muttering something onto his chest.

"What's happened to him?" Blaze asked.

"He's going into cardiac arrest, probably from the lack of blood and internal bleeding. The car hit him pretty hard," Geoffrey commented offhandedly as he rolled up his sleeves, pressed his hands onto Tails' chest and commenced CPR.

"What, what can I do to help?" Blaze asked in shock as tears began to brim in her eyes, her body flushed with worry.

"You need to leave, now," a vermillion shark nurse said as she ran into the room with a defibrillator.

"But I-"

"You want your friend to live? Then you need to let us do our job in peace," the nurse hissed as she ushered Blaze hurriedly out of the room. As the door was shut on her, all manner of horrible situations and possibilities played out in Blaze's head. Tears began to cascade down her face as she whimpered outside of the door.

"Blaze?" A voice questioned from down the hallway. Silver stood by the vending machine, money in hand when he saw the doctor and nurse rush into Tails' room. "Blaze, what happened?"

"Tails he… he… his heart stopped beating," Blaze moaned as she turned around and flung her arms around Silver, squeezing him tightly. Silver stood rigid for a moment, surprised by the contact that he never thought he would receive again before he gave into the hug and wrapped his arms around Blaze's shaking body.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay," Silver soothed as he rested his chin on the crown of her head, rubbing small circles on her back. "Tails will be fine, I promise." Blaze was too sad and dazed to respond, or even to walk away. She just needed somebody to hold.

…

The sweet sounds of jazz poured from the open windows of Third Earth café, a local corner coffee shop. The thick scent of the heavy pollution streaming from passing cars of the busy traffic was interrupted by the sweet smells of freshly ground coffee beans that washed around the café.

Aleena sat underneath one of the orange umbrellas, one leg resting over the other as she sipped on her morning coffee and read a novel. She only looked up from her book when she heard somebody standing behind her clear their throat. Calmly and confidently, Aleena dog-eared the page, placed if slowly onto the table and raised the sunglass onto the top of her head.

"Jules," she nodded, signaling for him to take a seat.

"Aleena," he replied as he sat opposite her on the tiny table.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" Aleena asked with a smile, admiring her surroundings.

"It is, isn't it," Jules humored her. "But can we cut to the chase? Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

"Can't I just have a nice coffee with my husband?" The word tasted bitter as it rolled off her tongue.

"Recalling our last conversation, I know that's not what you had on your mind," Jules replied bitterly.

"I never could get anything past you, Jules, could I? Unlike you," she hissed bitterly. Jules sunk lower in his seat. Usually he refused to let others talk to him like this but Aleena still had a hold on his heart, and he put up little resistance as she squeezed it.

"You're right, I did call you here for something else."

"What?"

"This," Aleena exclaimed as she reached into her bag and pulled out the divorce papers, dumping them onto the table.

"Is this…" Jules trailed off.

"Divorce papers, yes."

"But Aleena-"

"Let me stop you right there, Jules," Aleena interrupted. "Before you try to change my mind, I've thought a lot about this. I can't look at you without seeing the lie. I'm sorry but you can't change my mind. I'd appreciate it if you'd sign it with little resistance."

"Aleena, I…" Jules sighed sadly. "I just think there is a better solution than divorce.

"Jules, if you still do truly love me you'll just sign this and don't make it any harder than it has to be. Please," Aleena peered up into his solemn eyes. Jules thought for a moment before nodding with understanding.

"I still love you, Aleena, and I always will but if this is what you want…" he said as he signed his name. Aleena held her breath, knowledge of what else he was signing that had been coupled in the terms of the divorce that he hadn't signed, "then I'll sing."

"Thank you, Jules," Aleena thanked sincerely as she checked to make sure it was signed properly before slipping the papers back into her bag before he had a chance to properly read them.

"Since I'm here, would you mind if I sat and had a coffee?"

"Not at all. I was actually just leaving, anyway," Aleena replied coldly as she hooked the strap of her bag around her shoulder and walked off without another word.

"I meant with you," Jules muttered as he was left alone at the café.

…

 _"_ _You'll do fine," Ken assured me as he dropped me off outside my new school. "I'm sure you'll make many friends, Master Prower." I fiddled nervously with the strap of my backpack, swallowing down the fear. I inhaled deeply, turned, and strolled into my new school on my first day of middle school at Mobius High._

 _I was lucky enough to have Cream in my class and the two of us were more than happy to be desk partners. I tried to make some friends in my first two days but failed miserably. I was a dork, a nerd, and the school new it. By my third day most kids avoided me. I had already been labeled as the weird kid and I didn't have Mina with me to change people's minds. Cream and I hung out together most lunches and we liked it that way. However, that Friday Cream was sick and didn't come to school, leaving me all alone at lunch._

 _Ken had made me a packed lunch, chicken and mayonnaise, my favourite. I clutched the little paper bag and waddled over to a table where a few kids sat. One was_ _a grey albatross and the other a black-haired cat. I smiled timidly at them as I took a seat and they instantly scoffed, picked up their trays and moved tables. I sighed, lowering my head as I pulled out my sandwich._

 _"_ _Is this seat taken?" a confident voice asked. I glanced up, unsure if somebody was talking to me. "Hello, kid?" the boy asked, waving his hand in front of my face._

 _"_ _Me?" I asked._

 _"_ _Of course," he said. "There's nobody else around."_

 _"_ _I'm just not used to people wanting to sit with me."_

 _"_ _Why not?" he asked, taking the seat opposite me without a second thought and slamming his tray down beside me._

 _"_ _Most people don't like me here."_

 _"_ _Well I'm not most people," he answered with the sincerest smile anybody had ever given me. "My name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."_

 _"_ _Tails," I replied, holding out my hand. Instead of shaking it, he made a fist and bumped my hand with a laugh._

 _"_ _You're alright, Tails. Whatcha got there?" he asked, pointing to my sandwich._

 _"_ _Chicken and Mayo. Want some?" I offered._

 _"_ _I'll trade you for some of my chilli dog?"_

 _"_ _What's a chilli dog?"_

 _"_ _You can't be serious?" Sonic gasped as if it was the most shocking and terrible news he had ever received in his life. "It's like a hot dog but will a slice of heaven coating the top of it."_

 _"_ _Never had one before."_

 _"_ _Now you have to try it," he broke off the end and shoved it into my hand. I took it hesitantly and took a cautious bite. My eyes lit up as the tantalising taste hit my tongue._

 _"_ _This is delicious," I answered as I stuffed the rest of it down my gullet, crumbs spewing from my mouth._

 _"_ _You're funny," Sonic commented. "I like you, would you like to be friends?" he asked innocently._

 _"_ _Ummm, sure."_

 _"_ _Awesome. Would you like to come over and have a sleepover after school tonight?" Sonic asked with such confidence to somebody he had only just met. I couldn't help but admire how carefree he was. Normally I would be scared and refuse, but there was something about him._

 _"_ _Alright," I answered anxiously. And with that, my friendship with Sonic first started. We had a great time that night, and the next week I invited Cream and he invited his friend from gym, Knuckles, to sit with us. Slowly, throughout the following weeks and years Amy, Tikal, Blaze, Silver, Rouge and Shadow, one by one they all joined our little group. It all started because Sonic came up to me that fateful day when I was all alone and talked to me. It's the one moment that's defined the rest of my life. All because of him… Sonic._

"Please wake up, buddy," Sonic begged as he sat in the dimly lit hospital room. The sun was high in the sky now, almost directly overhead but the blinds were drawn to block out most of its rays. After Tails' heart had stopped beating, Geoffrey had worked tirelessly to get Tails back into a stable condition, but he had yet to wake up. Sonic had spent the past hour sitting beside his bed, refusing to move until Tails showed signs of life again.

"You've got to be alright. I never got my chance to tell you I'm sorry," Sonic whined as he closed his eyes, unable to look at Tails unconscious body. "I just… I miss you, buddy. Please wake up. I promise I'll be a better friend. I didn't mean all those things I said. I don't actually hate you and I don't want you to leave my life forever. I was just angry and upset, especially after learning about Manic and Amy. I took that anger out on you and I'm sorry. I promise I'll try to be a better friend. We can move into that house when we graduate like we always planned. We can move up north so you can go to Mobius Academy and I'll find a job to pay the rent. It'll be us two, the best friends, like we planned since the seventh grade when we first met. Remember? Please, Tails, I promise I'll do anything just… just wake up."

"Anything?" a weak voice croaked. Sonic's eyes shot open as he tilted his head to stare directly into Tails' distant azure eyes.

"Tails? You're awake?" Sonic gawped. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough," Tails laughed feebly through coughs.

"You sly fox."

"You'd really move with me to Mobius Academy?"

"If it makes you get better, I'll do anything," Sonic said.

"Well don't worry, thanks to dad I don't think I'm welcome at the academy anymore."

"You're better than that academy anyway. If you ask me, they are suffering a great loss by not getting you as a student," Sonic smiled.

"Thanks, Sonic," Tails mirrored his grin as the two fell into a comfortable silence. "Sonic, where's Shadow?"

"I don't know, I sent him a text and tried to call but he didn't answer. I'm sure he'll be here as soon as he can."

"He sounded like he was really pissed off last night," Tails fretted.

"Don't worry, he was very drunk last night," Sonic rolled his eyes. "He said a lot of things I'm sure he regrets." Both parties once again went silent but it didn't take long for Tails to speak again, his mind clinging to one of the final things Sonic had mentioned in his plea.

"You… you remember when we first met in the seventh grade?"

"How could I forget," Sonic's eyes were warm as he scooted the chair closer to the bed. "It was lunchtime and I saw you sitting by yourself. From the moment I laid my eyes on you I knew there was something different about you. Something special. I was drawn to you. My gut just knew, and I always trust my gut," Sonic let out a hearty laugh.

"You were the first person at that school apart from Cream that gave me the time of day."

"I just couldn't believe you had never tasted a chili dog before."

"My dad was a respected professor and my mother a famous movie star. I lived with a caretaker in a mansion for Chaos' sake. You think any of them would ever serve me a chili dog?"

"Mum and I would go for a run around the park nearby our house every weekend when I was little," Sonic began to recount his past. "There was this vendor who sold street food. You know, ice creams in summer, cans of soft drink, hot chips, hot dogs, meat pies and, of course, his famous chili dogs. I'd get one every week after a run. It was like-"

"A hot dog with a slice of heaven coating the top," Tails finished.

"Yeah… exactly…"

"That's what you said to me that first day we met."

"You really remember it that well?" Sonic marveled.

"How could I forget? It was the best day of my life." Sonic paused, his breath getting caught in his throat. He was touched. Utterly and completely moved. People had given him compliments before. About his personality, his looks, his speed, but none had been as humbling as that.

"Tails I…" Sonic couldn't find the words.

"Before you say anything, could you go get my jacket," Tails asked. Sonic obliged, walking over to his jacket that was slung haphazardly over a chair along with the rest of his clothes. Sonic handed it to Tails and he immediately dug through the pockets until he retrieved his wallet. He opened it up and fished out a small plastic pocket that had been hidden away inside the coin pouch. He handed it to Sonic.

"What's this?" Sonic asked, opening it up and letting the item fall into his open palm.

"It's a gift." Sonic examined it. He held a silver chain necklace that had a small, silver star attached to it. He tilted his head, perplexed.

"A necklace?" he asked almost ungratefully.

"It's a silver star necklace. I bought it a while ago before we had our big fight and I guess I just couldn't force myself to throw it out, so I kept it in my wallet so it would always be on my person," Tails admitted in embarrassment. "You always go on and on about the stars and space and how much you love astronomy so I thought I'd get you this so you'd always have a star with you. That way when you look up at the sky and wish you were with the stars, you actually would be."

"Tails that's, that's…"

"I know, it's pretty lame."

"It's beautiful," Sonic finished. "Nobody has ever given me a gift this thoughtful before."

"Well, now if you ever get lonely, you can just hold the star and it'll be like I'm still here."

"Don't speak like that. You're not going anywhere," Sonic spat in denial.

"Sonic… I'm just being a realist. I-"

"No," he interrupted. "Say you're not going anywhere," Sonic continued stubbornly.

"Alright, I'm not going anywhere," Tails admitted defeat, knowing another argument would be pointless.

"Well, since we're showing what we've been carrying in our wallets," Sonic began cryptically as he pulled out his own wallet from his back pocket. "I've actually also got something that I couldn't get rid of no matter how much I wanted to." Tails tried to sit up further, wriggling slightly higher in his bed despite the shocking pain that jolted through his body. Sonic pulled out a small picture and unfolded it. It was a picture of him and Tails, as children. They were sitting on Sonic's bed. Tails looked nervous, his hands anxiously entwined with a frail smile while Sonic had a massive, cheesy grin plastered on his face with his arm draped over Tails' shoulder.

"Is this?" Tails couldn't finish the question as he took the picture to stare longingly at.

"Yep. It's the picture mum took of us on that Friday night after we first met. You look so nervous," Sonic laughed happily at the memory.

"And you look like the happiest kid alive, like usual," Tails sighed, wishing he could go back to that time when everything was simpler. Sonic and him were forging a strong friendship, all their friends were happy together without all the stupid drama. Things were good.

"I was." Tails looked at him and opened his mouth to reply before Sonic shot out of the chair and wrapped his arms carefully around Tails, making sure to be gentle and avoid any of his broken bones.

"What's this hug for?" Tails' voice was muffled by the crook of Sonic's neck as he nestled into it.

"Just felt like the right thing to do," Sonic shrugged, about to pull apart when he felt Tails hold him in place.

"You do know why people hug each other, right?"

"Because they care for them?"

"No. Well, yes, but it's also to hide your face from the other person when saying goodbye."

"But I'm not saying…" Sonic stopped himself when he pulled apart and saw the fresh tears in Tails' eyes. "Tails, what's wrong?"

"I'm gonna miss you," Tails croaked impishly, struggling to force the words out of his mouth.

"What? Why are you saying that?"

"Sonic," Tails choked, trying his hardest to settle his twitching body. "I…" Before he could say anymore, the surging pain that he had been trying to control and stave off had completely enveloped him again and the small, insignificant tremors began to shake his entire body violently.

"Tails? Tails, what's going on?" Sonic asked, holding down Tails' shoulders in a desperate attempt to stop the shaking. It was no use. Tails' eyes rolled back into his skull and foam began to culminate in his mouth, dribbling down his chin. "Tails?" Sonic asked again, punching the help button beside his bed frantically. A few seconds later Geoffrey rushed into the room.

"I was afraid this would happen," he bit as he raced over to the bed to check on Tails.

"What's happening to him?"

"He's going into cardiac arrest again," Geoffrey said. "We managed to get him stable before but it was only a short-term solution."

"Find a long-term solution," Sonic shouted.

"Calm down, screaming won't solve anything," Geoffrey said professionally, staying calm as he called for a nurse. Before the nurse arrived, Tails' heart stopped beating again and a loud, long, monotone beep sounded from the monitor.

Everything after that moved in slow motion for Sonic, like a scene out of a movie. Geoffrey began to administer CPR again while the nurse rushed in with a syringe a defibrillator. A shock was delivered and Geoffrey began his thirty compressions. A minute later, another shock was delivered and more compressions were applied. I thought they would stabilize him again like they had before, but as they repeated the process over and over with no change, I felt my own heart stop beating.

Finally, after ten minutes, Geoffrey looked up at the nurse, then at me and shook his head. He pulled the sheets back up to Tails' neck, rolled down his sleeves and locked at the clock on the wall.

"Time of death, twelve-fifteen pm."

…

Shadow's head was pounding unrelentingly as he stirred in his sheets. He moaned aloud, struggling to open his eyes, his eyelids feeling like they were made of cement. He rubbed a fist through his eyes, removing the thick sleepy crust as he gazed around his room.

"Where am I?" Shadow asked, combing a finger through his chaotic quills as he took in his surroundings. Slowly, the memories of the previous night came flowing through him. Shadow groaned in embarrassment and guilt as he recalled everything that he had said and done that night.

"I really need to stop drinking that much when I go out," Shadow commented to himself as he held in a burp, groaning as his stomach rumbled. He was dangerously close to vomiting and thought any sudden move might relieve him of the contents of his stomach.

Shadow reached over and picked up his phone off the bedside table to see if anybody had messaged him. He was shocked to discovered multiple texts and missed calls. Some were from Rouge releasing her anger, but most were from Sonic. Shadow's eyes flew open when he read through them. One in particular stood out.

Sonic: _Tails was hit by a car and he's in critical condition. We're at the hospital, come quick!_

Shadow was renowned for his speed but he had never moved that quickly in his life. It was as if the sickness that plagued him had disappeared as he shot off the bed, threw on his clothes and sprinted down. It took no time for him to flag down a taxi and shoot off to the city.

Within an hour Shadow was sprinting through the sliding glass doors at the entrance of the hospital. He hastened over to the front desk and barked almost intelligibly at her, asking where Tails' room was. After she gave him directions, he fled down the halls. Shadow decided the elevator would take too long and flew up the four flights of stairs.

However, as he rushed down the hallway, streams of his friends and fellow classmates slumped slowly back the opposite way. Shadow's heart beat faster as confusion and dread washed over him. Just as he got to the end of the corridor where Tails' room was, Sonic stepped out and looked at him, his shoulders slumped, his head down and his eyes devoid of anything. They weren't sad, they weren't angry. They showed no emotion at all. They were like those of a robot.

No words were exchanged between the two. They just stared at each other. Shadow shot Sonic a glance that asked whether Tails was okay, whether he had made it. Sonic closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. Suddenly the world around Shadow began to spin and the weight of gravity increased tenfold. He steadied himself against the wall, trying to keep his balance but it was too much and he slid to the floor.

Shadow couldn't believe it. He was too late. He got too drunk and was too hungover. He should have been there for one of his best friends, but he wasn't. Tails had died, and Shadow didn't get to say goodbye. As Shadow slumped to the floor, unable to comprehend his situation, one of the last things he had ever said to the sad teenager repeated over and over in his head, tormenting him.

 _Maybe Sonic was right about you…_

…

"This is a very serious accusation, young lady," Razor said sternly.

"But it's true," the individual sitting on the other side of the principal's desk replied.

"You come into my school and spout these wild theories about one of the most highly respected members of my faculty and a fellow student. How can I believe you when you don't even attend this school?" Razor grilled.

"Because I have proof," Sticks smiled as she showed Razor the phone.

"This… this can't be…" Razor trailed off, his eyes growing wide as he was presented with a picture that Sticks had taken of Gold and Espio sharing a kiss in a loving embrace. Sticks smiled smugly, glad that Gold was finally going to get what was coming to her as Razor slammed a fist down on his mahogany desk. "This is unacceptable!"

* * *

 _A/N: And there we have it. 43 chapters later the death has finally happened. And yes, it was Tails, this wasn't another red herring. Back after I finished Sonic High and began to plan for the sequel, this massive 65 chapter beast, the first thing I wanted to do in it was kill off a main character because this was supposed to have realistic themes and what is something that happens to everybody no matter who they are or what they do? Death. Originally I was going to make it a suicide, but in planning I brainstormed the Ray, Mighty, Clove arc and thought having his suicide attempt and an actual suicide (plus future things I won't spoil) I thought suicide wasn't the right choice. Then I thought about how death sometimes just happened suddenly without reason and decided a car accident would be perfect. Especially in the same chapter I revealed that Void had killed Jet's parents in a car crash. However, I decided to then make this chapter. A big send off to Tails, arguably the second main character after Sonic in this story (I know that I have 33 main characters but, c'mon, Sonic and Tails are clearly more main than, say Wave and Void.) He's been around since chapter 1 of Sonic High and I thought killing him off without a send off was mean. It is realistic, but this is also a story, and I wanted Tails to get a proper goodbye and give some characters closure (except Shadow. Come on, I can't be nice to everybody!) I had some plot points that involved him that needed to be wrapped up, and I thought it would be nice to show some of his happy moments in his past would be a nice send off and frame it as like a 'life flashing before your eyes' thing. The only thing that never changed in my plan was Tails. It was always going to be his death. He is my account's mascot. He's appeared in every story I've wrote, so I thought I didn't want to be predictable and decided to kill him off and so I wrote his arcs based on this knowledge. By the end, a lot of you guessed it would be him in the casket or thought it was likely, but flash back to when I published the first chapter with the death foreshadow and not one person thought it was going to be Tails. Even in chapter 32 when i revealed it would be a male dying, still nobody thought it was going to be Tails. People thought it would be Jet, Silver, Espio, Ray... I hope you enjoyed Tails' goodbye. I know I made it a bit long, this is the longest chapter by far. 15,000 words not including the Authors note, so please leave a review to let me know what you think now that he has finally gone._

 _It's not all about Tails, tho. Some other big things happened. Spike revealed that he also had sex with Sonia that night and could very well be the father, but kept it a secret for his own reasons. Do you think Spike is the father, or is it still Mephiles? It could be either one, but you'll have to keep reading to find out._

 _Another reveal is what happened that fateful night when Void killed Jet's parents. He was annoyed, drunk and wanted to run away from it all. Looks like prison didn't change him that much because after everything that has happened, he's still running away. With Void gone again, how will Lumina and Fiona react?_

 _Aleena has divorced Jules officially and thanks to Claire's handy work, has managed to gain custody of her children by sneaky means. However, because she refused to use her kids as a bargaining chip, she now owes Claire a favour. What will Claire call on Aleena for help with? You can bet that before this story is done I'll revisit their little dealing._

 _There was even more death this chapter, with the passing of Blaze's aunt. Some of you may think the death was a little over the top and farfetched, but I decided to add it in because, well, that exact thing happened to my neighbour back when I was quite young. He tripped on his dog and his throat was slit by the plate he was carrying. It was aweful, and I decided to add it here because thematically it also adds to the fact that death can happen quickly without notice._

 _Finally, despite having a character die, we need to move on with the future. This chapter dealt with the past a lot, but it ended with a big cliffhanger moving forward. Sticks got to fuck Espio, but she still had to break him and Gold up. Now that Razor knows the truth, what horrible things are in store for our forbidden lovers going forward?_

 _Question of the day? Tails is dead. Yay or nay? Also, what was your favourite of his 5 flashbacks. His first trophy for his brains and his father finally showing pride for his son. When he first acknowledged Mina's singing and made a massive impact on the life and goals of somebody else. When his mother got her first acting gig and him first meeting Ken. When he was a hero and saved the life of his close friend, Blaze. Or when he first met Sonic?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Sticks shows Fiona, of all people, the picture of Espio and Gold_

 _Breezie notices that Bean's been absent from work and enlists Espio to help figure it out_

 _Sonic feels empty after Tails' death and relapses_

 _Sally realizes the truth about herself_

 _...and Razor fires Gold?!_

 _All this and so, so, so much more, next time on Chapter 44: Disgraced_


	44. Chapter 44: Disgraced

_A/N: I've realeased the first chapter of a new story Outlast: Insanity Island if you'd like to check it out after finishing this chapter. Thanks and enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 44

Disgraced

"Ouch," Gold shrieked as the thin slip of paper sliced open the skin between her finger and her thumb. Gold groaned, reaching into the recesses of her desk drawer and pulled out a packet of bandages. She quickly wrapped it around her thumb to stop the blood flow before returning to the large stack of papers she had to fill out without a break.

Gold's wrist was sore, her fingers tight and her brain tired as she feverishly worked into the late hours of the night. After everything that happened, both her and Razor had so much more paperwork to fill out, parents to contact and now another student had disappeared from school. Gold had no time to find Void, but the work needed to be done. As the clock struck midnight, there was a knock on her office door and Zonic strolled inside with a yawn.

"Gold, what are you still doing up?" Zonic asked. "You were up all night last night chaperoning and have done so much work today. You need your rest."

"Sorry, Zonic, but I can't sleep yet. There is still so much left I need to do," Gold bemoaned.

"Gold, come on, you can't keep this up. You're going to work yourself to death," Zonic sighed with a frown.

"Maybe that's what needs to happen."

"What?" Zonic gasped, taken completely aback by this sudden change in thought. "Gold, you don't mean that."

"It's my fault, Zonic. I was the responsible adult that night. I should have been paying attention, but I was distracted and…" Gold trailed off, all the stress and tiredness dragging her down. She flung her hands to her face to cover the tears that begun to trickle down her weary face.

"Gold… Gold, c'mon, don't beat yourself up about this," Zonic felt his heart break seeing her in such distress. He fled to her side, draping an arm over her shoulders as he rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"No, Zonic. I should have prevented it. Tails would still be alive if I had just done my job properly," Gold wailed.

"No!" Zonic snapped. "I refuse to except this."

"Z-Zonic?" Gold looked up.

"Do not blame yourself," he commanded. "There is nothing you could have done to stop it. Tails was drunk, and the car came out of nowhere. This is not your fault at all."

"But… but I can't help but blame myself," Gold lamented.

"Look, you're tired and stressed and completely overworked. C'mon, let's get you to bed so you can have a nice, long rest and we can talk about this in the morning," Zonic said as he helped her stand and led her over to the main dormitories. Gold protested the whole way but Zonic turned a deaf ear to her complaints until he had gotten her to her room.

"Now you have a nice, long sleep and then finish your work rested and ready to go."

"O-Okay. Thanks, Zonic. For everything. I can always count on you," Gold flashed an exhausted smile before she closed the door and retired to her comforting mattress.

…

Blaze had returned to the campus late that Sunday night along with the rest of the people who stayed behind in the hospital after Tails' death. As she stepped off the bus that was sent to gather them, Zonic had marched up to her and instructed her to go see Razor in his office immediately.

Blaze had had an exhausting day, and getting summoned to the principal's office was just the cherry on top. She let Fiona talk her into switching out Sally's nutritional bars, she had let Mina's deep secret slip to the one boy who couldn't know and then had to sit beside one of her best friend's as he slowly died beside her. She didn't know how much more she could take.

"Come in," Razor grunted as she knocked on the door. Blaze slid inside hesitantly, her mind spinning. She just wanted to sleep, grieve and forget about this horrible weekend but little did she know her pain and suffering was only just beginning.

"Oh, Blaze, please, take a seat," Razor gestured to the chair in front of his desk softly.

"Did I do something wrong?" Blaze asked plainly, too exhausted to try to defend anything he'd accuse her of. She was ready to just accept whatever punishment she would be shackled with and retire to her bed.

"No, not at all," Razor said before his eyes fell soft and his lips tugged downwards. "No, I'm afraid this is a little more serious."

"Can we get on with it. I would like to sleep."

"Yes, quite. Well… I don't quite know how to tell you this," Razor searched for the right words to spare her already fragile heart but knew whatever he said, it would end the same. Tears and heartache. "Blaze… I'm so sorry but I was just informed earlier today that your Aunt passed away a few days ago."

Blaze froze. She didn't say anything, do anything or even show any emotion at all on her face. She just sat in her chair unflinching, her broken heart only cracking further.

"Blaze? Are you alright?" Razor asked with empathy.

"May I go now?" Blaze asked tonelessly.

"Certainly, but if you need anything I'm right here."

"Okay," Blaze croaked as she stood and walked rigidly out of the room.

"Poor girl…"

…

Sonic slumped off the bus behind Blaze, a sterling chain necklace with a silver star attached hung tightly around his neck. He clasped it in one hand and stared silently at the school. He wondered how he could sleep in his room tonight. Snoozing just underneath Tails' old bed could prove too tough.

Before Sonic could even hesitate for long, a car rolled around the corner and roared to a stop. Sonic cocked a brow as Monkey Khan jumped out of the drivers' side and looked around.

"Ken!" Sonic called as he rushed over to the Prower family's long time serving caretaker and collided into his strong chest, wrapping his arms around Ken.

"Sonic…" Ken sighed, returning the hug. "I'm so sorry about what happened," he gave his condolences.

"I'm sorry too. Tails always admired you. He often told me how he saw you more as a father than he ever did Amadeus," Sonic tried to force a smile, but it was hollow and empty.

"He was a sweet kid," Ken nodded. "He did really care for you. You were the topic of many dinner conversations."

"Why are you here?"

"Amadeus asked if I could come and collect Tails' belongings."

"Why can't he come do it himself," Sonic snarled angrily. "He didn't even show up at the hospital."

"Amadeus is still at the academy but is coming back tomorrow to see the body and to pick Rosemary up from the airport. He wished he could be here, but he couldn't."

"That's bullshit," Sonic let out a guttural growl. Amadeus abandoned Tails as soon as he found out about Shadow and me. He doesn't give two shits about Tails."

"Enough of that talk!" Ken said sternly. "Amadeus might have been a cruel, misguided man but he didn't hate his son. He just had a difficult time accepting Tails. He did not want Tails to die, no matter what you think. When I spoke to him on the phone he seemed devastated and Rosemary is completely distraught."

"Whatever," Sonic huffed. "I'll show you to his room. Follow me." As Ken followed Sonic through the main doors of the room, a couple of the students who had spent the day at the hospital were sitting silently on the couches. Nobody wanted to go to bed that night, even if they could find sleep. Ken glanced over the room and stopped when he noticed Espio lounging sadly in a beanbag.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute, Sonic," Ken called as he strode over to Espio.

"May I help you?" Espio asked, confused.

"My name is Ken. I was Tails' caretaker," Ken introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you," Espio nodded politely.

"I stayed behind to talk to the doctor and organize things when I was given something by the doctor," Ken explained as he pulled out a small, sealed white envelope with Espio's name scrawled neatly onto the front. "Dr. Geoffrey told me Tails was working on this during his stay in the hospital and sealed it in this envelope with your name on it."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, it's addressed to you. If it says anything I should know about, please tell me, otherwise, I hope whatever is inside gives you some solace," Ken concluded courteously before he got up and hastened after Sonic who was already half way up the stairs.

"What could it be?" Espio asked as he slid the envelope into his pocket, deciding to open it when he was alone.

…

Sticks waited on one of the benches that dotted the sidewalk beneath the shade of a large tree. She sipped on her coffee, waiting as the bus rolled through the gates. She watched with calculating eyes as the students stepped off one by one until finally the girl she was after hopped down the steps.

"Fiona," Sticks called as she caught up with the fox as she hastened over to the dorms.

"Who are you?" Fiona snapped, in no mood to be stopped by strangers.

"My name is Sticks."

"Is that supposed to mean anything to me?"

"No, but it will," Sticks smirked. "I've been asking some questions around the school and people have all given me the name Fiona Fox. They say if I want to cause somebody pain, you're the person to go to."

"That's true but I'm in no mood right now," Fiona hissed as she turned and continued walking.

"It involves somebody I hear you used to be very close with. Espio the Chameleon." Fiona stopped in intrigue and turned around.

"Alright, you have my attention. You've got five minutes."

"Well, I came to the little party your school hosted last night and I had some fun with Espio upstairs."

"Okay, you fucked Espio. Can't imagine why anybody would want to, but I don't see what that has to do with anything," Fiona rolled her eyes.

"Well, originally he didn't want to sleep with me, but I forced him to," Sticks smiled. "You see, I had a picture of him with his girlfriend and I promised that I wouldn't post it online if he slept with me."

"Espio doesn't have a girlfriend," Fiona snorted.

"That's what he wants you to think. It's a big secret. It has to be. If this ever got out…"

"Just get on with it. Who's the girl, and what's the picture? I'm assuming you're going to tell me, or else you wouldn't be bugging me right now."

"You are as horrible as they say," Sticks grunted. "Anyway, I got what I wanted from him and then he ditched me while I was asleep. He didn't love me. He never did, and now that I know he can't love me while she's around, I guess I just have to break them up. But I need your help."

"Why me?"

"I've already informed Razor, but I need you to make him suffer. I promised I wouldn't post it online, but I never said anything about giving it to people."

"Enough with the bullshit," Fiona snapped. "I don't care about your personal vendetta with him, I just want to know who the girl is and why telling Razor would do anything."

"Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words," Sticks giggled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded picture, handing it to Fiona. Fiona snatched it up and unfolded it, but nothing could have compared her for the sight. Her eyes lit up in amazement and prospect when she saw the picture of Espio and Gold. A vindictive smile crept across her face.

"I guess Christmas came early this year," Fiona laughed, thoughts of Tails momentarily fleeing her mind.

…

 _I'm not quite sure where I am. There are no windows or doors. There is only up or down. To my sides are thick, cobblestone walls. I'm standing precariously on a step. I'm not sure where I am, and I can't remember how I got here._

 _I try to hike up the stairs but it's as if I'm not moving anywhere. Constantly circling back through the same pocket of time. There's a single light source, but I'm not sure where it is coming from. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself._

 _"_ _This isn't real," I reason. "It can't be." I take another step upwards when suddenly the light dissipates, and I'm thrust into the unknown realm of darkness. I feel the ground beneath me crumble and fall. I scream, but nothing happens. I can't feel any wind. I can't feel myself being pulled downwards. It's almost as if I'm floating. Floating in nothingness._

 _It feels like I've been here for hours, just floating. It's tormenting me. I have absolutely no feeling. Nothing. Then, suddenly, two bright lights appear. They are faint in the distant but steadily grow, like they are coming towards me._

 _That's when I hear it. The beep of a horn. Suddenly it makes sense. They are headlights. Headlights of a car, and it's coming straight for me. I try to run away, but there's no ground. I try to swim through the air, but there is nothing around me. I shut my eyes and wait for the inevitable, but when the car hits me I don't feel anything. No impact. No pain. I open my eyes, but it's a completely different sight._

 _I'm lying on the ground in the dark, but I can see my surroundings. Cars parked everywhere and neon lights buzzing behind me. I'm at Quartz Casino. I try to stand, but I can't. I can't move any of my limbs, only my head. I look down and gasp in fright. That's not my arm, or my leg… or my two tails. I'm not me. I'm Tails._

 _I hear a horrified voice call my name, breaking through the darkness. I look up, but I gasp when I see my rescuer. I see her orange dreds, and her green and red dress. It's Tikal… It's me!_

 _"_ _Tails, Tails please be okay," the not me sobbed. I tried to speak, but I couldn't. I could only lie there and let her cry. She spoke again, crying my name over and over. "Tails, Tails please. Tails?" But slowly, the name changed. Not me continued to sob, but she was no longer crying for Tails. "Tails… Tails… Taial… Taikal… Tikal… Tikal! TIKAL!"_

Tikal's eyes snapped open and she sat up with blinding speed. She was drenched in sweat, her sheets sticking to her. Her eyes darted around the room frantically, her heart beating at immeasurable speeds.

"Tikal, are you alright?" Mina asked.

"You were having a nightmare," Breezie soothed. Tikal didn't say anything. She just blinked at her two roommates that were hunched over beside her bed, worry plastered on their faces.

"Wh-what?" Tikal blubbered.

"You were tossing and turning," Mina explained.

"You kept calling out Tails' name in your sleep."

"I… I can't…" Tikal rubbed her head.

"It's okay," Mina sat beside her, draping an arm over her shoulder. "I miss him too. You're not the only one who's been having nightmares about him."

"You were the one that found him first, weren't you?" Breezie asked rhetorically. "That must've been hard for you." Tikal said nothing, instead focusing on her breathing. "We're here for you, Tikal."

"It's okay to be scared and sad. We'll get through this, together."

"Thanks, girls," Tikal smiled weakly at her roommates as she looked down at her hands. Mina and Breezie sat with her for a short while longer before they both retired to their beds. Tikal lay awake all night. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't go back to that world. She wouldn't.

…

Razor paced up and down his office, hands held tight together behind his back as he mumbled incoherently to himself. He didn't want to have to do this. He wished there was another way, but he knew as an educator, and as an adult, that he has an obligation to do the right thing.

Razor marched back to his chair and pressed the button on his little intercom, waiting until Gold's voice crackled through asking what he needs her to do.

"Gold, could you please come in here. There is a serious matter I'd like to discuss with you," Razor said sternly before leaning back in his chair. In no more than a few moments, Gold rushed through the door.

"Sir, what do you need to talk about?" Gold asked.

"Have a seat, Gold," Razor gestured to the chair as he would to any guest. Gold reluctantly abided as she sat down opposite him. Razor took a few moments to study her, examining her face before he finally spoke.

"Gold… some horrible accusations have come to my attention. Normally I'd resort to drastic matters instantly, but we have grown close over the past semester and you are nothing if not an exceptional secretary, receptionist and work colleague. That's why I'd like to hear your side of the story before I make a decision," Razor began firmly yet gently.

"My side of what story?" Gold asked in confusion, but her heart lurched when Razor calmly pulled out a photograph from his desk drawer and placed it on the table. The photograph of Gold and Espio.

"This… this isn't what it looks like," Gold panicked.

"Isn't it? Then what is it, because to me it looks like you in an unprofessional relationship with a student. Of course, you know that is against the law and is a serious offence."

"I-I… I know," Gold sighed, her head hung low. "I can't lie to you, sir. You've been nothing but kind to me and I messed up. It's true. Espio and I have been seeing each other in secret," Gold admitted. Razor exhaled deeply. He had hoped it was a fake, but knew deep down it was true.

"Gold, you do understand how serious this is?"

"Yes sir."

"And you know how serious this is?"

"Yes sir," Gold repeated.

"Gold… I'm sorry to do this but, you're fired."

…

Rouge lay on her mattress with a contented sigh. It was her first period off in the longest time and she was going to enjoy it. Scourge was busy, her roommates were all out and she could finally just have some time to herself. It was quiet, serene and Rouge allowed herself to lie on her bed and just let her thoughts run wild. At least, that's what she planned to do until a knock on the door interrupted her.

"Coming," Rouge grumbled as she stomped over to the door. "What do you want?"

"S-sorry to bother you, Rouge," Cosmo began anxiously as she checked the hallway was empty as if she was scared she would be caught.

"What do you want," Rouge rolled her eyes, still annoyed by the interruption.

"Can I come in?" Cosmo asked.

"You've already interrupted me, so I don't see why not," Rouge sighed, stepping aside. Cosmo hurried in and began playing with her fingers nervously. "What do you want."

"Can I buy some more weed off you? I don't have the money right now but I'll get it, I swear I'm good for it."

"Cosmo, I gave you some recently. Even if you had a joint a day, it still should have lasted you until next week."

"I didn't ask you to judge me, I just asked for some more," Cosmo snapped suddenly.

"Whoa, where did that come from?"

"Sorry, sorry, I've just been a bit on edge lately," Cosmo apologized. "Can I just get some more."

"Cosmo, you are having too much. You need to cut back," Rouge warned.

"I know… it's just, things have been so stressful and after Tails… well, you know, I just need something to dull the pain."

"Alright, I'll tell you what. I'll help you out if you tell me why you have been using so much recently, and don't give me that bullshit about Tails."

"How dare you-"

"Cosmo," Rouge interrupted with a knowing stare. "Tails is gone, and it sucks. I miss him too, but weed is not the answer. Also, we've played poker together, remember? I know when you're lying and right now it's written all over your face. Tell me the real reason or no more."

"Alright, fine," Cosmo sighed. "Jet said he loved me at the party…"

"And?"

"And… it was in the middle of a fight with Cream and Wave and, honestly, I didn't say it back. I… I wanted to, but I just couldn't say it so I stormed off and met you outside," Cosmo admitted."

"…Oh."

"Yeah…"

"That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that."

"So, can I have some more?"

"No?"

"What?"

"I said no," Rouge stuck by her guns.

"But you said if I told you the truth you would hook me up," Cosmo complained.

"Cosmo, this isn't something you should numb yourself too. You don't need to smoke up to feel better. You are just telling yourself that."

"You don't know me."

"I think I know you pretty well. You have an addictive personality, Cosmo, and you convinced me into giving you drugs. It was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it. Consider this me cutting you up," Rouge said with finality.

"You can't do this to me!"

"And yet I am," Rouge said as she pushed Cosmo out of her room. "You'll thank me for this later."

"Rouge!" Cosmo growled as the door was slammed in her face. Cosmo grunted as she stomped away.

"I've created a monster…" Rouge sighed as she hopped back onto her bed and stretched out, trying to find peace but her thoughts were only ever occupied by the small seedrian instead.

…

Emerald Café was empty that morning. The deafening silence of the ghostly shop struck Breezie to her core as she stood pertinently at the front counter. The shade of the grim reaper still stalked the school, prevalent in the heads and hearts of all the students and teachers after Tails' untimely death. Most students just shuffled with remorse from the cafeteria or their dorm rooms to their classes. The last place people wanted to do was go laugh and drink coffee at the café with the wound still fresh and festering.

The small bell atop the door sounded, startling Breezie as the first customer of the day walked in. She straightened herself out, rubbed her eyes and forced a beaming smile on her face.

"Hey Lumina," Breezie greeted with false cheer. "How may I help you today?"

"Could I just get a latte, small," Lumina asked. Breezie nodded and got to work with no conversation. A few minutes later Breezie returned to the counter with the piping hot beverage in a cardboard takeaway cup.

"That'll be three-fifty please," Breezie asked, holding out her hand. Lumina reached into her pocket to pull out her wallet but sighed when she saw the emptiness inside.

"Shit, sorry, I'm completely out of money," Lumina fretted.

"Aren't you, like, rich or something?" Breezie queried. "Rumour has it that Void stole a bunch of money when he was on the lamb and gave it to you."

"How was that rumour star-" Lumina interrupted. "Fiona… Well, yes, but we had to return all the money as part of our deal with Clair to get Void out of jail."

"Where is Void, by the way?"

"Don't even ask," Lumina growled. She had tried to call him countless times, but all of her calls were rejected. Nobody had seen him since the incident with Jet and Scourge and Lumina feared the worst. That he had run off when things got tough… again.

"So, you can't pay?"

"Sorry, Breezie." Breezie thought for a moment before handing her the coffee anyway. "What? But-"

"It's on the house," Breezie smiled. "Just get out of here quickly before my boss shows up fires me."

"Thanks, Breezie. I won't forget this," Lumina said as she rushed for the door.

"Oh, and Lumina," Breezie called. Lumina paused as she opened the door and glanced back at the girl at the counter. "Good luck with everything. I hope you find Void soon." Lumina smiled her thanks before she vanished. Breezie sighed empathetically but she had little time to think about that encounter when another patron entered the café.

"Hey, Breezie."

"Espio, hey," Breezie greeted as he walked up to the counter. "What can I get for you today?"

"I'm not sure. I just need something to keep me awake after the past few nights. What is your favourite?" Espio replied casually. He let out a long, loud yawn.

"I'm personally a fan of the hazelnut mocha."

"That sounds delightful. I'll have two of those, please," Espio handed over a ten dollar note. Breezie got to work at the coffee machine when a thought popped into her head. She wasn't sure if Espio was the right person to ask but he used to be very close with Bean so she thought it was worth a shot.

"Hey Espio…" Breezie began.

"Yeah?"

"I've been working with Bean for a while now…" Espio looked at her curiously, intrigued on where she was going. It had been a while since he had seen or heard anybody mention his old best friend.

"Go on."

"It's just… he hasn't come to work in over a week and I haven't seen him around. I don't have any classes with him, but Mina says he still goes to their English class but when I try to talk to him he ignores me and disappears. I was just wondering if he'd ever done this in the past… y'know, when you and he used to be inseparable," Breezie explained. "He told me a lot about the old days when you guys used to be best friends, along with Fiona."

"He did? Well, no, sorry, he never went AWOL before. Did anything happen recently that might have upset him?" Espio scratched his head. He was surprised Bean ever talked about him. He instantly felt saddened and a wound he thought had long since healed opened again inside of him.

"I don't think so," Breezie pondered. "I remember he was sad because his girlfriend broke up but-"

"You mean Tekno?" Espio asked, worry filling his voice.

"Yeah, that's the girl."

"Oh no…" Espio fretted.

"Why?"

"Nothing… it's just, Bean loved Tekno. He spends every waking moment with her ever since him and I grew apart. He never really made an effort to make more friends and just stayed with her. If she broke up with him…" Espio trailed off, his imagination running wild. "She was his whole world after he left Fiona and I."

"You don't think he's still hung up over her? It's been over a week."

"I'd be surprised if he wasn't."

"Well… should I go talk to him about it or something? We might just be co-workers, but I'd consider him a friend… or at least an acquaintance."

"Let me try. He said he wanted nothing to do with me but maybe since Tekno left him I'm exactly what he needs right now," Espio thought.

"Keep me updated. I can't keep covering him forever," Breezie bemoaned as she filled up the two cups and handed them to him. Espio took one and turned to leave. "Wait, Espio, you forgot the other cup."

"That one's for you," Espio said plainly.

"What?"

"You said it was your favourite," Espio shrugged.

"But…" Breezie looked at the cup in her hands, unsure what to say.

"We're all in shock after what happened at the party and it's unfair that you still have to work today. It's the least I can do for you."

"Thanks, Espio," Breezie smiled, taking a sip of the warm, comforting coffee.

"You're welcome. I'll see you around, Breezie," Espio nodded before he turned to leave, his mind completely encapsulated by thoughts of Bean as old memories flooded his brain.

…

Zonic was furious as he burst through the door of the principal's office without a second thought. He was overcome with rage and desperation and together they forced out the rational side of his brain.

"Zonic, what is the meaning of this?" Razor barked angrily to the sudden intrusion.

"You can't fire Gold!" Zonic growled.

"Mr. Hedgehog, I'll remind you of your place," Razor spat as he rose, towering over Zonic. "You have no idea what is happening!"

"I know exactly what is happening," Zonic countered. "You're firing Gold on absolutely no grounds whatsoever and-"

"Stop this idiotic behaviour right now," Razor interrupted. "Leave my office."

"No. Not until you give me one good reason why you fired Gold."

"Zonic, we've worked together for a long, long time," Razor lowered his voice a bit, trying to calm himself. "I consider you a friend, and as your friend I've noticed how you've caught feelings for Miss Tenrec. For your own good, accept my decision and don't ask any more questions."

"No," Zonic stood his ground with arms crossed. "I refuse to leave until you tell me the truth."

"Last chance," Razor warned but Zonic showed no signs of budging. "Alright, fine, the reason I fired Gold because she's had intimate relations with a student." Zonic's eyes bulged open as he stumbled backwards from shock, catching himself before he fell. Then, suddenly, all the evidence he had seen throughout the semester washed over him and he turned stone-faced.

"Espio."

"How did you know?"

"I had my suspicions," Zonic revealed. "But I didn't think she would actually do anything with him. I thought she was smarter than that."

"I did too," Razor sighed.

"Still," Zonic urged. "You can't fire her."

"I must."

"No, you can't. We need her, the school needs her," Zonic argued.

"Zonic, this is enough," Razor started to get angry again. "This is my decision and it's final."

"Razor, find another way. Just make sure she isn't near him, you don't have to fire him."

"Don't let your feelings cloud your judgement, Zonic. You know this must be done."

"Fuck what I know," Zonic swore. "You're only doing this because you're jealous."

"Watch your tone," Razor cautioned, anger kindling in his stomach as he narrowed his eyes.

"No. You and I both know you liked Gold, just like I did. You're mad she chose somebody else and are firing her because you're bitter," Zonic spat.

"I'm firing her because I liked her!" Razor exploded in a loud rage.

"Wh-what?"

"Don't you see? She broke the law, Zonic. I should have called the police. She should have been arrested."

"But Gold doesn't deserve to go to jail. It's not like the student was underage."

"Exactly. That's why I fired her. No police will need to get involved, but she does need to leave the school. I'm doing this as one final favor to Gold."

"But Razor…" Zonic trailed off, knowing in his heart and brain that Razor was making the right decision.

"I'm sorry, Zonic, but Gold is packing her things currently. I've given her until the end of the day before she must vacate these premises permanently. It's the way it has to be."

…

The walk to their spot overlooking Emerald Lake was long, slow and exhausting. Sonic normally had such vitality and energy in his step, but his spirit had been drained. Tails' death, apparent revival and eventual, real death had floored him, and now nothing seemed to matter. His world had been turned asunder.

It didn't seem possible that Tails was dead. Sonic couldn't believe it. He kept thinking that maybe he'd feel a tap on his shoulder and turn around to see the golden, two-tailed fox standing behind him with an innocent grin. But the tap never came. It never would come again, because Tails was gone. Dead. Never coming back.

Part of Sonic wanted to go mad. To find out who the driver was, track them down to their home in the city and kill them the same way they killed Tails, but he forced those thoughts away and focused on the memory of Tails. Focus on mourning. But Sonic couldn't morn. Not really. The tears simply wouldn't come. Sonic wanted them to come, he craved tears. He needed the sense of relief. He wanted to cry, sob, yell, wail up into the heavens and howl at the moon in the dark but his eyes remained dry. Not a single tear was shed. Sonic was broken on the inside. He was a weeping mess. But not on the outside. On the outside, he was cold and calm, seemingly unaffected.

Sonic placed his backpack down beside him. He unzipped it and reached inside, pulling out a syringe and a small vial which Fiona had graciously provided to him yesterday upon request. He inserted the tip into the vial and brought out the end as the barrel filled with the liquid. Sonic rolled up his sleeve, tied a rubber hose around his upper arm and flexed his hand until dark veins popped up from his shivering skin.

"It's my fault," Sonic cursed to himself. "It's all my fucking fault. If I just loved him like he wanted. If I didn't push him out and make him run away that night… He'd still be here, next to me. But he's not. He's gone, and it's all because of me!"

Sonic sighed as he jabbed one of the thicker veins and pushed down on the plunger, letting the heroin flow into his blood. He sighed as he was enveloped by euphoria, numbing the pain of his loss.

Sonic let the syringe fall out of his hand as he fell backwards, sinking into the grass on the top of the hill. His eyes glazed over as he stared absently at the still water.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into the wind.

…

Wave felt awful ever since the party. Her stomach had swelled from the excess alcohol and guilt swirled around inside her, threatening to suffocate her. She felt bad for ousting both Jet and Cosmo, and she didn't want to see her oldest friend in such distress but the logical part of her knew that their relationship would only end in heartache.

Wave knew him all too well, and had come to know Cosmo over the months as well. This was her first relationship. She was new to it all, and Jet was definitely not the right fit for her. Wave wished they could be happy together, but it was simply impossible. Yet, she couldn't dwell on how horribly both her and Cream handled the situation.

Wave rushed through the twisting corridors of one of the tall buildings, getting lost in the snaking complex. She hastened to the toilets and locked herself away in a cubicle. She let her bag slip off her shoulder onto the cold, tiled floor as she lifted up the toilet seat and stuck a finger down her throat. Just as she was about to vomit, she heard the door to the bathroom creak open and she froze, mouth wide open. Wave tried to stay quiet as the sounds of heels clinking against the ground echoed through the room. However, Wave couldn't keep it down and she gaged, vomit flowing out of her mouth.

"Wave?" A voice asked through the air. Wave visibly relaxed as she wiped her mouth, flushed the toilet and opened the stall.

"Sally," Wave sighed. "I'm glad it's just you. Are you here to purge as well?" Sally looked at her, the dangerously thin bird looked almost like a skeleton. Her face was pale, her cheeks tight and it didn't look like she had slept in ages.

"Wave… you shouldn't be doing this to yourself," Sally sighed.

"What?"

"You're far too beautiful to be damaging your body like this."

"But you do it too. It helps us cope," Wave said.

"I know, but somebody has showed me how destructive it can be. She's helping me, and it's hard, but I haven't felt the urge yet since Julie has started hanging out with me. If I can resist it, I know you can too," Sally smiled.

"But I don't have anybody to help me… I don't have a Julie," Wave frowned, her mind again flashing to Jet. Her first and only true love.

"I'll help you. I'll be there for you."

"You'd really help me?" Wave asked.

"Of course. Together, we can beat this," Sally smiled with a flame in her eye.

"Alright… I'll try," Wave fidgeted awkwardly. It had been a long time since somebody believed in her. Properly believed. Wave knew it would be tough, but with Sally's support, maybe she could actually start getting her life back on track. Slowly, but surely!

…

It was like déjà vu. History repeating itself. However, this time the recipient was different. Before, Mighty had stood by and watched, twice, as Shadow walked down the hall and got berated and insulted by his fellow peers. Now, Mighty felt his pain.

Mighty walked down the halls with his hood pulled over his head, blocking out the nasty slurs and hurtful names that were hurled at him.

Home wrecker…

Girlfriend stealer…

Selfish, jealous jerk…

The list went on and on. Mighty didn't understand what they meant or why he was the target of the abuse but whenever he tried to ask somebody what it was about they ignored him. Mighty was at his wits end. He turned around a corner when he heard somebody call his name.

"Yo, Armadillo," Storm bellowed as he marched down the hallway with Honey around his arm.

"Hey Storm, what's up?" Mighty asked casually as he span around.

"You're a dick, you know that?" Storm spat.

"I might be mean, but you're on another whole level," Honey added unhelpfully.

"Alright, I've had about enough of this," Mighty growled angrily, letting his temper get the better of him. "What the hell did I do?"

"Don't pretend you don't know."

"I really don't."

"Eclipse told us what happened."

"E-Eclipse… of course," Mighty muttered underneath his breath. "Look, I didn't start that fight, he hit me first."

"Fight?" Honey asked. "No, we're talking about how you tried to steal Tikal from Eclipse at the party."

"I what?" Mighty asked, flabbergasted.

"You confessed your love and tried to kiss her but she didn't like you back," Storm said.

"Kiss her? Where did that come from?"

"That's what everybody has been saying, and Eclipse told us about what happened. Especially after you dumped Clove and got so angry when Ray started dating her," Honey shook her head.

"I was on your side, dude. Bros before hoes," Storm added. "But apparently you think they can't do that, yet you go and do the same thing just to another friend. First you force Ray to dump her too, then this."

"I never tried to get with Tikal. And Ray broke up with Clove because he knew what a shitty thing that was to do," Mighty urged.

"Save it," Honey concluded bitterly.

"Yeah. You better have a good, hard look at yourself." As the two teenagers scoffed and walked away, pushing their way through the crowd of intrigued faces that had stopped to listen, Mighty felt a tap on his back. He turned again to see Ray's sad eyes.

"Come with me," Ray croaked, beckoning Mighty as he slipped into a nearby empty classroom. Mighty swallowed, unsure, but followed anyway. As Mighty shut the door behind him, Ray immediately threw his arms around him. Mighty was surprised but returned the hug, however, Ray stepped back in the blink of an eye.

"What was that for?" Mighty asked.

"Tell me it isn't true," Ray begged, his eye full of conflict.

"What isn't true?"

"Please tell me you don't love Tikal."

"Seriously, you too?"

"I want you to say it," Ray pushed.

"I love Tikal as a good friend, but I'm not in love with her," Mighty stated firmly.

"I want you to promise me."

"What?"

"Say you promise you don't love her. You never break your promises. It's one of the reasons I respect you so much. So, promise me."

"Ray… I… No, you know what," Mighty bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes narrowing. "Why should I have to promise? You're my best friend, Ray. You should back me up no matter what. I've always believed you, even the times I knew you were lying to me, I never said anything because I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. Best friends don't lie, and I'm not. I shouldn't have to say that I promise for you to believe me. Or am I just not your best friend?"

"Mighty… you are my best friend. You have been for over five years. Your integrity and honesty are some of the many reasons why you are. It's why I respect you, look up to you and love you," Ray admitted flatteringly. "But… this is different. This isn't just about us two. It involves Tikal, and Eclipse… and Clove."

"How does it involve Clove?"

"Because you were so mad when I admitted I love her and-"

"I was not!" Mighty shouted. "I was respectful and although I knew you liked her, I didn't act any differently and neither did you."

"But then you dumped her. You said you weren't in love with her anymore and so I figured I'd ask her out, but you lost your shit and started going crazy," Ray recounted.

"Because my best friend betrayed me!"

"And yet you still asked Tikal out."

"I never asked fucking Tikal out!" Mighty bellowed in a frighteningly angry tone. "And I didn't dump Clove because I didn't love her anymore. I still like her, but it can't work."

"Why can't it?" Ray asked.

"Because it just can't. Maybe next year, after high school ends, but for now I need to be single."

"Why?"

"Ray, I… I can't tell you."

"Why not? You're always saying how I need to trust you, and I always do, but when the shoe is on the other foot you can't seem to trust me," Ray growled.

"It's not about trust."

"Then why can't you tell me why you dumped Clove?" Mighty thought for a moment. He knew he could make everything clear if he just admitted the truth. Mighty opened his mouth, about to finally say why but just as the words were about to come out his mind flashed back to that dreadful night. Ray stood atop the cliff. He leant forward. Mighty remembered the pain her felt. He remembered the sadness that coursed through him. He knew what might happen if he admitted the truth.

"I just can't… And it's not that I don't trust you. I promise. But this time, I need you to trust me."

"Oh, so you can promise that," Ray shook his head. "Sometimes you're unbelievable. You're full of shit."

"Ray, wait!" Mighty called as Ray pushed passed him and slipped out into the hall. Mighty tried to follow but lost sight of the illusive squirrel in the dense crowd of students filing into their next period class.

Ray made sure to keep low, hiding from Mighty as he raced through the halls and down the stairs. He knew Clove had a spare and knew she would be in her room studying for her last big Physics test. Ray didn't stop running until he made it to her dorm room. He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a deep breath in and knocked on the door.

"Hello?" Amy called sweetly as she opened the door. "Oh, Ray, you here for Clove I presume?" Ray nodded. Amy stepped aside as the squirrel glided into the room.

"Hey, Ray, what's up?" Clove asked as she jumped off her bed.

"I need to talk to you about something. In private," Ray flashed a glance towards Amy.

"Rude."

"Amy, would you mind waiting outside?" Clove asked considerately.

"Why do I always have to be the one to wait outside," Amy huffed as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her, leaving it open just a crack. Clove didn't noticed and turned looked back to Ray, their eyes meeting.

"What did you want to say?"

"Eclipse had a talk to me last night after we got back from the party," Ray began.

"What did he say?"

"He told me about what happened on Saturday and Tikal confirmed his claims," Ray sighed. "I didn't want to believe it but… for once… I think Mighty might be lying. He just… he's been so secretive lately and being in love with Tikal would explain a lot of things. His strange behaviour, he's anger at us… and why he broke up with you."

"You think he dumped me to be with Tikal?" Clove gasped. "She would never do that to me."

"She didn't, but it would explain why he never told us why he broke up with you."

"That's true. He still never gave me a real reason. I always thought it was because you and him were… Nevermind."

"Wait… you thought Mighty and I were, y'know, together?" Ray asked, suddenly concerned. "Did he… say anything to you?

"He denied it vehemently. It would have explained a lot of things, but so would this."

"Clove… I know I screwed up before and was only thinking about Mighty but now, after this, I just can't stay away any longer."

"What are you trying to say?" Clove asked knowingly as a smile crept its way along her face.

"I'm sorry I broke up with you before. I made a mistake, but if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd love it if you would be my girlfriend again because, well, I love you, Clove," Ray admitted, pouring his heart out.

"You're an idiot," Clove laughed as she pull Ray closer to her and crashed her lips against his. "You had me at Clove," she winked.

"Awww, cute," Amy purred from behind the door. Both teenagers turned angrily to stare at the door, only now noticing the crack.

"Were you eavesdropping the whole time?" Clove asked judgmentally.

"Maybe," Amy laughed, pushing open the door. "I couldn't resist, you guys are just so cute."

"No cool, Amy," Clove shook her head but couldn't hide the gigantic smile still etched into her face.

"So, are you guys, like, an item now?"

"Are we?" Ray asked unsure as he turned to look at her.

"Yes, we are," Clove nodded back, giving him another kiss on the cheek.

…

The dorm room was empty, filled by nothing but the sweet sound of silence and the dust seeping through the air. Spike was out preparing another romantic picnic for Sonia and her unborn baby, Shadow was wandering alone through the forest and Manic and Knuckles were both in class. However, silence doesn't last forever.

"We need to talk," Manic said firmly as he pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"My thoughts exactly," Knuckles fumed as he followed close behind, slamming the door with the heel of his converse shoes. The two grumbled under their breaths as they sat on the beds and threw off their shoes simultaneously, a perfect mirror image.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Manic growled.

"Why didn't you tell _me_?" Knuckles countered.

"I thought I was one of your best friends."

"I thought I was one of _your_ best friends."

"Why didn't you tell me that Julie was your sister?" Manic asked.

"Because I was ashamed, alright?" Knuckles threw his arms skywards. "I was disgusted with myself and I didn't want anybody to know. Neither did she. Why didn't you tell me that you were secretly sleeping with Amy?"

"Because I was ashamed too," Manic fired back. "I was annoyed with myself and I didn't want anybody to know. Neither did she." The two boys grew silent, locked in an intense stare. Neither one blinked. Neither one backed down. Then, all of a sudden, Manic and Knuckles let out an uncontrollable, loud laugh.

"Dude, how ridiculous are we?" Knuckles joked.

"We sound like an old married couple," Manic chuckled, the irony of their fight wasn't lost on either of them.

"I'm sorry I overreacted."

"I'm sorry too. I get why you wanted to keep it a secret."

"And I get why _you_ wanted to keep it a secret."

"I promise to be honest from now on."

"Right back at you."

"We still bros?" Manic asked.

"Bros for life," Knuckles confirmed as he held out a closed fist and Manic bumped it with his own.

…

Gold couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She willed them to disappear, she struggled to keep her eyes dry, but it was fruitless. Gold ran around her room, throwing all her belongings into two large suitcases in silence. She wanted to complain, to walk right up to Razor and demand he reinstate her job but Gold knew she deserved the punishment. She messed up, and it was time for her to face the music.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. She quickly dragged her red sweater sleeve over her eyes to dry them and stumbled over piles of clothes to the door. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before she steeled herself and opened the door.

"F-Fiona?" Gold furrowed her brow in confusion. "I didn't expect to see you."

"Hey Miss Tenrec," Fiona greeted her sickeningly sweetly.

"It's just Gold, now," Gold sighed.

"Come on. Chin up, Gold," Fiona smiled revoltingly.

"What's with the sudden peppiness Fiona?" Gold questioned, guarded. "It's not like you to be this happy. Especially after what happened this weekend."

"I know, it's horrible, but everybody seems so glum around here, for good reason, and I thought I'd act extra happy to make everybody feel a little bit better," Fiona beamed.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Fiona. This is quite a nice change of pace from your usual attitude." Fiona scowled, then shook her head pretending not to hear Gold's offhanded comment. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I needed to tell you something important."

"Can it wait? I'm running a bit late. I promised I'd meet Espio before I left and I'm awfully behind on packing."

"Are you sure it's wise to see Espio after what happened."

"I think I at least owe him a goodbye, after everything. Wait… hang on a minute. How do you know what happened?"

"Well… that's kind of why I came to see you. It's about Espio."

"What about him?" Gold raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"It's simply awful, but I thought you deserved to know," Fiona acted melodramatically.

"Fiona, can we skip the charade and get on with it? As you know I'm already running quite late," Gold tapped her wrist watch.

"You're no fun," Fiona pouted. "But alas, I can't hide this from you. Espio was the one that told Razor about your secret relationship to get you fired."

"Wh-what?" Gold gasped, bewildered. She couldn't believe her ears. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Maybe he wanted to break up with you and just didn't know how?"

"N-No. Espio wouldn't do that to me," Gold defied. "Besides, Razor said a girl came to show him evidence. Not Espio."

"Espio must have asked him to lie."

"I don't believe you," Gold stood her ground. "I've heard about how you lie and manipulate people and I won't be fooled."

"If I'm lying, then how'd I get this?" Fiona asked victoriously as she produced the same picture that Sticks had given her. Gold could have sworn she felt her heart crack when her eyes fell on the image of her and Espio.

"Where… How… Why?" Questions flew through her mind, but no thoughts stuck.

"I told you. Espio. He made sure somebody took that picture so that he could use it to prove his claims to Razor."

"How could he?"

"That's the other thing. I saw him go upstairs to his room with a girl at the party. I think her name was… Sticks?" Fiona asked, pretending to be unsure.

"Sticks?" Gold gasped, another bombshell had fallen on her and she wasn't sure if she could recover.

"You know her?"

"She's his biggest fan."

"I guess he was a pretty big fan of hers, too."

"That lying, cheating, two-faced…" Gold trailed off. "Just wait until I give him a piece of my mind."

"Gold, wait," Fiona stopped her in her tracks. "Don't give in. That's just what he wants. He clearly doesn't care about you, so don't give him the satisfaction. From one woman to another, leave with your dignity. It's all girls like us have left when we get cheated on."

"Fiona… thank you," she smiled as she gave Fiona's hand a quick squeeze. "I'd better go. It's getting dark."

"You're welcome, Gold."

…

Zonic sat alone in the teachers lounge, the lights off as he ate his dinner alone. Leftover spaghetti. Gold's favourite. He sighed. Zonic knew he could have done more, he should have done more, but a part of him couldn't face Razor.

Zonic knew Gold was probably packing her things as he sat there, waiting to be whisked away from the school and out of his life forever. He wanted nothing more than to go comfort her. Finally confess how much he loved her. To hold her, hug her and reassure her that everything was going to be okay. But he wasn't. Instead, he was eating alone in the dark. Before he could berate himself further, the lights suddenly flickered on.

"Z-Zonic?" Ash jumped in surprise as he saw the fellow teacher stewing in the dark.

"Oh, hey Ash," Zonic barely dignified his existence.

"What are you doing here in the dark?" Ash asked.

"Just eating dinner," Zonic replied casually like it was an obvious, completely normal thing to be caught doing. Ash sighed, rolling his eyes as he walked over to the table and took a seat beside his coworker.

"What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing," Zonic said stubbornly.

"C'mon, man. I know we aren't exactly close, but we've worked together for the past three years so I think I know you pretty well. What's got you down. Is it Gold?"

"You know about her getting fired?"

"Wait, what? Gold got fired?" Zonic nodded, but said nothing more. "N-no, I didn't. Poor thing. Razor can't do that. He-"

"Razor was only helping her."

"By firing her?"

"You'll probably hear this from him anyway, but don't spread any rumours." Ash nodded. "Gold was in an intimate relationship with a student so instead of calling the cops Razor decided to fire her instead to spare both her and the school."

"Well… I guess that's a good thing. But poor Gold, although I guess she should have known better."

"Don't talk about her like that," Zonic defended her brashly, but calmed down when he realized losing his temper wouldn't solve anything. "If you didn't know about Gold, why did you think I was eating alone in the dark because of her?"

"Because it's obvious you like her. It's been obvious since day one. As soon as she got here I noticed a change in you," Ash said knowingly.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Yes. But, if she's leaving, why are you here alone instead of helping her pack and saying your goodbyes?"

"Because… Because I ran into Zally over the weekend," Zonic admitted.

"Oh no…"

"Yep…"

"Please tell me you and her aren't getting back together. N-not that I didn't like her," Ash added quickly, "but I just don't think she was right for you."

"No, it's not that. She just… she reminded me about why things between us didn't work. I was a coward, and took the cowards way out."

"Sure, I don't agree with leaving somebody at the altar, but you're not a coward, Zonic."

"Yes I am. I always have been. Whenever it came to women I've always been scared and run away from them. From love, from commitment… from everything," Zonic frowned.

"So, now's your chance," Ash smiled. Zonic looked up at him, his eyes asking questions his mouth couldn't utter. "What I mean is that Gold's still here. You clearly love her, so tell her. Go say goodbye to her. Show her how much of a difference she made on your life before it's too late and you regret it later."

"You really think she'd ever want me?"

"It doesn't matter if she does or doesn't. But just tell her how you really feel. For once in your life, don't be a coward!" Ash urged.

"Alright, I'll do it," Zonic stood proudly. "I'll tell her everything. Thanks, Ash, you really are a true friend."

"The very best," Ash laughed. "Now go get her before it's too late!"

…

Shadow wandered aimlessly through the snaking path through the forest, meandering at a snail's pace. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his black leather jacket and his eyes were trained on the ground, glazing over the many little pebbles that dotted the dirt path. Wind rocked the trees and whipped his quills as he pushed forward.

Shadow felt empty. Nausea churned around unrestrained in his empty stomach as each stepped rocked him to his core. Melancholy thoughts plagued him like a dark rain cloud hovering just above his head. He felt like he was riding a raft caught in a ferocious storm in the ocean. Battered and bruised, he barely managed to stay afloat. Darkness unfolded, strangling his veins as regret engulfed and overwhelmed him. It cobwebbed his brain. He couldn't think straight.

His blood was like tar as his heart struggled to continue beating. His mind kept replaying their last conversation through the haze of the night.

Maybe Sonic was right about you…

Maybe Sonic was right about you…

Shadow shouted into the heavens, punching his fist deep into a nearby tree, wincing in pain as bark splintered from the thick trunk. It would have been alright if he was able to apologize to Tails. He just wanted to say sorry. But he couldn't. He didn't. He drank too much. He overslept. He was too late. He didn't even get to say goodbye.

"I'm sorry, Tails," Shadow whispered, tears trickling down dry eyes. Shadow couldn't remember the last time he'd cried. Tails had died, and Shadow wasn't even there for him. Everybody else was… even Fiona, but not him. The regret was almost unbearable, like an enveloping darkness swallowing him whole.

Shadow clenched his fist, ignoring his bloodied knuckles as he narrowed his eyes and steeled himself. There was no use crying. It wouldn't bring Tails back. Nothing would. Shadow knew a part of him had died with Tails that night and the only way it could be restored had disappeared as he lay asleep in that hotel room.

Sadness surrounded him. It seemed to follow him and his friends. Always looming, always present. Shadow refused to give in. Tails was gone, but that didn't mean it was over. As a chapter ends, a page is turned, and another begins. Shadow needed to combat the sadness. He had to do something to help ease his, and his friends, grief. He knew one person that could do that. That could help him feel better. That could help Manic, Sonic and Sonia, too. Somebody Tails had asked Shadow to help find. It might not have been a dying wish, but it was something Tails and Shadow had planned to do together.

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he fled the school, running down the road until a truck passing by offered him a lift back to town. Shadow refused to come back until he had completed his mission. He was not going to return until he found Mephiles!

…

It was hard to quit. Every day the recesses of Sally's mind screamed, shouting horrible things about her appearance. She avoided mirrors like the plague, scared of the squat, fat, disgusting demon that stared back at her. Bulimia was a curse. It was a gun, stowed away for protection. Normally hidden and unused but always just underneath, ready to use to enhance her chance of survivor in a world run by super-model skinny women with unattainably skinny bodies. And yet, Sally found herself relying on this weapon more and more.

That is, she had, until she ran into Julie. The echidna stood steadfast beside her, constantly vigilant and constantly helping. Julie understood what it was like, and she knew the exact things to do and say to keep Sally from breaking her vows.

Julie would follow Sally to class, and would always be there when the bell rang, talking softly with lighthearted giggles as she walked her to lunch. Julie never forced Sally to eat, but always frowned when Sally devoured another one of her low-fat bars. Yet, slowly, Sally found herself accepting Julie's offerings. A sip of her smoothie for morning tea, an extra fry dipped in tomato sauce at lunch. Slowly, but surely, Julie was breaking through. It had only been a day and a half since Julie discovered Sally with her head in the toilet at the party, but in that time Sally had eaten more than she had in weeks.

Sally even ordered a chicken salad for dinner at the cafeteria that night. Although she didn't finish it, barely made a dent in it, it was a start and Julie couldn't have been more thrilled.

"I'm so proud of you," Julie beamed as the two climbed the stairs of the dormitory that night.

"Why? I barely ate a quarter of that salad," Sally sighed, disappointed in herself for failing but the voice in her head and the tightness of her stomach fought her rehabilitation every step of the way.

"That's amazing. Look, this isn't going to be easy. There's still a long road yet, but you're trying and making progress and that's all that matters in the end."

"Thanks Julie. You've been a massive help these past two days," Sally thanked.

"You'd have done the same for me if you were in my situation," Julie waved her thanks away. "Besides, it means I got a second serving at dinner for free," Julie laughed cheerfully. Sally smiled.

"Well, this is me," Sally said as she arrived at her door and fished around in her pocket for her key.

"I'll see you tomorrow in the cafeteria for breakfast?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, definitely," Sally agreed as she slipped inside her room and closed the door. She was surprised to see her room empty, but again she'd hardly seen Fiona or Sonia since the hospital. Sally smiled as she opened her cupboard to find her pajamas but suddenly she laid eyes on something she had been avoiding. Her reflection in her full-length mirror.

Sally was instantly disgusted by the squirrel staring back at her. Arms fat, legs thick as logs and stomach rotund and bulging. Sally turned away, unable to take the sight of herself any longer.

"Why is Julie making me eat more? I'm already disgustingly fat. If I eat more, Julie won't like me anymore and will stop hanging around me," Sally cursed herself as she fled from the room, barreling Wave over as she skidded down the hallway.

"Sally?" Wave asked as she picked herself up off the ground and hurried after her. Sally didn't stop until she crashed through the bathroom door and locked herself in the cubicle. She'd promised Julie and Wave that she'd stop, but they didn't understand. Somehow, they didn't see how fat she really was. That, or they were just making fun of her… laughing behind her back as they fattened her up.

Sally felt the urge. A tingling sensation that grew inside her and filled her entire being, refusing to be satiated until she emptied her stomach. The need to purge, to cleanse her body, was unbearable. Finally, after making such progress, Sally threw it all away as she stuck her finger as far down her throat as she could and vomited up all the food she had eaten that day.

"I thought you were going to help me… you lied to me…" Wave growled under her breath as she stood in the bathroom. She was moments away from knocking on the door to make sure Sally was okay but turned from the liar and stomped back to her room.

…

"Gold?" the driver asked as he stepped out of the black sedan and walked around the bonnet of the car to greet the woman slouching on one of her suitcases.

"Yep, that's me," Gold sighed in response, trying to put on a happy façade as she shook his hand. "You the driver?"

"Yes ma'am. Here, let me take those," the driver retrieved her suitcases and dumped them carefully into the trunk. "Are you ready to leave?"

"I… I don't know," Gold muttered to herself as she opened the door and paused. She leant on the frame, eyes trained on the empty, dark parking lot. She scanned the area, but caught sight of nothing. Nobody came to say goodbye to her. Not Razor. Not Zonic. Not even Espio.

"Ma'am?" Gold waited another minute, frozen as he eyes were trained on the dormitories. Despite everything, part of her hoped Espio would come running out to see her off. Her heart cracked further when there was no movement. Her eyes flashed upwards, scanning the windows, searching for his room. She could have sworn she saw distressed movement, but her mind was playing tricks on her. She knew it was fruitless.

"Alright," Gold breathed. "Let's go," she said as she closed the door and the car reversed out of the parking lot and sped off down the road. Just as the car turned the corner, Espio sprinted out of the main door in a shirt and boxers, calling her name. He had seen her leave from his room and dashed down as fast as he could, but he was too late.

"G-Gold?" He called. Espio had heard rumours that she had been fired but he didn't believe them. He knew Gold would have come to talk to him about it if they were true. He was sure of it. Espio exhaled deeply, his head falling down when he heard something from behind him.

"You shouldn't have cheated on her," Fiona stepped out of the shadows and slithered up to him like a snake. Espio jumped backwards, startled.

"F-Fiona? Don't scare me like that," Espio placed his hand over his heart and sighed in relief.

"I said, you shouldn't have cheated on her."

"What?"

"I know what you did. I know you and Sticks had sex. Even thought I don't approve of your relationship with Gold, that doesn't excuse cheaters."

"Fiona, I had no choice," Espio tried to defend himself.

"You still shouldn't have done it. That's all you guys do. Just use a girl and ditch her when it suits you if you get a better option," Fiona growled. "Gold deserved better than you."

"Don't pretend you cared about her."

"I mightn't have. But she still doesn't deserve the shit you put her thought."

"Fiona, look, I'm not like Scourge or Void, okay? What Gold and I had was real… it-"

"What them and I had was real too, but that didn't stop them from cheating on me," Fiona interrupted angrily. "Cheaters never prosper."

"But they… wait," Espio's eyes bulged wide as he finally understood. "You…"

"Me," Fiona smirked wickedly.

"You were the one that got Gold fired! You tore us apart."

"Well, I can't take all the credit. Sticks did all the hard work, I just helped convince Gold of the truth."

"How could you?" Espio shouted.

"I thought I made myself very clear."

"But I…" Espio sighed in defeat. He knew Fiona too well. He knew whatever he said wouldn't satisfy her. She thought she was right and nothing would change her stubborn mind.

"Still, she clearly mustn't have loved you that much anyway. I mean, she didn't even say goodbye."

"Her and I knew more about love than you ever did."

"And yet, she still didn't say goodbye…" Fiona smiled as she saw the doubt enter his eyes despite everything else. "And now she's gone, forever. Fired, because of you."

"But, she loved me…" Espio trailed off insecurely.

"Well, it looks like our little game of chess is entering its end game," Fiona mused in a sing-song voice.

"This isn't a game," Espio sighed.

"Isn't it? I take you in, you betray me, I embarrass you, you break free of my hold, I help spread around the nude Silver leaked, you become a singer, I get sent to prison while you get the girl of your dreams. You laugh as I lose the boy of mine, twice, and so I rip away the girl you love. Sounds like a game to me."

"You're sick, Fiona. All this because I didn't want to hang out with you anymore?"

"You left me all alone, Espio. You and Bean, when you were the only two friends I had left after…" Fiona's mind fled back to her life on the street for the briefest of moments before she pulled herself out of that black water. "Anyway, you didn't like me, so I made sure nobody would like you."

"Fiona, I… Nevermind, you're not worth it," Espio growled. "If this is a game, that was your last move and I have one more left. There's only one way I can see this ending. In checkmate."

"Couldn't agree more," Fiona smiled.

"You're pathetic. I'm going to bed," Espio grumbled as he stormed away in a confusing mess of anger and sadness.

"Why does everybody always leave me," Fiona sighed when Espio disappeared from ear shot. "Patch… Bean… Espio… Scourge… Void… even Tails…" Meanwhile, Gold looked out the window as the thick tree canopy began to hide the tall towers of the school campus. Gold sighed, sitting back in her seat and looking ahead at the open road, her future limitless.

* * *

 _A/N: And with that, we lose another main character. First Tails, now Gold. If you've lost count, our main cast is down by five since Mephiles is still absent, Void ran away last chapter and now Shadow has left on a quest to find Mephiles (I promise he'll return before the finale of part 3 (Chapter 48)). With Sticks and Fiona working in tandem, they were able to not only get Gold fired, but place doubt in both her mind and Espio's mind. After everything, they didn't get their goodbye. But what happened to Zonic? Didn't Ash talk him into staying goodbye, or is he still just a coward?_

 _We are still dealing with the aftermath of Tails' death. Shadow feels the regret of being too hungover and missed Tails' last moments. Tikal has been rocked to her core (She was the first one to find Tails after the accident) and it looks like she has been consumed by nightmares. Grief affects everybody in different ways. Finally, Sonic is turning back to the cold embrace of Heroin, and to think, he'd almost gone a whole year of being clean. Sometimes it's harder than people think to break away from adiction. (You didn't think I forgot Sonic became an addict, did you?)_

 _A lot of you chastised and condemned Rouge for supplying to Cosmo but Rouge isn't heartless. She'd been doing weed for ages and didn't expect Cosmo to become so addicted since Marijuana isn't a very adictive substance. One problem Rouge overlooked... Cosmo has a very adictive personality. Rouge is trying her best to cut Cosmo off and help her, but I think it was too little too late._

 _Eclipse spread the word about the miscommunication between Tikal and Mighty, but as rumours go, the truth is twisted and now apparently everyone thinks Mighty kissed Tikal that night as well as confessing his undying love for her. Poor Ray, imagine how he felt when he heard the news. Unfortunately, although Mighty has many respectful traits, his short temper and stubborness always seem to drag him into drama's dark depths. His secrets have soiled any communication the two best friends continue to try and have and it led Ray straight into Clove's open arms and Rove is official again. If only Ray took Mighty's word about why he broke up with CLove and if only Mighty was so stubborn and just said two little words (I promise) then maybe none of this would have happened._ _  
_

 _Lumina's broke, Breezie's still working and Tekno dumped Bean. Can Espio go and comfort his oldest friend or is the wound that separated the two of them just too deep?_

 _Wave's still struggling with her bulimia, but Sally stepped in to help her the way Julie had done for her a couple days ago. As Julie and Sally grow closer, Sally's been forcing herself to eat more, starve herself less and purge less often. However, Sally isn't perfect. Unfortunately, Wave caught her, and right after Sally made Wave promise to stop. I don't think Wave is very happy about that..._

 _Sorry there is such long gaps between chapters but each chapter is well over 10,000 words pretty much this whole part and will continue to be as the drama continues to ramp up. There's no slowing down in sight for any of our characters, and I doubt you'd all continue to read if everything was all rainbows and smiles, would you :P_

 _Question of the Day: I love reading theories, so I'd like to hear some theories about unanswered arcs. What is inside the letter Tails gave to Espio as his last written words? What happened between Scourge and Silver? Where did Mephiles go? What could Claire's favour for Aleena end up being? Or any other questions that were raised but still never answered._

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Lumina's backstory revealed. What happened between her and Void that fateful night?_

 _Sonic slips further into his grief and guilt as he starts seeing Tails' ghost_

 _Breezie finally finishes her History report, but is it enough to save her friendship with Spike?_

 _Jet vs. Scourge feat. Mighty_

 _... and Blaze's aunt's will reveals a shocking truth!_

 _All this and so, so, so much more next time on Chapter 45: Stage 2 - Anger_


	45. Chapter 45: Stage 2 - Anger

Chapter 45

Stage 2 - Anger

 _"_ _Gold?" the driver asked as he stepped out of the black sedan and walked around the bonnet of the car to greet the woman slouching on one of her suitcases._

 _"_ _Yep, that's me," Gold sighed in response, trying to put on a happy façade as she shook his hand. "You the driver?"_

 _"_ _Yes ma'am. Here, let me take those," the driver retrieved her suitcases and dumped them carefully into the trunk. "Are you ready to leave?"_

 _"_ _I… I don't know," Gold muttered to herself as she opened the door and paused. She leant on the frame, eyes trained on the empty, dark parking lot. She scanned the area, but caught sight of nothing. Nobody came to say goodbye to her. Not Razor. Not Zonic. Not even Espio._

 _"_ _Ma'am?" Gold turned to speak to the driver but suddenly she felt something grip her wrist and spin her around. Gold gasped in shock as she met my eyes._

 _"_ _Z-Zonic?" Gold whispered in disbelief. I raised my palm and let it rest gently on her cheek. Her skin was warm to the touch, sending shocks through my body._

 _"_ _Gold, I can't let you leave. I won't let you," I said soothingly. My heart melted as I saw her eyes soften and fill with love._

 _"_ _Zonic… you came," she mused._

 _"_ _Of course, I did," I smiled. "If you love somebody, you say it. You don't keep it in."_

 _"_ _You… love me?"_

 _"_ _I do, Gold. I love you," I finally confessed. "Do you?"_

 _"_ _Zonic… I-" she began before she began to fade and dissipate into the wind. Slowly everything around me began to wisp away like fog, rising into the sky. It swirled around, the trees, the car, the parking lot, all formed together until my bedroom formed around me and I snapped back to reality._

Zonic sighed as he watched Gold step into the car and get whisked away from his life from his bedroom window high in the dormitory. Gold breathed sadly as he saw Espio sprint out of the front door, just barely missing Gold as the car turned around the corner at the front gates.

Zonic closed his blind, unable to look at the chameleon as he retreated to his bed and collapsed onto it. He stared up at the beige, empty roof as his thoughts ran wild. He cursed himself, pinching his skin in anger. As he lay there, Zector's words echoed in his mind, berating him over and over again.

 _You're nothing but a bloody coward._

…

 _I was flustered. My hair was a chaotic tangled mess that frayed all over the place. I was sleep deprived, depressed and was reaching my wits end. It was late, well past midnight, and the baby wouldn't stop crying. He never really stopped crying. Pacifiers didn't work. Changing him didn't work. Feeding him rarely worked. Nothing did. He rarely slept, too, and my world became a constant agonizing cycle of late nights and crying._

 _This particular night was the worst. It started out great. I had finally gotten him to sleep and went to sit in the living room. I looked up at the clock. Midnight. That's when the door flew open and he stumbled home in a drunken stupor._

 _"_ _Where have you been?" I scolded him._

 _"_ _I just went to the bar with some mates after work," Void replied. I shook my head disbelievingly._

 _"_ _You mean they all stayed with you until midnight?"_

 _"_ _No, I kept drinking after they left." He slurred his words and his breath reeked of alcohol, but he was sober enough to stand up straight._

 _"_ _Did you take the car home? Do you know how irresponsible that is?" I chastised him._

 _"_ _I'm eighteen and should be allowed to drive."_

 _"_ _They'll take your license if you aren't careful."_

 _"_ _Nag, nag, nag, is that all you can do?"_

 _"_ _Why don't you try looking after the baby twenty-four seven when he never shuts up and see how angry you get," I growled._

 _"_ _There you are again bringing up how hard your life is. I'm the one who has to work two jobs to provide for him. I'm the one that supplies for us," Void pointed out. That's when I lost it. I could feel anger take ahold of me, but I refused to back down._

 _"_ _Yeah, you gave us this shitty apartment and spend the rest of the money on beer."_

 _"_ _Because I've earnt a drink."_

 _"_ _You try looking after our son. Yes, our, meaning both of us. Why don't you try taking some responsibility every now and then?"_

 _"_ _It's always my fault isn't it. I can't supply for the family. I can't look after the baby. I'm useless," Void bellowed, waking up the child._

 _"_ _Great, now look what you've done. You've woken him up!"_

 _"_ _Don't go blaming me."_

 _"_ _You can put him to sleep, I'm going to bed."_

 _"_ _That's right, go ahead and turn your back on the baby and me. It's what you're good at."_

 _"_ _Excuse me?"_

 _"_ _I didn't even want a baby. It's your fault. You said you were on the pill."_

 _"_ _You said you'd wear a condom!"_

 _"_ _You said you'd get an abortion!" That was the straw that broke the camels back. I felt the fury consume me, fire danced in my eyes and I spat venom with each word I shouted._

 _"_ _Don't you dare bring that up again. You can't force me to get rid of this child. You're nothing but a deadbeat loser who wanted a little more pleasure because having a bit of plastic in the way was too fucking much to bear."_

 _"_ _If I'm that much of a burden I'll just leave then," Void shrieked back._

 _"_ _Don't you dare walk away from me," I roared. He didn't turn around, just kept walking to the door. I chased him outside, wrapping my dressing gown around me as he hopped into the car. I grabbed a shoe left by the door and tossed it at him. It stuck him behind the head. He turned to me with a look I'd never forget, turned on the ignition and sped off into the night._

 _I didn't see him again after that night. At least, not until Fiona led me back to him in the prison. I felt awful. I was still mad at him, but I think things got a little heated that night. He was drunk, I was tired, things escalated. I just wish I could go back to that night and handle it differently. Wait until I had some sleep and he had sobered up. We'd have sat down and discussed our problems like adults. Despite everything, I still loved him and I know he still loves me, otherwise he wouldn't have sent me that duffel bag full of money. But now he's gone again. Run off to Chaos knows where and left me at this school alone._

"And that's why I was wondering if there was any way I could apply for special consideration?" Lumina asked sweetly to Razor as she finished explaining her situation.

"Can't your parents provide aid?" Razor asked.

"They disowned me when I refused to get an abortion," Lumina admitted shamefully.

"Where is the child now?"

"He's with my sister. She stuck by me, but now that I've come back to get my high school diploma, I don't have any money and I can't let my sister care for him forever. She's barely staying afloat as she is, let alone taking care of my child while I spend my time at school. If you could just give me special consideration I could work somewhere on campus, send the money for my child and still be able to pass. I can't afford to have to repeat my senior year, not after Void left," Lumina begged.

"I'm sorry, Lumina, but there is nothing I can do. Finals are only a month away. Surely she can survive until then."

"Sir, please, you don't understand-"

"Lumina, I'm sorry but I simply can't help you. Now, please, I have so many things I need to sort out. This place has gone to chaos. I'm sorry, and good luck in your finals," Razor concluded before ushering Lumina out of the room.

"What am I going to do now?" Lumina lamented aloud as she slumped out of the building without a plan.

…

It was hard to not notice his absence. He was always optimistic, loud, happy and confident, constantly chiming in if he knew the answer or asking a thousand and one menial questions if he was confused. No matter which subject it was or which teacher he had, Sonic made sure his presence was known. However, although Sonic was still in each class, it was as if he wasn't.

Sally frowned as she watched him lying on his folded arms on the desk. All life sucked out of him. Sonic was always the life of the classroom, but lately he was a shadow of himself. A phantom that stalked the halls and moaned through the night. Sally knew Tails death would rock him, it affected everybody, but it seemed Sonic was the only one who couldn't deal with the tragedy. It was as if he felt responsible. She was sure he was using again, abusing the horrid substance but she had no proof.

Sally wanted to do something. She wanted to be there for her oldest friend, but she didn't know how. The hour flew by and Sally absorbed none of the knowledge. The teacher's words went in one ear and out the other as she watched Sonic. She had to approach him and at least talk to him. And that's exactly what she did.

When the bell rang, and the students gathered their belongings and filed out of the class, Sally strode up to Sonic and grabbed his things.

"What are you doing?" Sonic asked groggily, like he wasn't in a quite right mind.

"I was thinking we could go grab a smoothie and sit under the sun. It's a beautiful day," Sally beamed cheerfully. If Sonic detested the idea, he didn't show it. He shrugged with little protest and slogged along after her. It wasn't long before Sally found a free spot on one of Emerald Lake's rolling grassy fields and sat down. She rested against the trunk of a tree, shielded in the shade from the sun's rays while Sonic lay beside her, his face unprotected from the beating sun.

"Sonic…" Sally began but wasn't sure how to begin. "You can't keep going on like this."

"I know, but I can't find any reason to be happy," Sonic admitted without looking at her.

"It's okay to be sad sometimes."

"I wish I could be sad, Sal. But I can't. I can't cry, or let it all out. I just feel so… empty, like a part of me died with him," Sonic sighed.

"A part of you did," Sally said, surprising him. "A part of me died, too. A small part of everybody who Tails touched died, but that doesn't mean we can't move on without it."

"But Sally-"

"People die all the time," Sally interrupted. "It a sad, horrible fact of life. But Tails would want you to move on, he wouldn't want you to keep living like this."

"I know, but I can't. I just miss him so much."

"I know you do, we all do… but he's in heaven now," Sally reasoned.

"I wish he was here," Sonic said tonelessly. Sally didn't know how to respond, but Sonic kept talking. "I just… it's like everybody has just forgotten about him. Everybody has already moved on and it hasn't even been a week."

"People haven't forgotten him. They just know there's nothing they can do and grieve in their own time, in their own way."

"That's because it wasn't their fault he died."

"Sonic, it's not your fault," Sally snapped. Sonic finally turned his head and looked at her. "Don't blame yourself for this. It was a freak accident that nobody could have stopped."

"You don't understand. It was my fault. I pushed him away when he needed me. I said I never wanted to see him again. Right before he died, at the casino, he came to me. We had a talk outside and he said I made him hurt, a lot, but he needed to move on. He went for a walk to clear his mind because of me. He was only on that road because of me. He is dead because of me."

"You can't think like that! He might have been sad, but you didn't make the driver hit him. You didn't make the driver not stop. That was him, not you. If anybody is to blame, it was him. Not you, not Tails. It was the driver." Sonic was silent. "Look, he might be gone, but you'll always have good memories of him, right? Nobody can take them from you."

"…I guess."

"Why don't you tell me one?" Sally suggested.

"What?"

"Tell me a story about you and Tails. It might help if you reminisce about him out loud."

"Well… have you ever wondered why I like space so much?" Sonic asked. Sally shook her head with a simper, her eyes urging him to continue and to think fondly on Tails. "When I was young I was always fascinated by the sky. I loved the twinkling stars and the black vastness. Mum bought me these glow in the dark stars so when I was trying to go to sleep I could look up and see the stars even though I was in my house. On the first Friday of every month, back in Mobotropolis, the observatory would let people in for free until eleven to look at the stars and every Friday my mum would take me. I loved it."

"I remember you were always busy Friday nights back then," Sally nodded, showing she was listening.

"When we moved south to Central City, they didn't have that monthly tradition, but I still wanted to go look at the stars once a month through a big telescope. Mum said she didn't want to pay, but I was still welcome to go if I used my own money. I didn't want to go alone, but one day at school I brought it up with Tails and he seemed enthusiastic. 'I'd love to go. I'm sure I'll love it if you love it,' he'd say to me. After the first Friday he made a pledge to me that no matter what, for as long as I wanted to, he'd sacrifice his Friday nights to go to the observatory. And we did. On the first Friday of every single month, until the observatory closed down two years ago," Sonic managed a slight smile. A foreign sight as of recent.

"That was very sweet of him," Sally smiled sadly. "Would you like to tell another story?" Sonic looked at her, but a small frown slowly crossed his face as he shook his head and Sally's heart sank.

"Thanks, Sal, but I'm just not in the mood," Sonic said in a melancholy voice as he stood and tossed his almost completely full smoothie cup into the bin. "Thanks for the smoothie, but I'm not that hungry. I'll see you 'round." Sonic thrust his hands deep into his pockets, hung his head low and trudged off to the dormitories.

"What can I do…?" Sally sighed as she watched him go, wishing she could do anything to alleviate some of his pain.

…

Ash Mongoose, Emerald Lake's resident history teacher, stood at the front of the room, drawing a map of olden-day Soleanna. He was trying to explain how the troops maneuvered through the thick, swampy marshes during the great Mobian war when the bell chimed. Ash, just like every teacher, knew it was impossible to garner student's attentions once the bell rang. The sounds of shuffling papers filled the room and Ash surrendered to the ever-quickening pace of school.

"Make sure to finish reading chapter thirteen and complete questions one to seven before third period on Thursday," Ash called as the faster students rushed out of their classes. Slowly the room emptied until only a few students remained. Rouge watched as Breezie thanked Eclipse before stumbling over to the front of the room. Spike still sat at the back, fixing something that had broken. Rouge rose was a simper and sauntered over to the darkling.

"Hey Eclipse, how are you doing?" Rouge purred.

"Oh, hey Rouge, I've been alright," Eclipse mumbled back awkwardly.

"Is everything alright?" Rouge asked with a smirk. "You seem nervous. It's just little old me."

"Y-Yeah I know… it's just, it's strange that somebody like you would wait around to talk to somebody like me," Eclipse replied.

"What do you mean 'somebody like me?' Is something wrong with me?"

"What? N-No, not at all. I just meant, like, you're so gorgeous and popular and I'm just… me."

"Aww, you're sweet. Nobody has ever called me gorgeous before," Rouge taunted with a wink, blowing a kiss towards him. "But don't be so down on yourself, Hun, you're not a bad looker either."

"Thanks… but I have a girlfriend."

"Calm down honey, I'm not asking you out. I'm not into you like that."

"S-Sorry I… I…" Eclipse babbled.

"Just stop talking now," Rouge suggested. Eclipse shut his mouth and nodded, waiting for Rouge to get to the real reason she approached him. "I saw you with Breezie just now. It seems you two have started sitting together more often and, I've got to know, is something brewing between the two of you?"

"Me and Breezie?" Eclipse repeated obviously. "No, nothing like that. She just really needed help with a history report and I've got some of the highest marks in the class, so I agreed to give her some help."

"Oh, you have the highest marks, do you? Well, if you gave her some help, you wouldn't mind giving little old me some too, would you?" Rouge batted her eyelids.

"Yeah, I guess, I don't see why not."

"Perfect," Rouge beamed, pulling out a black marker from her purse and snatching Eclipses arm. She turned his hand over and began to scrawl numbers neatly on the back of his hand. "Here's my number. Message me later and we'll organize a time to meet up and study."

"Okay," Eclipse stared obliviously at his hand like she had done something to his skin. Rouge chuckled softly before she waltzed out of the room. Eclipse scurried after her, remembering about a date he needed to organize for Tikal. Meanwhile, Breezie rustled through her bag until she pulled out a navy-blue folder and handed it to Ash.

"What's this?" Ash asked as he took it from her and thumbed through it quickly.

"It's my history report you asked for. I know it's a bit late, but I haven't missed a single class since you had that talk to me," Breezie beamed proudly.

"Oh, I had completely forgotten I had assigned you this task," Ash laughed. Breezie's face grew dull in unbelievable shock.

"You mean… I did all this work… for nothing?"

"Not necessarily. If this is good, I'll give you some extra credit and you might just be able to bring your average up to a B+ before heading into your final exam."

"Really? Oh thank you, thank you, thank you," Breezie wrapped her arms around him and squeezed softly. As soon as she had flung herself upon him, she jumped away embarrassed. "Sorry."

"It's quite alright," Ash dusted himself off. Breezie noticed out of the corner of her eye her old best friend zip up his backpack and march quietly out of the room. She called another thanks to the teacher before sprinting after Spike, catching up to him with ease.

"Spike, wait," she called.

"What do you want?" Spike replied coldly. Breezie was taken slightly aback, not use to this abrasive nature from him, but she understood why and agreed that she deserved it. However, she would be damned if she didn't at least try to make amends.

"I have something for you," Breezie said.

"I don't want anything." Breezie ignored him and dug around her pack and pulled out a second folder, this one black, with a completely identical inside.

"What's this?" Spike asked.

"It's my report." Spike turned it over in his hands like it was a foreign, confusing object.

"And why are you giving it to me?"

"I'm sorry. I did some horrible things. I didn't trust you about Silver, I turned against you but, worst of all, I used the fact that you had a crush on me to get you to do all my work. I still stay up at night regretting that and hating myself. I'm sorry about everything I did but I was just scared I'd have to repeat. I'm sorry I made you think I didn't treasure our friendship. I do. I still get sad, but not because I miss Silver, but because I miss you. I just want my best friend back."

"You're an idiot."

"What?" Breezie felt like she was going to cry. She didn't expect that, but Spike cracked a cheeky grin.

"I said you're an idiot. I didn't need a big speech, you had me at sorry."

"You dick," Breezie batted his shoulder lightly accompanied by a laugh. "You made me think you hated me."

"I could never hate you, Breezie. I just thought you didn't care about our friendship."

"That couldn't be further from the truth. Now, it's been so long since we've properly talked, how about we go grab a coffee, on the house."

"You got any emerald flakes hidden away?" Spike asked hopefully.

"Spike, are you just using me for my flakes?" Breezie pretended to be offended.

"Isn't that how our friendship works? You use me for my brain and I use you for your coffee?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Breezie laughed. "Now, come on, tell me what's new in your life, bestie?" Breezie asked as she draped an arm around him like she always used to do as they walked over to the coffee shop.

"Well, bestie, I'm actually seeing somebody new."

"You've finally got a girlfriend? Awesome! Who is it?"

"Sonia."

"What?! No way!"

…

Amy's phone vibrated noisily in her pocket during her last period class. Normally she never looked at her phone in her classes but since it was a call she quickly glanced at the illuminated screen. Zouge, her publisher's name glowed.

"Sorry sir, I have to go to the toilet," Amy called as she leaped off her seat and rushed out of the room before waiting for a response. As soon as she closed the door behind her she swiped across her phone and raised it to her ear.

"Amy?" Zouge's voice echoed through the speaker.

"Yes, hello Zouge," Amy panted.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Zouge asked.

"No, it's fine, I can talk. What's up?"

"Well, it's about the changes you asked me to make to your book…"

"What about them?"

"Against my better judgement I've decided to make them and we've made the final altercations and your book should be in online stores by next week and in bookstores in hard copy the week after," Zouge announced. Amy had to hide a shriek of glee as she covered her hand with her mouth.

"That's excellent news. Thank you so much, Zouge. I don't know how to repay you," Amy thanked profusely.

"Just make sure this is a success and keep writing for me," Zouge chuckled. "Now I must be off. Things to write, people to see. Ta, ta."

"Goodbye Z-" Amy began but was met with nothing but a dial tone before she could finish. However, nothing could spoil her happy mood as she skipped merrily back into class.

"Must have been an amazing pee," Spike shuffled over to whisper into Sonia's ear as the joyous girl brushed passed them. Sonia masked her giggles as they watched Amy take her seat before focusing back on their teacher.

…

Sonic couldn't sleep. He'd been lying with his eyes open wide, staring at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity before he had finally had enough. He thought maybe another fix would help him find the allusive grips of sleep. He slid out of bed and rummaged through his drawer as Mighty slept soundly beside him, staring absentmindedly out the window when he saw something that made his jaw drop. Tails.

Sonic didn't even think as he raced out of the dorm, leaving the door swinging ajar as he bolted down the stairs and out into the crisp night air. He sprinted across the football field in a matter of seconds to the spot where he had seen Tails, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Sonic sighed, thinking his mind was just playing tricks on him when he caught a glance of golden fur drifting down the forest path. Sonic chased after, calling Tails' name at the top of his voice but the fox seemed to always be just a little bit ahead of him. He was like a phantom, hovering over the ground in a ghostly blue tinge. Sonic wasn't sure, but he knew he had to catch up to the spirit and find out.

Suddenly, Tails took a sharp left at a large tree and flitted through the bush. Sonic shadowed, mesmerized, as he followed Tails. The sharp twigs and branches tore his clothes and slashed his skin, drawing blood, but he didn't care. He just wanted to reach Tails. That's when the bush opened up to an open area raised above a small hill hidden from view, overlooking the lake.

Sonic looked all around but the phantom was gone. Sonic fell to his knees, willing for tears to flow from his permanently dry eyes. Emptiness consumed him again as he stared out at the lake. The spot he'd often visit to relax. That's when Sonic realized where he was. The spot that he'd often met Tails at. Their spot.

…

Scourge felt like a king. Everything seemed to be going his way. Fiona had backed down, he had a super attractive girlfriend, Rouge, he was winning in his war with Mighty and he had made Void run away. His life hadn't been this good since… well Scourge didn't want to think back to those times. He was set on looking forward. However, to get this far he had to step over a lot of people and one of those people decided to fire back.

"Scourge!" Jet bellowed angrily from the other side of the hallway. Scourge stopped, his ears flicking from hearing his name. He turned, a smirk sliding across his face as his gaze locked with Jet. All the students stepped out of the way as Jet barreled down the hallway.

"What's up, loser?" Scourge asked mockingly.

"Don't think I forgot about what happened on Saturday," Jet growled.

"I assure you I haven't the faintest idea what you're on about," Scourge taunted, his sneer never faltering.

"You're just as bad as Fiona."

"Don't compare me to that slut."

"I'll do whatever the fuck I like," Jet snapped back. "Because apparently you knew what happened to my parents for ages and just never told me."

"I did. On Saturday, when I felt it appropriate," Scourge smiled, showing his pointed teeth and silver tongue stud.

"When you felt it appropriate? They were my parents."

"Why don't you go get mad at Tails? He knew before I did and yet he never came to tell you either?"

"That's a low blow and you know it," Jet scowled. As their argument raged on, each boy getting progressively louder the students loitering the hall formed a circle around them, thirsty for blood.

"Why?" Scourge baited.

"You know why. Because he's dead."

"Oh, so it's just like your parents then?" That was it, the straw that broke the camel's back. Jet lunged in a blind fury at Scourge, sending his fist frightfully fast into Scourge's jaw. Scourge stumbled back slightly. A small trickle of blood began to pool out of the corner of his mouth. Scourge licked the area, relishing in the taste of his own blood.

"Fight, fight, fight!" Some of the students chanted as they watched.

"It that all you've got?" Scourge jeered. "Pathetic."

"You're a fucking monster, joking about my parent's death like it means nothing," Jet snarled.

"Don't pretend like you're the only one with dead parents," Scourge countered. "Shit happens. That's life, just move the fuck on." Jet roared, anger blinding him as he reeled back to deliver another punch but before it could meet it's mark Mighty jumped in the way, blocking Scourge's blow.

"Mighty, what are you doing? Don't defend this guy!"

"Jet, calm down," Mighty tried to defuse the situation. "I know Scourge is a piece of shit and I'd love to beat the shit out of him too, but violence isn't the answer. Trust me, I know."

"Of course you'd show up," Scourge hissed. "You always need to rescue the damsel in distress to get your rocks off, don't you?"

"I'd walk away if I were you, Scourge."

"Well, if you won't fight then I will," Scourge clenched his fist and plunged it deep into Mighty's gut. Mighty grunted but stood his ground, biting his bottom lip as he stared daggers at Scourge.

"What the hell is going on?" A deep voice bellowed through the crowd. All the student's instantly silence as Zonic pushed them aside and strode into the middle of the circle. "Jet, Mighty, Scourge, what is the meaning of this?"

"It was him, Mr. Zonic," Jet tried to defend himself. "Scourge was making fun of my parents and Tails."

"Lies," Scourge scoffed.

"That's enough from both of you," Zonic shouted. His tone was enough to quiet even Scourge. Everybody could tell Zonic meant business. His eyes reflected nothing but pain and malice. He practically seethed with anger as spit dripped from his mouth with every word he uttered. "All three of you, detention this weekend."

"But Zonic," Mighty began but was immediately silenced by the domineering teacher.

"No buts! Now, everybody else, get back to class." All the students were still, petrified by the impossible change Zonic had seemingly undergone from the goofy, caring teacher to this behemoth before them. "Now!" Zonic roared and the students scattered like frightened mice. Zonic huffed as he turned and marched away. Little did anybody know that Zonic wasn't mad at them, but rather annoyed at himself. He hated himself for being so cowardly and letting Gold go, and it would seem he had decided to take his anger out on the students.

…

Fiona had bitter distaste in her mouth after Zonic had broken up the fight. She was waiting, secretly begging for Jet and Mighty to team up and let Scourge have it. She knew it was coming, if only the stupid science teacher didn't get in the way. Fiona grumbled as she skulked back through the hallway when she noticed Rouge exiting out of a classroom.

Fiona remembered the little chat she had intended to have with the beauty before it was interrupted with Void, Lumina and Jet's drama. Fiona growled to garner Rouge's attention.

"Oh, Rouge, what do you want," Rouge rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Don't talk to me like that," Fiona hissed.

"Look, whatever stupid threat you have to make can you hurry it up. I'm late for a class across campus."

"Alright, I'll make it quick then. What the fuck are you doing with Scourge?"

"Fucking him, what does it look like?" Rouge shrugged blatantly.

"I mean, why?"

"What does that matter? You don't own him, and you never did. He dumped you so move on."

"He used me, Rouge," Fiona spat. "Then when I found somebody again he made it his mission to purposely ruin it for me. He hates love, Rouge, and I just want to say, girl to girl, watch out for him."

"You really think I'd believe you after all the shit you've pulled these past years? Why don't you do everybody a favour and run away like your old boy toy Void did."

"That's it," Fiona bellowed, surging at Rouge. Fiona slashed Rouge's arm with her sharp nails, slicing her designer top and drawing blood.

"You fucking bitch," Rouge cursed. "You'll regret that."

"Doubt it, slut."

"Fiona, Rouge," Zonic bellowed, rushing up to them. "Stop it this instant. Detention, both of you!"

"You can't do that!" Fiona challenged.

"Don't talk back to me young lady," Zonic warned, his face unwavering. Fiona backed down instantly. She knew he meant business and wasn't stupid enough to try to fight him on this. "Whatever," she grumbled.

"Why do I get detention? She scratched me, I did nothing," Rouge countered.

"Because I said so," Zonic howled.

"But-"

"One more word and you get detention next week, too." Rouge bit her tongue begrudgingly and skulked off down the hallway with Fiona beside her.

"This isn't over," Fiona whispered.

"Not by a long shot," Rouge agreed.

…

The sun beamed through the cloudless sky, warming the inviting earth below. Birds sung melodic tunes from their perches in the tall trees and many students lazed about in the sunlight snoozing, studying or sitting in small circles with friends to chat about anything that came to mind.

Jet found a spot by one of the tall, luscious trees and leant up against it. His eyes scanned the schoolyard nervously, waiting for any sign of Cosmo. He had this inkling deep in the pit of his stomach that grew, making him unsure and nauseous. He needed to speak to Cosmo, and as luck would have it, she finally strolled by.

"Cosmo!" Jet called out as he leaped from the dirt and raced up to her.

"Jet," Cosmo said startled. "Don't sneak up on me like that," she smiled.

"Sorry, I just really needed to talk to you."

"Can it wait? I really need to get somewhere."

"Where? I'll walk with you," Jet offered.

"Oh, you know, just places. It's okay, I can get there myself," Cosmo waved away his offer. He gave her a knowing look.

"Cosmo… why have you been avoiding me?" Jet asked.

"I haven't been avoiding you," Cosmo lied. She had a horrible poker face and everything she was thinking pooled in her facial features.

"It's because I said the L word, isn't it," Jet sighed as his gaze fell down to the dirt below his shoes.

"I-I…" Cosmo knew it was no use to lie, so she exhaled deeply. "Yes."

"Did I move too quickly? Did I mess it up?"

"What? No, you didn't mess anything up," Cosmo assured him. "I just… I can't say it back."

"Why not?" Jet asked with puppy dog eyes round, innocent and insecure.

"Jet… you're a great guy and I really like you, but I just don't think I'm ready to take that next step. Love is a big word. I know you say it a lot, but it just isn't that easy for me. You're my first real boyfriend and you were my first kiss, so this is a big step for me."

"I guess I understand…"

"Thank you, Jet. I do really like you."

"Sure, that's easy for you to say," Jet rolled his eyes bitterly.

"Jet!" Cosmo gasped.

"Sorry, just, look, it's whatever. I've gotta go," Jet mumbled as he pushed past her and sped off towards the dormitories, ignoring Cosmo's cries as she bellowed his name.

…

Espio hadn't been to the top floor of the dormitory. The seventh floor always seemed like an unnecessary hassle to get to, and Espio never had any reason or people to visit at the top. It seemed the same as the others, but the carpets were different, a rich maroon colour.

Espio wondered to the end of the long hall and peered out the wide window at the end. The view took his breath away. The window faced the acres of forested land and he could just make out some of the still, zaffre water of Emerald Lake.

Espio shook his head and overcame the distractions as he stepped up to the wooden door and wracked his knuckles against it. A few seconds past before the door swung open and a cruel looking black and white jackal answered.

"Who are you," he scowled.

"My name's Espio. Who are you? Is this Bean's room?" Espio responded as politely as he could.

"I'm Infinite," the jackal grunted. "Yeah, this is his room. Are you here to fix him," Infinite rolled his eyes inconsiderately.

"What do you mean, fix him. Is he really that bad?" Concerned flooded Espio as he tried to peer into the room.

"Ever since that creepy canary dumped him his moped about in the room. I only ever see him leave to go to class. He rarely eats anymore and I don't know how much longer I can deal with him," Infinite sighed exasperatedly. Espio mumbled something silently under his breath.

"Can I talk to him?" Espio asked.

"Go nuts. Tell him he better sort his shit out soon," Infinite grumbled as he slid past Espio and skulked down the hallway, pulling a black hood over his head. Espio could help but stare as he left, a multitude of horrible insults popping into his head but he dispelled them and carefully crept into the room.

"Bean?" Espio called out quietly. "Bean, are you in here?"

"Go away," a lump underneath the covers of one of the bottom bunks groaned.

"Bean, c'mon, what's got you so down," Espio ventured further into the room until he loomed harmlessly over the bed. Bean didn't respond, or even move. Espio frowned and poked Bean in the ribs with his index finger. Bean hissed as the lump rolled over and his green head emerged from beneath the blankets.

"E-Espio?" Bean gasped, his tired, red, baggy eyes scanned the chameleon as if he didn't think Espio was real.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it," Espio smiled down at his oldest and dearest friend sadly, his eyes solemn and distant. He could feel his heart break as he scanned Bean's weak, insecure and depressed figure. First he lost his two best friends, then he lost his parents and now, the girl of his dreams left him too.

"Espio, please leave," Bean said distantly.

"Bean, I know about Tekno. Please, I'm just here to help."

"Oh, really. You just so happen to come 'help' me now that you know Tekno is out of the way?" Bean suddenly snapped as sadness was replaced with fury.

"Dude, sick, it's not like that at all!"

"Bullshit. I saw what you and Fiona became. You only ever look after others if it somehow benefits you," Bean challenged.

"Bean, seriously, I just want to make sure my best friend is okay," Espio said.

"We aren't best friends. We haven't been for three long years."

"I just want to make sure you're okay. People have been telling me how you haven't left your room."

"Seriously, Espio, just fuck off."

"Bean, I-"

"I said fuck off," Bean screamed as he lifted his pillow and hurled it at Espio's head. Espio ducked out of the way.

"Bean, it's not what you think."

"Get out!" Bean shrieked like a tantruming toddler, completely overcome with conflicting emotions.

"Fine, I'll go. But just know this isn't the end. I'm not giving up on you."

"Leave!"

"I'll be back, Bean," Espio whispered wistfully as he slipped out of the room, his heart cracking into pieces as he heard the frantic, chaotic sobbing spewing from the other side of the door.

…

 _The darkness surrounds me again like a blanket of blackness suffocating the light and stealing my breath. I can't breathe, I can't talk, I can't move. I just float in nothingness like usual until the two faint lights break through the dark. However, instead of a saving grace they only add to my nightmare. The two lights pierce through like the devil's eyes. The rev of the car's engine is next to fill my ears. Sight and sound rush through me as the lights grow close. They get closer and closer; the sound gets louder and louder until they are upon me and…_

 _THUD_

"Ow!" Tikal screeched as she fell from her chair and collided on the classroom floor. The room span around as she tried to gather her bearings and clutched her aching head. The confused and concussed girl sat sprawled on the floor in the middle of a crowded chemistry classroom.

Eclipse was the first to rush to her aid, helping her up and asking if she was alright but his words were dumb and flew right through her head. She glanced around shakily, taking in the students around her. Some held concerned stares, others were struggling to stifle giggles. Mighty hid from her gaze as Eclipse's words finally broke through the haze clouding her mind.

"Tikal, are you alright sweetie?" Eclipse asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Tikal leant down to pull her chair back up. "I guess I just dozed off a bit and I guess I fell out of my chair."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Eclipse pushed further, like he always did.

"Chaos, I said I'm fine, can you stop hovering over me for like two seconds," she shoved his arms away from her as she took her seat again.

"Tikal, that's enough distractions. One more word out of you and it's detention!" Zonic snapped, his sour mood still entirely prevalent.

"But-"

"That's it," Zonic reached into his desk and pulled out a small, red slip of paper. He scribbled something down, tore it from the others and handed it to the flabbergasted girl. "Detention this Friday. No more disruptions." Tikal opened her mouth to protest but knew it would be fruitless and bit her tongue, returning to her chair.

The rest of the class crawled by as she struggled to stay awake. The tendrils of sleep gripped her and tried to pull her under but she refused to return. Tikal hadn't been sleeping much recently but she can't face it. She didn't want to go back to the black realm. She didn't want to see the devils piercing headlights of the killer car.

…

It was a lazy afternoon as Julie-Su carried two carboard containers of piping hot coffee through the twisting paths that lined the school. She glanced up at the fluffy dawn-lit clouds that hid the sky above her with a smile as she made her way back to the dorm. Julie didn't stop until she reached Sally's room. Julie was greeted in pleasantly and closed the door with the heel of her boot as she handed a coffee to her companion.

"Thanks, this looks amazing," Sally grinned as she took a tentative sip.

"I'm just happy you actually asked for some coffee. You've been making great progress, Sally," Julie smiled. The two girls took a seat on Sally's bed. Her three roommates, Sonia, Fiona and Lumina, were off out and about around the school giving the two a moment's privacy. "In fact, I also bought you a muffin!"

"Julie, seriously," Sally rolled her eyes.

"What? I was just thinking maybe you'd be hungry enough to eat a full breakfast this morning. It's just a muffin, it isn't much," Julie said defensively.

"Muffin's are all carbs. You know I'm trying to lose weight without purging."

"But Sal, you don't need to lose weight, you need to start gaining some," Julie urged.

"How could you say that? Look at me," Sally gestured to her body. She had legs as thick as logs, a stuffed, rotund belly and huge arms with fat sausage fingers attached to the end.

"Sally, I am looking. This is why I think you need to eat this."

"I'm too fat, Julie. I'm a fat, fat, fatty."

"You're not!" Julie countered. "You're dangerously skinny, Sal. Please, just eat this, for me."

"You're just like them, aren't you," Sally growled, her tone suddenly merging into anger. "You just want me to look fat and ugly so you can laugh at me."

"Sally, I would never do that."

"You want proof? Look!" Sally jumped off the bed and stomped over to the full-length mirror. "See how fat I am!"

"All I see is how skinny you are."

"Are you kidding me? Look, look, LOOK!" Sally bellowed.

"I am looking," Julie urged as Sally continued to demonize herself, spouting horrible insults at her body. "Sally, please, you have an illness." Sally continued to yell, her voice growing steadily louder as she stared at her deformed body in the mirror. However, suddenly something made her stop. As she looked at her reflection, her eyes darted to Julie standing behind her, her eyes misty with fresh tears spilling from her eyes. Seeing Julie sad… seeing her crying, Sally didn't understand.

"Please… Sally… you're not fat."

"But I am, Julie… I…" Sally trailed off as she took a good, hard look at herself. Suddenly the body she perceived began to waver and contort into something entirely different. Sally gasped as she noticed her reflection change until her true image echoed back at her from the mirror. She gasped at the sight.

Sally finally took in her gauntness. Her hair was wane and brittle, nothing like the flowing auburn curtain it was before. Her pink gums were receding and curved against yellow teeth. Her face was sickly and pale. Her shoulders stuck out like spikes, pressing against her skin. Her ribcage constrained against her tight skin, making her look more like a skeleton than a squirrel. Her knuckles bulged on her long, slender fingers and her legs were as thin as twigs.

Julie tried to smile at her realization, but it was a sad smile from seeing her so reduced, tears still sparkled in her eyes. At least Sally finally saw her the way everybody else did. The veil was lifted and the fog clouding her mind lifted. Sally understood why her friends were trying to get her to eat more, to trick her into it. She was a hollow shell of her once vibrant self. Sally finally saw the truth, and Julie couldn't be more relieved.

"I'm sorry…" Sally sniffed as she turned, unable to look at herself in the mirror any longer, and threw her arms around Julie. She shook like a leaf, her brittle bones clanging together as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Shhh, it's okay, I'm here for you," Julie soothed, returning the hug as she wiped the tears away from her eyes with her thumb. "Now that you see the truth, we can finally start the proper road to recovery. Together."

…

Espio was filled with frustration and his mind was blank. Every little thing seemed to pile upon one another and converge into something Espio didn't know how to control. He had finally found his place in life. He had friends he could depend on, he had finally moved past the transgressions he had made in the past, he had a genuine, exciting budding career and the girl of his dreams. However, life's a cruel mistress. It intervened, and Espio's tower came crumbling down.

Tikal dredged up the past, instilling strange emotions deep within him, he had lost the girl of his dreams because he was stupid and let a fan blackmail him. He knew Gold would never forgive him, and he knew he couldn't protect her like he promised. Fiona, a parasite he let into his life only fanned the flames that threatened to burn him and finally everything had gone up in flames. The life he built for himself. He hadn't felt this low in ages.

Espio sighed as he lay on his bed, his notebook open beside him with illegible, crossed out scribbles. He had been struggling with a mental blank lately and the constant pressure Thrash had been placing on him wasn't helping. As he yawned, his phone flashed and vibrated violently. Espio groaned when he saw Thrash's name flash up and begrudgingly answered the phone.

"Hello?" Espio said.

"Espio, what's been happening?" Thrash responded in an overly cheerful tone that felt both fake and forced.

"Nothing much, just-"

"Great, great, great," Thrash interrupted and ignored him. "Look, Espio, it's nearing the end of the year and we agreed you'd get that full album delivered to me before December so we can get those summer holiday sales and new year's demand. With the EP and your new songs, we are still three songs short of what you've promised. You have less than two months before we've scheduled a release and I need those songs at least a month earlier so we can properly record and mix them for release. You have two weeks to get me those last three songs!"

"Thrash I-"

"Good, I'm glad we see eye to eye. Talk soon, bye," Thrash barked and before Espio could say another word he was met with a dial tone. Espio pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes as he rolled over onto his stomach and stared at the notebook.

"He want's new songs," Espio growled as he rummaged around to find his trusty pencil. "Then I'll give him a new song." Espio got to work, his hand moving feverishly as the words flowed seamlessly. The words were infused with his anger, the betrayal he felt as thoughts of Fiona, Tikal, Gold, Thrash and Bean all rummaged around inside him, melding into a bitter, frantic song.

…

Zonic grumbled to himself as he marched angrily down the hallway with clenched fists. He stared an incredulous, menacing glare at any loitering students until the scurried away in fear of another detention he handed out like candy. Everywhere he looked things reminded him of Gold, reminded him of how much of a coward he is and reminded him of why he was so angry. Zonic strode with purpose across one of the grassy fields and barreled into the teachers lounge when a familiar face made him stop in his tracks.

"Z-Zespio?" Zonic stammered in disbelief.

"Hello, Zonic. How've you been?" Zespio responded calmly.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Zonic asked.

"Do I need a reason to come see one of my closest friends at work?"

"Well… no… it's just, you've never done this before," Zonic pointed out.

"Alright, you got me, I did come here with an ulterior motive," Zespio admitted as he took a seat. Curious, Zonic took a seat opposite him and raised an eyebrow. Zespio continued. "I just wanted you to know that I don't think Zec will stay mad at you for long."

"That's just his way," Zonic sighed. "Zector always gets a little too worked up but he always calms down."

"I'm not saying he doesn't have a valid reason this time."

"Are you trying to tell me you're on his side?"

"There are no sides, Z!" Zespio emphasized. "It's just… you did sort of leave his sister at the alter and ran away."

"And you know why I did that."

"Still… you could have at least said it to her face before you left her weeping at the altar."

"Alright, I fucked up. I've already been berated by Zec, I don't need it from you too, Zes," Zonic mumbled.

"I'm not berating you," Zespio added in exasperation. He stopped himself before he got into one of his famous rants and took a deep breath. "Look, I just came here as a favour to Zec and as a friend to you. You've told me about her father's offer and what it helped you realize but Zec just doesn't see your way. I think it'd give him some peace of mind if you just told him how you really felt about Zally."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, did you really love her. Did you truly love her?"

"Of course I did. I really wanted to marry her, but then the closer it came the more real it became and I got cold feet. When her father gave me the offer I refused, naturally, but I also realized how relieved I felt. I knew if I felt relieved to have a way out I could never fulfil her and knew she deserved better than me. She deserved somebody that would love her completely and be with her and it just so happens that wasn't me," Zonic sighed, feelings other than anger and self-hate washing over him.

"If you tell Zec that I think he'll understand and things can go back to the way things were," Zespio smiled.

"Thanks."

"Hey, Z, did you ever think you didn't actually run away from Zally?" Zespio asked.

"Hmm?" Zonic gazed up at him questioningly.

"Well, perhaps instead of running away from her, you were simply running towards something else. Maybe this was meant to be."

"You're talking about Gold, aren't you?"

"Don't let another one slip through your fingers, Zonic. Do what you do best… run. But this time, run towards something instead of away from it," Zespio smiled.

"Thanks, Zes, you're a true friend," Zonic thanked. "I think I know what I need to do."

…

 _I could write a million songs, sing a million notes each with the same cadence and it wouldn't fill the void or solidify the memory. They would all read inversely or sound different but the meaning would never change. It would all boil down to the same thing. I missed Tails. He should be here, next to me, not there. I don't know if it's selfish, to rip him away from heaven, but heaven doesn't deserve him. He should be sitting in this blanket fort with me, his pretty blue eyes, wily heart, torn mind, tortured yet kind soul and innocent smile. Fiercely loyal and slightly over protective but never cruel or mean. I didn't realize it until he was gone, but my heart is suddenly missing an integral piece. When can I let go?_

 _Part of me wants to blame Sonic, yell, scream, kick and fight until he sees what he did, but I know it wasn't his fault. Sonic didn't want Tails to die. On the other hand, I know it was me that caused the riff between the two of them. If I didn't do all the stupid, selfish shit I did… if I didn't try to steal Sonic for myself they would still be happy together. Tails wouldn't have been sad that night and he wouldn't have run onto that road. If only I wasn't so selfish…_

 _The mourning had not run its course. The heaviness was in my body and limbs as much as my mind. Things I used to find funny only deepened the pain. He should be here to laugh with me, or at me… just near me. Instead I find myself walking to his empty room and staring listlessly at Blanketopolis._

 _The most beautiful memories are the worst. They cut through me like shards of glass. Blanket forts were once our refuge, a place of guaranteed warmth. However, just crawling through the small opening crafted expertly with care out of thin satin sheets and heavy, woolen blankets was enough to break me. Just being their filled me with sadness, but sadness was a welcoming feeling as long as I could feel near him. Mina and Tails, an odd pair. A pair I was too blind to see until it was too late, and now the only closeness I ever truly shared with him was a drunken mess. I wish he knew how much I care for him. I hope he always knew._

 _A simple blanket fort - That was all it took to break my fragile, barely mended spirit. I took out a small framed photo from my bag. I clutched his picture tight between my pale hands. I could almost see my own ghostly reflection staring back at me from the thin sheen of glass. I rubbed my eyes as I stared past my dreary face and studied his, caught in a moment of bliss and perfection. His childhood innocence radiated in his azure pupils. He was much younger in the picture, sitting in our familiar sixth grade classroom. He always looked so cute back then. I wish I could just go back to that time… a simpler time._

 _The tears came with trauma no less real than death, but they couldn't be buried. Like a raging river, nothing could stop them once the dam had burst. It was more than crying, though. It was a desolate sobbing that came from a person drained of hope and happiness. I grabbed his yellow shielded pillow and hugged it close to me as I placed his picture gently beside me, tears staining its glassy sheen. That's were I lay, deep inside Blanketopolis until the sun rose the next morning. Mourning._

…

It was weird. Something seemed off about her, but Sally simply couldn't put her finger on it. She hadn't known her for long, but it was clear as day that something had changed. She seemed more jittery, less focused and almost constantly in need. In need for what? Sally didn't know. She always was good at telling if something was off with her friends, at Cosmo was no exception.

Sally watched from afar as Cosmo nearly jumped out of her skin when the bell rang signaling the end of class. Cosmo clearly had somewhere to be as she grabbed her books and sprinted for the door before any other students had packed up their belongings. In her haste, she had neglected to scoop her small backpack off the carpeted floor.

As the rest of the class packed up and filed off through the only door like a stream of water, Sally thought she should grab Cosmo's backpack so she could give it back to the seedrian later. However, as she heaved it off the floor, a small plastic bag slipped out of the unzipped front pocket and fell harmlessly to the floor.

Ever astute, Sally noticed the tiny object out of the corner of her eye and stopped to grab it. She would have thrown it back into Cosmo's bag and zip the pocket up tight. Sally never was one to snoop around in other people's things, but this was different. She couldn't help but inspect what was inside the small plastic bag. It seemed harmless enough, but as soon as Sally caught a small whiff, she knew exactly what it was. Sally knew why it was in Cosmo's bag. Sally knew Cosmo was doing drugs.

…

The low hum of the air conditioner blasting through Razor's office echoed around the quiet room. The unbearable heat from the sun had taken its toll on all the students and buildings and didn't show any signs of letting up anytime soon. A red echidna dressed in a nice, yet uncomfortable suit sat opposite Razor, his tie loosened.

"Thank you for seeing me again, Razor," Cobar said, sweat glistening from his red cheeks.

"Anything I can do to help streamline this process is a pleasure," Razor nodded politely. "Would you like me to call in Ms. Cat?"

"In time. For now, it's you I would like to talk to," Cobar cut to the chase.

"Me?"

"Yes. Blaze's aunt was very clear about what she wanted to occur if she died before Blaze had graduated."

"What does any of this have to do with me?"

"It's clear that you've been named to become Blaze's legal guardian until she is ready to venture off on her own," Cobar said.

"Wh-what? Why me? I'm just the girl's principal. I've never even met her aunt, why would she make a stranger her only niece's legal guardian?"

"You mean you are unaware?" Cobar raised an eyebrow.

"Unaware of what?" Razor queried as he swam in confusion.

"The law in cases such as these are clear. If a minor's parent or guardian dies they will be sent to the custody of a remaining living relative," Cobar recited.

"But Blaze has no more living relatives."

"Razor, you are her last living relative," Cobar said. "Blaze's aunt confirmed it in her will."

"How can I…" Razor trailed off into silence.

"Razor, I don't know how to tell you this… you are Blaze's father!"

* * *

 _A/N: And just like that, another twist! Yes, that random tidbit about Blaze's deadbeat father and his Amythest pendant was purposely put in over the break as a hint to this revelation. Razor is Blaze's father. But how did neither of them recognize each other? How are they related and why did Blaze's mother and Aunt keep it a secret unless it was an absolute last resort?_

 _A very Zonic centered episode indeed. I know Zonic is a lot of people's least interested character. Neither a favourite nor least favourite, but most people think his scenes are the least interesting. I hope I'm starting to change your mind on his character as we begin to get more depth to his character and his internal flaws as he starts to be fleshed out more instead of simply being 'that teacher that loves Gold.' Zonic has also been on the war path, breaking up a fight between Might and Jet and Scourge, Fiona and Rouge and many others. Get ready for a lot of detention scenes!_

 _Poor Lumina, we now know more about what happened that night and why Void did what he did. Is he just a horrible deadbeat who uses people, or is there more to Void? ANd what will Lumina do now that she has no money and still needs to support her child?_

 _Finally Sally sees past the haze her mind created and sees herself the same way the rest of the school has. She's unhealthily underweight. Now suddenly everything Julie has been doing seems a lot more helpful and the things people have been saying don't seem as mean. Now that Sally can see the truth, can she begin to get healthy with Julie's help or will her mental disease continue to consume her?_

 _Sonic is struggling and Sally can't seem to help. However, Tikal and Mina don't seem to be fairing much better. Tails is gone, but death, especially the death of a close friend or love can be hard, if not sometimes impossible to properly move forward as everyone grieves differently and in different times. It seems it's only these three characters that still can't move on just yet. Will they eventually be able to or will the shadow of Tails' death hang over them for years to come?_

 _Breezie is finished and has finally handed in her project and has reconciled with Spike, but will the knowledge of his relationship with the girl who's pregnant and was left at the altar cause a rift between them after only just becoming friends again? Meanwhile Amy's book is being published despite Zouge's warnings. Will it be a massive success or will she crash and burn and will the book and its contents affect any of the people at school?_

 _Espio is having a rouge time after everything that happened and Thrash seems to be breathing down his neck. Let's hope his newest song won't ruin everything. He eve has tried to help his old best friend but it seems Bean wants absolutely nothing to do with him. What exactly happened between those two?_

 _Sorry it's been a while but christmas and new years (Well the parts that I can remember anyway :P) and just the summer holidays in general have left me with no time at all for writing. Tonight has pretty much been the first night I've had alone in over three weeks. I've also found out I got this nasty flesh eating virus from a nasty mosquito and I have to take these drugs that have been screwing with my body, and I've been working a lot of summer but don't worry, it might take a while but chapters will continue to come out! Thanks for sticking with me, it means a lot._

 _Question of the Day: Zonic the Hedgehog. Interesting main-character or annoying character who should return to the side lines where he belongs?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _A disgruntled Wave approaches Sally_

 _Breezie takes Mina to the doctors to reveal an unexpected and horrific truth about Mina's baby_

 _Detention with Zonic!_

 _More flashbacks with Silver and Scourge, along with Lumina's home life_

 _...And we finally see what happened to a certain character who has been mysteriously absent these past 10 chapters!_

 _All this and so much more, next time on chapter 46: The Veil of the Mind_


	46. Chapter 46: Veil of the Mind

_A/N: Hey everybody, quick announcement. I've finally finished writing an original story of mine and figured hey, why not upload it online and see what people think. I'm hoping to see what people like about it and eventually re-edit it and tinker with it so it's perfect so I can send it to a publisher. I thought those who are reading the 46th chapter of a sequel book I wrote everyone reading this must like my work, right? If you do, please take some time to read it. Only the first two chapters are released as of this chapter being published. It's over on wattpad so go to this adress..._

www (fullstop) wattpad (fullstop) com (slash) 531290554-the-second-prologue

Obviously because of ff restrictions i had to write (fullstop) instead of . and (slash) instead of / so change it and visit. Or just go to wattpad and search Will-Carrigan and my story 'The Second' should be there for you to read. If you like my story please make an account, comment, vote and add it to your library. It'd mean a lot and I hope you enjoy The Second. Love a good advertisement :D

Anyway, on with SHEL!

* * *

Chapter 46

The Veil of the Mind

Wave sat staring at the sandwich hidden behind her curled feathers. White mayonnaise dripped from the perfectly cut slices of bread, enticing her. The crisp lettuce shone delectably in the light and the ham taunted her. Wave wanted nothing more to take a bite. She missed the way food tasted. Proper, fattening food. Ever since she had that talk with Sally she had tried to stop purging. At first she thought she'd just eat less, but that proved harder than she'd anticipated and she swore off fatty food the entire week.

That's when Wave glanced up and caught sight of Sally sliding into the cafeteria next to Julie-Su, a great smile plastered on her face. Memories of Sally's hypocrisy floated through her head. Sally had told her to stop, took the moral high ground and then went behind Wave's back and continued to purge despite her words of warning. Wave thought she had found a true friend. She thought she had found somebody who understood her fully and truly.

"Guess I was wrong," Wave snorted as she sunk her teeth deep into the sandwich, devouring it in a couple of bites as she narrowed her eyes at the oblivious auburn-haired squirrel. A wave of nausea instantly swept through her as the food made her feel sickly. Wave rushed through the hoards of people littering the cafeteria and raced towards the bathroom.

"Was that Wave?" Julie asked as she scurried past.

"I'll be right back. I should probably go check up on her," Sally said worriedly as she followed Wave's trail. Meanwhile, Wave rushed into a stall and threw the door shut behind her, lifting up the lid and sticking her head into the bowl as she slid her finger down her throat until it enticed bile to spurt from her throat. Her vomit stained the toilet.

"Wave?" Sally called out as she tiptoed into the bathroom. Wave tried to stay quiet to avoid Sally but her loud gagging was a dead giveaway. Sally ebbed her way towards the stall that had the soles of Wave's feet sticking out and peered through the gap. "Wave, c'mon, I thought we talked about this."

"Leave me alone," Wave replied coldly.

"Wave, you can't keep doing this to yourself."

"You're one to talk," Wave bit back.

"I'm just trying to help you. This is a damaging attitude and-"

"Cut the crap, Sally," Wave snapped as she wiped the bile from her lip with the back of her sleeve and stood up. "Don't try to take the moral high ground and lecture me when you're just as guilty."

"I know I'm guilty, but I'm trying to get better. We talked about this. I stopped thanks to help and now I want to help you. That's what friends do," Sally tried to reason.

"Friends don't lie to each other."

"I-"

"I saw you purging after you promised me you'd stopped," Wave growled vulnerably. "I thought you were my friend. I thought you understood me, but I guess I was wrong. Nobody understands me. Nobody is there for me. Nobody cares about me." Wave held her head low, ignoring Sally's shouting pleas as she fled from the bathroom and didn't stop running until she made it all the way to her room and locked herself inside.

She was thankful all her roommates were out as she dived onto her bed and buried her head into the pillow, letting the tears slide down her eyes through choked sobs. Wave had always felt alone, ever since she was driven from her old school and old life as a kid, but she'd never felt this alone. Ever.

…

 _You were obsessing over me like that,  
You were being so flirty like that,  
Fingers tracing daintily like that,  
Because you clearly wanted me like that._

 _I fight for you, don't know what I'm thinking.  
A walking burden, can't float, I'm sinking.  
Dancing in shadows, the stalking demons.  
You lied to me, it's practically treason._

 _Everybody plays the game, the same, the same,  
But you became my famed flame, my shame, ashamed.  
I'm the water to your ice, you left me frozen,  
But I guess I wasn't the one you that chose then._

 _He came overnight and then stole her it wasn't right,  
I guess I shouldn't bring a knife to a gun fight.  
He wormed his way into her life like a parasite,  
I'm just a match but he's the fuse to light her dynamite._

 _I tried to stand my ground, that's when he took a swing,  
It turns out I was just a jester dressing like a king.  
The Rose to my Jack, she's the Lois to my Clark,  
She was the light shining through the dark._

 _I was the sunshine, but he was the storm,  
She was the shipwreck my light couldn't warm.  
I lost my grip, he stole her from my grasp,  
I acted tough, hide my pain behind a mask_

 _I still wonder why  
You left with him, and left me behind_

 _You left me all alone like that,  
And you crumbled my throne like that,  
My love was overthrown like that,  
Your name etched off my tombstone like that._

 _You were the valley walls, I was the raging river,  
He was the boulder that turned me to a sliver.  
Petering out with nowhere left to flow,  
And now I'm just a gun that's out of ammo._

 _Your knotted fingers were roots around my bones,  
I held onto you like a precious gemstone.  
I look up in the sky to see the constellations,  
But it don't give me the same sensations._

 _My smiles hides tears, laugh hides screams,  
Breathing life to fears, living nightmares, not dreams.  
I try to act tough but I'm bursting at the seams,  
When you left with him you destroyed my esteem._

 _I'll end this masquerade and all of my lies,  
Want to be happy, done wiping tears from my eyes.  
But I'll hide, it away so none of them can see,  
'Cause if they knew the truth I'm scared they too would leave me._

 _I turn to other's problems to escape reality,  
By helping all of them I'm really helping me.  
Making plans to help them pull through,  
Because I never planned that one day I'd be losing you._

 _I still wonder why_  
 _You left with him, and left me behind…_

Espio hung on the last note as his voice slowly faded out and his fingers stopped plucking the tightly woven strings of the guitar. The final chimes dissipated into silence as Espio sat on his bed staring expectantly at his guest. There was no response.

"So…" Espio began rather self-consciously. "What did you think?"

"Espio…" Ray trailed off as he tried to find the right words to use. "It's not that I don't like it. It's good, really, but, don't you think it's a bit harsh?"

"Harsh?"

"It's about Gold, isn't it?" Ray sighed when Espio didn't answer. Ray remembered a few nights ago when Espio came to him and revealed his deep secret. He needed somebody to tell. Somebody that he could trust and somebody he knew would never judge him. Ray was that person. Ray recalled how shocked and frankly slightly disgusted he was but after really thinking about it he understood the pain Espio had gone through. He knew a similar pain.

"Don't you think she deserves better? This seems like an attack more than a song," Ray explained.

"I know it seems a bit angry but, well, that's just how I was feeling when I penned it."

"This just doesn't seem like your music. It lacks heart."

"Well… honestly, it's not just about Gold," Espio admitted.

"Who's it about?"

"It's about a lot of things, and people. I was blinded by a hurricane of emotions when I wrote it. I was sad about losing Gold. I was annoyed about Tikal's admission at the party. I was angry at Fiona and I was missing Bean. All that negativity just culminated into the song."

"It's sort of a mess, but it makes sense if you had multiple sources," Ray thought aloud. "Like you slip in between first and third person and it starts out as an angry response to somebody that left you for another guy but then develops into a self-loathing song. I just don't think it'd be a hit."

"Well… thanks for your honesty," Espio sighed. "I'd… um, like to be left alone to think right now."

"Oh, yeah, sure, no worries," Ray smiled a sad smile as he stood from the bed and made his exit, glancing back one final time at Espio's sad frame. Mina quickly turned to walk away nonchalantly as Ray stepped out into the hallway and waited for him to leave before going back to peer at Espio again.

'What an odd song,' Mina thought to herself.

…

Things had been hard for Knuckles. He hadn't had the easiest years at high school but he always pushed through and persevered, especially thanks to the help of the two most important women in his life, Tikal and Rouge. Then he found solace in another, Julie-Su. Knuckles thought, finally, he had found somebody he really connected with. A soulmate that he loved, but he got the worst news of his life a couple weeks ago. Julie was his biological sister.

Knuckles tried to figure out the strange feelings he felt and, thanks to Julie's help, in time they both found solace in each other as siblings but Knuckles still felt empty. He couldn't figure out why, but his life seemed to stop moving forward. He was running around in circles. He thought it might've been old feelings for Rouge resurfacing but she made it clear she had moved on and was happy with Scourge.

"What's wrong with me?" Knuckles sighed aloud as he lounged around in his room. Spike was off with Sonia, Manic was Chaos knows where and Shadow had disappeared days ago. That just left Knuckles alone with his thoughts, a dangerous thing indeed. Knuckles had found himself in a rut he couldn't pull himself out of. He still didn't know how to approach his own sister and he stood on the sidelines as others around him were off dealing with their own troubles.

"I'm sick of just lying around," Knuckles shouted into the empty room. He hopped off his bed, threw on his basketball shorts and trotted off to the old court. Shooting hoops always helped him clear his head. He picked a ball of the rack that always sat against a back wall and dribbled it around the caught, sinking a few hoops with the flick of his wrist. Time flew by as Knuckles let his thoughts and troubles drain away until he focused solely on his shots.

"Nice shot," he heard somebody compliment him from the gym entrance as he swished the ball from behind the three-point line. Knuckles celebrated silently until he was interrupted. He turned to see none other than Julie-Su drop her duffle bag on the bleachers and glide over to him with a basketball hitched under her armpit.

"Julie? What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked.

"Same thing as you, I assume," Julie replied nonchalantly as she stepped passed him, lined up a shot and sunk the ball with ease.

"You here to clear your head too?"

"Hey, instead of talking, you just wanna play? Y'know, like old times?" Julie asked. Knuckles thought for a moment, holding the ball when Julie slapped it from his hands, danced around him with precision footing and scored again.

"Oh, that's how you're gonna play it, eh? You're so on," Knuckles narrowed his eyes with a small smirk curving across his lips. The two forgot their issues as they continued to play a one on one game. Time ticked by until the evenly matched game ended with Julie scoring the final point. They walked over to the bleachers and collapsed down in a tired heap, panting. Julie unzipped her bag and pulled out her water bottle dripping with condensation and sipped it eagerly. She tossed it to Knuckles wordlessly and he offered it graciously.

"You're still not as good as me," Julie said as she leaned back on her elbows and looked out at the vacant court.

"I never could beat you in a one on one, could I?" Knuckles laughed. His chuckles slowly petered out into a long, loud sigh. He turned to Julie, the gears in his mind turning. "Do you think it's weird?"

"Weird?" Julie parroted.

"Yeah. Y'know, everything that's happened."

"I thought we moved past this and agreed we were happy with the situation life gave us as siblings."

"I know, but, I can't help but feel bad. I just, I don't know how to explain it. I guess I just sound like an idiot," Knuckles shook his head.

"You're always an idiot so nothing's new. But, yes, I get what you mean. I want things to be normal between us but it's always going to feel weird. What we shared… what we did… we can't walk away from that," Julie said aloud.

"So… what do we do? Where do we go from here?"

"I… I don't know," Julie admitted. "I just… I don't regret it."

"What?"

"I don't regret what happened between us. I know in hindsight it was pretty fucked up, but I can't deny that I loved you. I really did. You were the first, and only person, I ever truly found myself in love with."

"I really loved you too."

"I wouldn't change our time together, though. We didn't know what we were back then, so it was okay. We had fun, we were happy together and we went further. Now everything is different, but I still love you. But I'm okay with that."

"I-"

"I'm glad we're related," Julie interrupted, continuing her train of thought. "I know that sounds fucked, but I think I've finally come to terms with it. I'm never not going to love you, Knuckles. But this way, as my brother, I'm never going to lose you. If we continued dating, we'd eventually break up and never see each other again but now you'll be in my life forever. I can love you in a completely different way. As a brother instead of a lover, and that's almost more powerful. I know you'll always be there for me when I need you and that makes me smile."

"I guess I never really thought about it that way," Knuckles pondered. "I guess I feel the same and knowing that you'll always be there for me no matter what honestly makes me feel a lot better."

"You think maybe after we graduate we could move in together and try living as a proper family for a little bit, at least until we both find our own partners?"

"I'd like that," Knuckles nodded. "We can do all the sibling activities we both missed out on in life. Maybe we could even get my dad and your mum to meet up?"

"That won't happen," Julie looked down. "Mum and I aren't really on good terms."

"Why not?"

"Can we not get into that right now?" Julie snapped.

"Sorry."

"No, it's alright. I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's cool, that's what siblings do. They get mad at each other all the time," Knuckles smiled.

"I guess we are pretty good siblings, then, since you always get on my nerves," Julie giggled.

"Well, you wanna come to the library with me?" Knuckles asked. "I've got a shit ton of work I need to do before exam period starts and it'd be cool if I had somebody to study with."

"Yeah, I'd like that. I just have to shower and change but I'll meet you there in thirty?"

"Sweet, see you then, sis."

"See you then, bro."

…

"Thanks for coming with me, Breezie," Mina swallowed her hear as she squeezed Breezie's hand.

"I'll always be here for you girl," Breezie smiled back. Mina lay down in the small bed in one of the many cramped rooms, her shirt lifted upwards. Geoffrey sat beside Mina, his eyes glued to the screen as he moved the scanner over her skin. The warm gel heated Mina's skin as Geoffrey studied the images displayed on the screen. Breezie sat in a chair beside Mina for moral support.

"Hmm, that's odd," Geoffrey murmured aloud.

"Is there something wrong with the baby?" Mina asked alarmed, her heartrate spiking.

"No, not at all. The baby is perfectly healthy. It's just… when did you say you got pregnant again?" Geoffrey asked.

"I'm not sure about the exact day but it would have been around three months ago," Mina replied. "…Why?"

"It's just… the baby is a lot bigger than it should be," Geoffrey rubbed his chin curiously. "Are you sure it was three months? From these scans I'd say the baby would have been conceived about four months ago."

"What are you insinuating, doc?" Breezie interjected for Mina. "My girl isn't careless. She definitely-"

"Breezie…" Mina interrupted.

"And if you think that she-"

"Breezie…" Mina repeated again. Breezie stopped when she noticed the stern, serious expression that crossed Mina's face. "Doctor… there might have been a time four months ago, but he used a condom and I was on the pill," Mina countered.

"Sometimes these things just happen," Geoffrey responded.

"I think I did have sex around four months ago… but that would mean," Mina's face drained of colour as her heart sank deeper than she ever thought possible.

"You couldn't mean…" Breezie trailed off, her heart breaking for her best friend.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy with the father?" Geoffrey asked.

"It's not that," Mina sighed, unable to admit the truth to herself. "I love the father."

"So, what's the issue?"

"My baby's father… was in here last weekend. He's dead," Mina sniffed as the reality of her situation crashed down around her.

"Is the father Miles Prower?" Geoffrey asked. Mina could do nothing more than nod her head as tears began to drip down her cheeks.

…

Laughter sounded down the halls joined by excited shouts from the chattering teenagers. Jet wiped the sweat from his brow as he sprinted down the checkerboard hallways. He passed by the typical couple, Storm and Honey, tongues deep in each other's throats like they were completely oblivious to all those around them. He sprinted by Amy, queen of the gossip, perched high giggling. A football soared over Jet's head and Knuckles called behind him asking for it back. Finally, Jet escaped the chaotic hallway as he pushed through the door. He wasn't met fondly.

"Nice of you to finally show up Mr. Hawk," Zonic growled as Jet panted. All sets of eyes turned to meet his. They all seemed scared. Zonic normally never scared anybody. He was their goofy, fun-loving teacher. Something had changed and they didn't like it. Not one bit.

The entire room had an eerie atmosphere to it, like the air was thick and strangled the life out of each of the inhabitants. Rouge and Scourge sat near each other at one end. Mighty sat on the opposite side of the room to Eclipse, enduring the close proximity of Scourge just to be as far away as possible from his former friend. Siblings Manic and Sonic shared a desk, trying to make the best of their forced detention while Fiona sat alone scrolling social media on her phone as she absentmindedly flicked her thumb.

"S-Sorry sir," Jet bowed his head as he scurried to a seat. Zonic glowered at him, cleared his throat and spoke loudly.

"I don't want to be here anymore than you do, and so I won't," Zonic barked. "I have important work I need to do in my office. You can't leave this room until five but I'll be back periodically to check on you and make sure none of you skip. If I come back and any one of you have left the room I'll make sure to give you all Saturday detention too.

"But-"

"No buts," Zonic interrupted. "I suggest you use this time to catch up on homework," he called as he stormed out the door and slammed it closed behind him.

"What's wrong with Zonic?" Sonia asked.

"I have no idea, but ever since the party he's been different," Manic pointed out. "Maybe having somebody die on his watch really affected him."

"Hmm, maybe," Sonia thought as she tapped the desk. Manic smiled sadly as he watched her. He couldn't help but let his eyes drop from her face and down to the baby bump that was growing evermore present.

"Hey, Sonny, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah Manny, what's up?"

"I just… how are you holding up?" Sonia responded with a confused glance. "I mean, like, since the wedding and the baby and everything I just wanted to touch base."

"Okay…"

"I just, I don't know, normally we live together and tell each other everything but I just feel we've been growing distant lately. We have our own friends, we generally aren't in the same classes and I feel like I barely know you anymore," Manic explained.

"You'll never not know me," Sonia smiled as she punched him playfully in the arm. "But I agree, we should find time to meet up and talk. At least once a week, I think."

"I'd like that."

"But since we have nothing else to do for the next hour… I've been doing pretty well."

"How's life?"

"Funny you should ask, it's actually been amazing?"

"And why's that. Found that special someone," Manic smirked with a playful tone.

"Kinda," Sonia blushed.

"Wait, what, who?" Manic stuttered in disbelief.

"Well… I've kinda been seeing… Spike."

"Spike!" Manic gasped. "Spike Porcupine? Seriously Sonia, why him?"

"What's wrong with Spike?" Sonia huffed defensively.

"He's just so… so… so Spike!"

"Well I happen to like Spike and I don't care what you have to say."

"But Sonia I… no, Nevermind, I'm not one to judge," Manic bit his tongue. "It's just funny that instead of having you dating my roommate is all. I'm surprised he hasn't told me about it yet."

"Maybe he's scared you'll react badly. We all remember how you handled Mephiles when you found out he knocked me up."

"Heh, yeah, right, I over reacted a little bit, didn't I," Manic scratched the back of his neck.

"That's the understatement of the year. But, you are my brother so there is something I should tell you."

"You can tell me anything, Sonny."

"Promise you won't freak out like before?"

"Promise."

"Spike can remember that night and… well… he finally told me the truth."

"The truth?"

"Manic… he's the father!"

"Screw this," Fiona huffed as Manic gasped loudly. She stood from her desk, threw her backpack strap over a shoulder.

"Fiona where are you going?" Mighty asked with an annoyed scowl.

"I'm outta here."

"But you heard what Zonic said. Don't leave or else we'll all get more detention."

"You losers can believe his threats but I'm not wasting my afternoon if he isn't even here."

"I'm not going to lose my Saturday just because you couldn't suck it up and deal with sitting in a classroom for an hour," Mighty fired back. He was done with her attitude. "Maybe you could actually do some homework and use that tiny brain of yours."

"What did you say to me?"

"You heard me."

"No, go on, say it again," Fiona dared.

"Mighty, just let her go. The room's better without her anyway," Scourge groaned, sick of hearing the two teenagers bickering and the ache pounding in his head.

"She's gonna get us all in trouble."

"Who gives a shit. I say good riddance."

"Wow, Scourge, didn't know you cared so much for me," Fiona rolled her eyes as she strode out of the room.

"Great, now we're all gonna get it," Mighty growled.

"Can you not be a portentous douche for ten minutes?" Scourge rubbed the sides of his temple.

"You're one to talk."

"Chaos, can't you learn to back down. Stop picking fights you can't win."

"Who says I can't win?"

"Ray," Scourge glowered. "Clove too." Mighty narrowed his eyes as the two continued their heated, angered staring match.

"I can't deal with you two right now," Rouge shook her head as she moved away from Scourge. She set her sights on the darkling in the corner and went to sat beside him.

"What are you doing?" Eclipse asked, removing his head from a history text book.

"Just needed to get away from those two," Rouge thumbed to the bickering boys.

"Tell me about it," Eclipse rolled his eyes. "I'm so sick of Mighty's attitude. He thinks he's top shit and can do anything, I'm really starting to hate that guy."

"Well let's not let them ruin our day," Rouge tried to change the topic. "A little birdy told me you're good at history."

"Look, if you're talking about Breezie I helped her a bit but I'm not a charity service. I'm not going to put everything on hold to help you with any history study too."

"There's nothing else for us to do for the next hour," Rouge bargained. Eclipse shook his head. "Please?" Rouge whined and pouted.

"I really need to get this assignment done."

"But I really need help."

"I'm sorry but I can't."

"I'll be your best friend."

"Rouge, I said no."

"I'll buy you coffee for a week?"

"Alright, if you stop pestering me I'll help you for detention only," Eclipse surrendered with a sigh.

"Perfect," Rouge beamed, ignoring his frown. "Let's get started," she reached into her bag and pulled out the thick text book.

"You still have to buy me coffee too," Eclipse added with a slight curve of his lips.

"Depends how helpful you are," Rouge chuckled as the two got to work and ignored the ensuing argument between Scourge and Mighty.

…

 _"_ _You can do this," I told myself as I stared into the dingy bathroom mirror. "Just tell him. He deserves to know. You can't keep this a secret from him." I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and stepped out of the decrepit bathroom around the back of the main building in the drive-in theatre. I dodged between parked cars all pointed towards the screen until I climbed into the back of his open bar boot._

 _"_ _Hey," he smiled at me as he wrapped the blanket over me and draped his arm over my back, pulling me closer as I snuggled into him. "You missed the best bit," he whined playfully._

 _"_ _Sorry but you know me when nature calls…" I giggled softly, nuzzling into his leather jacket. He let out a content sigh as my mind raced. I continued to debate whether I should tell him but eventually I had made my decision. I wasn't going to tell him until he spoke._

 _"_ _Hey, Lumina, are you alright?" Void asked sweetly._

 _"_ _Y-Yeah, I'm fine."_

 _"_ _Are you sure? It's just you seem really worried and I can't bear to see you like that. If something's the matter, you know you can tell me, right?" It was then I knew I should tell him. After all, it was also his decision._

 _"_ _I never could get anything past you, could I?" I smiled. He shook his head. "Alright… Void, I don't know how to say this but," I paused and took a breath. "I'm pregnant." I expected him to get angry, to throw a fit, to freak out and say how it would ruin our life. I never thought he'd react so positively._

 _"_ _That's wonderful news," Void beamed. I let out an audible grunt of surprise. "Look, Lumina, I know we are still young and we're not in the greatest of positions in regard to my family and your mother but this could be a blessing in disguise."_

 _"_ _But Void, I-" I tried to explain but he cut me off in his excitement._

 _"_ _I know you're scared but I'm here to support you," he placed his hands in mine, entwining our fingers. "I'm not going to run. I love you and I'm going to be right by your side every step of the way. I'll get a second job to make some more money, I'll make sure you stay comfortable and I'll be the best boyfriend I can possibly be. You're the most important thing in my life I want to be there with you as we take this next step together. I love you."_

 _"_ _I… I… I love you too," I smiled as I pressed my lips against his, letting my anxieties shrink. He was always so kind and sweet to me back then. Despite everything, those nine months turned out to be the best of my life._

 _I couldn't tell him that I wanted to get an abortion. He was so supportive. He convinced me to keep the child. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have kept it._

 _So why'd he run? Why'd he change?_

 _What happened?_

Lumina's face was drained and her eyes were deadpanned as she leant next to the dimly lit street lamp on the streets of the quiet town outside Quartz Casino. Her eyes were heavily shadowed in cerulean, her face caked in makeup and her lips were drowned in red lipstick. She wore a skimpy crop top and a tight black skirt that left little to the imagination. She sighed as a car slowed to a stop beside her and the window rolled down.

"How much good looking?" A creepy older gentleman barked at her from his car, his eyes scanning her body.

"One hundred, two hundred if you want the whole thing," Lumina whispered in her sexiest voice.

"Get in," the man said in a gravely voice as he tossed four fifty-dollar bills at her. She knelt to the ground to pick them up, scrabbling for the money. "Hurry up whore," the man shouted as Lumina pocketed the money, shuddered and climbed into the car while the man began to unzip his fly.

…

 _As the last musical flare erupted and the white text began to crawl up the screen I couldn't help but clap. Space Fight V was everything I had hoped it would be and as the lights of the cinema sprung to life I turned to my best friend and couldn't help but babble about all the most amazing parts of the film._

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah, Silver I know," he repeated back at me equally as enthused._

 _"_ _And the part when he shot the droid," I hummed._

 _"_ _Or the part when he had to fight the monster in the pit," he added with stars in my eyes. We continued our fanboying adoration of the movie as we strolled out of the cinema and down the dimly lit streets. Dusk had fallen and the street lamps flared on. We walked with giddy amusement until he decided to take a shortcut through the park. I wanted to head home quickly to get dinner; I was starving, but he had other ideas. He sprinted over to the small swing set and propelled himself back and forth with his legs, laughing as he ushered me over._

 _"_ _Careful, don't go too high," I warned as he sent himself flying backwards and forwards, higher and higher._

 _"_ _Relax Silvs, these chains are strong," he waved away my concerns. "Come on and swing with me." I refused but reluctantly gave in when he flashed those puppy dog eyes. I never could resist them. That was back when we were both happy. He was my best friend. I honestly couldn't image my life without him. Without Scourge the Hedgehog._

 _It had been two years since the two met at Space Camp and they had been having the time of their lives. Together they would visit the observatory, rent cringey old space movies, go to sci-fi conventions and Scourge would help give Silver advice about the girl he had a massive crush on – Breezie._

 _After a while swinging together we both ended up on the small, circular merry-go-round and lounged on our backs side by side. Scourge absently pushed us in slow circles with his foot as we stared up at the stars._

 _"_ _Hey Scourge?" I asked through a stifled yawn._

 _"_ _Yeah Silvs?" Scourge replied. I loved the pet name he invented for me._

 _"_ _Do you ever think about the future?"_

 _"_ _Um, I don't know. I guess I'm always thinking what will happen. I think about how I want to go to college and become an astro-physicist."_

 _"_ _That's pretty cool," I smiled. "But I meant more… do you think we'll still know each other?"_

 _"_ _Silver…" Scourge sat up and stared at me. "Of course we will. You're my best friend and nothing is going to change that. You're the best part of my life and honestly, no matter how many futures I imagine for myself, you're in every single one of them."_

 _"_ _Same."_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"_ _I don't know," I admitted. "It's just, we're almost teenagers and we're going to start high school next year. It's a scary thought, don't you think?"_

 _"_ _It might be scary, but together we can weather any storm."_

 _"_ _Thanks Scourge, I needed that," I smiled at him and he smiled back. The next month went by relatively normally. Scourge and I texted about the upcoming convention we had bought tickets to. It should have been the best day ever. That Saturday we spent the entire day in the convention center laughing, playing and experiencing everything on offer. My dad dropped him home that night and we said our goodbyes, promising to catch up before school started on the Monday. However, it wasn't the best day ever._

 _I was slurping down the final crumbs of my dessert when the doorbell rang. That night the clouds had rolled overhead and lightning crashed through the heavens like a slit of silver. Rain poured down. I wondered who could have been at the door. I rushed over to open it but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw._

 _"_ _S-S-Scourge?" I babbled as I looked at him. He was a mess. His face was bruised and completely purple. His nose seemed broken and blood pooled in his mouth. His glasses were cracked and his hair cut. His clothes looked tattered and he walked with a limp. He held up a bag that seemed hastily stuffed full of clothes. However, I couldn't tear my eyes away from his stomach. His white shirt was soaked with crimson blood and his shirt had three long rips through it. Underneath there were three deep, fresh gashes in Scourge's flesh._

 _"_ _I didn't know what else to do," Scourge sniffed. "Can I… can I stay with you for a while?"_

That night always stood out in Silver's memory. It was the night Scourge came to live with him. Silver sat alone in the cafeteria as he munched down his sandwich slowly and sadly. His eyes were fixated on Scourge as he smirked, laughing at something Storm had said with his arm draped around Rouge's shoulders. Silver knew why Scourge showed up at his house but he never understood why he ran away. Silver never learnt why he left when all Silver wanted to do was help and he still don't know what happened to Scourge in those years that changed him so much. Silver was determined to find out.

…

"What about you, Blaze?" Tikal turned to address the cat that had only just sat down at their signature lunch table in the cafeteria. "Is there a special somebody in your life?"

"No… not really," Blaze sighed as she pushed the food on her plate around with her fork. She rested her chin on her palm, her thoughts still occasionally floating back to Tails lying in that hospital bed. It had been a week since he passed and Blaze had slowly but surely been readjusting back to normal life but every now and then she'd slip into states of sadness that she'd remain in for the rest of the day.

"Really? Surely, you've had a rebound since Silver," Eclipse said obliviously, unable to read her tone.

"Eclipse," Clove hissed under her breath.

"What? Wasn't that Blaze? Didn't he cheat on her?"

"Shut up," Clove shook her head.

"No, no, it's alright," Blaze exhaled slowly. "Yes, that was me, but I just haven't really been looking for anybody new. It hasn't really been at the forefront of my mind recently."

"I think that's good," Ray smiled, trying to make her feel welcome in his little group. "You shouldn't look for somebody just to find somebody. I think true love will find you," he slunk his fingers in-between Clove's as he spoke. Blaze raised her eyebrows, studying him. She still wasn't sure what she thought about Ray. She wanted to keep an open mind about the three new people but couldn't shake the details Mighty told her about.

"Oh my gosh, guys did you hear what happened with Mighty the other day," Tikal suddenly spoke up.

"Guys… can we maybe not?" Ray whispered but was completely ignored.

"I heard he got into another fight with Scourge," Clove shook her head. "He always did have a temper. He needs to stop picking fights."

"Can't believe he had the guts. He acts so tough but he's actually a weak little shit," Eclipse scoffed as he inched closer to Tikal.

"He always did need to go around and rescue people," Clove rolled her eyes.

"Maybe that just means he's a good person and wants to help others," Blaze chimed in.

"Blaze, please, I know you always like to see the good in people but Mighty's only in it for himself."

"How could you say that about him after everything he told you?"

"How could you defend him after he tried to steal Tikal from me?" Eclipse jumped in.

"He didn't do that."

"He did tell me he loved me," Tikal shrugged.

"He didn't mean it that way, trust me. Ray, surely you can't sit there and say nothing," Blaze shot a glare at him. Ray opened his mouth to speak but felt the piercing gaze of Tikal and Eclipse baring down on him. He turned to glance at Clove, hoping for any help but she had the same questioning look. They all waited to see what he'd say.

"I don't know anymore," Ray slunk down in his seat.

"Well I don't need this negativity in my life," Blaze rose suddenly. "We've already had enough heartbreak at this school and I don't need people like you guys spreading around more rumours. I'm out of here," Blaze growled as she turned to storm off. Ray sighed as he let himself slip further down in his seat, watching her walk away. He didn't know what to think anymore.

…

 _I thought it was strange when she first told me. Spike the Porcupine. Really? Sure, he was a nice guy and all but I wouldn't pick him as the right guy for my sister. I paid more attention to him when she told me and I did some thinking. It just doesn't add up._

 _I remember that party pretty vividly because I didn't drink much. I recall our band breaking up and Mina storming off. I tried to find her but never did. She wanted time away from me and I understand that. I was a bit of a jerk that night. I stayed to watch Espio and went to dance. Spike was there with Breezie and Silver._

 _This is the part that doesn't make sense, though. I found myself dancing with Mighty, Clove and the rest of their group by the end of the night and Spike came up to dance with us. Even moody Shadow came after Mephiles disappeared. That's why the timing doesn't work. If Spike really did knock Sonia up we should have been with her. Espio had already rushed off stage and the music began again. Mephiles wasn't with us, but he was. About half an hour later I met back up with her and we didn't leave each other's sides for the rest of the night. He must be lying…_

Manic sat up in his bed, watching as Spike flipped through the pages of a book he was engrossed in. It was late that Friday night. Manic studied Spike with penetrating eyes. His mind was spinning. He knew Spike was lying. He was sure of it but he wasn't sure what to say. He promised Sonia he wouldn't act as rashly as before and he planned to keep it.

"Sorry guys," Knuckles said as he switched on the main light and jumped out of bed.

"Dude, c'mon," Spike hissed as he shielded his eyes from the brighter light.

"I just need to take a piss. I'll be back in a minute," Knuckles apologizes as he walked out of the room. Spike looked around and noticed Manic's intimidating glower.

"M-Manic? Is everything alright?" Spike asked hesitantly, dog-earing the page of the book he was reading and closing the cover.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Manic spoke slowly and coldly. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You're just looking at me weirdly."

"Oh, am I? Sorry," Might said but didn't shift his gaze in the slightest.

"Alright. What's wrong? Did I steal something of yours?"

"You really like Sonic, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. He's my hero. He helped shape me into the person I am today. I owe him a lot," Spike answered.

"And you'd do anything for him. You'd do anything to be closer to him?"

"What are you on about?"

"You'd even, I don't know, try to marry my sister so you could become his brother in law." That was it. That's what Manic was getting at.

"She told you about us dating," Spike sighed. "Look, Manic, I know this might seem weird because we are roommates but I really like your sister."

"She's almost five months pregnant," Manic shot back.

"That doesn't matter. I don't see her for her body, I see her for her personality. I love all of her, not just her looks. Surely you'd rather that than somebody in it for her body, right?"

"Except it's more than that, isn't it?"

"What are you-"

"You're the father," Manic interjected. Spike spluttered and paused.

"Yes. Yes, it's true. Please, I'm sorry I knocked her up I didn't mean to."

"Normally I'd be mad. I'd force you to make things right like I did to Mephiles. But I'm not going to this time. Do you know why?"

"Wh-why?" Spike took the bait.

"Because… I know you're lying." Manic's words were quiet and deadly. Spike felt like they wrapped around his windpipe and began to strangle him.

"What… what do you mean?"

"I mean, I know you're lying. I was with you the whole time while Sonia was away. I saw you with Breezie and then you were with us. There was no possible time you and Sonia could have been alone long enough to have sex."

"Manic… Manic I-"

"No more excuses. Sonia is my sister and she's already had her heart toyed with enough. You're not going to ruin this family again after we just managed to rebuild ourselves. You have until Tails' funeral next weekend. Tell her the truth and spare her feelings, or I will."

"I'm back! What a great piss," Knuckles announced obnoxiously as he barreled through the door. Spike had no time to respond before Manic whipped his head around and pretended to fall back asleep. "Whoa, did I walk in on something?"

"Just trying to get Spike to turn off the light. I'm fucking exhausted," Manic yelled in annoyance.

"Sorry, bro. I'll turn it off."

"Thanks, Knux."

"Night guys," Knuckles yawned as he switched off the light and climbed into bed.

"Night Knux. Goodnight… Spike," Manic concluded menacingly as he closed his eyes.

"…Goodnight."

…

That Saturday morning grey stratus clouds crept across the pale blue sky. They drifted over the Emerald Lake campus together yet independent. Gaps appeared and were closed, blocking out the sun's rays struggling to peek through in an ever-changing shape. The scent of rain hung in the morning air. Mist billowed around the forest and the unmistakable growl of thunder growled overhead.

Mighty sat at one of the many tables dotting the cafeteria, his hands wrapped around a hot mug of cocoa. Rain begun to splatter the windows as the door was pushed open and a teenager draped in a yellow raincoat rushed inside. He shook himself before making eye-contact with Mighty. He walked over, removed his coat and draped it over the back of his chair.

"Good morning, Ray," Mighty greeted somewhat distantly.

"Hey, Mighty. I was honestly surprised you wanted to meet me here but I'm glad you did," Ray tried to smile. The atmosphere was thick with tension but Ray wanted nothing more than to alleviate it. Things never used to be this way between them and it broke his heart that they had grown so distant in only a few short months.

"Please, take a seat," Mighty gestured like he was conducting an interview to a possible new employee.

"Could I quickly order something first? I haven't had anything since I got up."

"Don't worry, I already ordered for you."

"But how would you know what I-"

"Here you go," Breezie interrupted with a fake morning smile. Her apron was stained brown from coffee beans but she had long since given up trying to remove it. She yawned before retreating back to the counter.

"Peppermint tea?" Ray asked aloud.

"Your favourite. I know you aren't a big fan of coffee," Mighty acted like the gesture was meaningless but it warmed Ray's heart. Despite everything, Mighty still cared. He still remembered what Ray liked. It wasn't much, but at least it was something.

"Thanks," Ray took a sip. It was delicious. "So, what did you want to talk to me about."

"Ray… I miss you." Mighty jumped straight to the point, taking Ray slightly off guard.

"I miss you too, Mighty."

"I miss hanging out together. I miss laughing and joking and telling each other about our hopes and dreams and secrets and fears. I miss talking everyday and sending each other jokes and memes. I miss everything."

"Me too, Mighty. I don't know how things got so distant between us but I never wanted it to go this way. I still love you, man. You're still my best friend but you've started going distant," Ray frowned.

"Because you dated my girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend."

"I know but it's just… I can't be near you, Ray. Every time I see you I see her too. Even when we are alone it feels like she's with us and I can't shake the fact that you're dating her."

"We are separate people, Mighty. It's just me here. She's not with us, it's just you and me."

"I know, but I just can't separate you while you date her. I look into your eyes and only see her."

"Mighty, I'm not going to break up with her. I'm dating her and this is just how things are."

"But you shouldn't be dating her!" Ray's eyes shifted as he placed down his cup. Instead of sad and sympathetic they turned icy cold as anger and frustration flared to life within him.

"Why not?" Ray almost shouted. "You dumped her. You, not her. There is not one single reason why I shouldn't be dating her."

"Because you are my best friend," Mighty yelled. The whole cafeteria went silent as they all turned to stare at the ensuing fight.

"And?"

"And you've seen how much this has affected me. Clearly there is something inside you that agrees because you broke up with her once before. You knew you shouldn't be with her. You should be my best friend, not her girlfriend."

"Why are those mutually exclusive?"

"They just are."

"Mighty… I love Clove. I love you, too, but not in that way. I know we kiss a couple times but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, that is not what this is about. I don't want to be your boyfriend, Ray," Mighty shook his head vigorously.

"Then what other possible reason could exist which led us to this situation?" Ray asked. He wanted to understand, but he just couldn't. Mighty opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to scream the reason, let Ray know just how much he's eaten up Mighty's insides. Mighty was just a shell of his former self. It felt like the weight of the world was squishing him down, but when he saw Ray's pupils he knew he couldn't say why. It would destroy Ray.

"Because we're best friends," Mighty sighed as he let his head drop.

"I'm sorry, Mighty, but I'm dating Clove. I wish we could be okay but that's the way it will stay until you are okay with it. I have full faith that eventually you and I will be as happy as we were before while I'm still dating Clove but until that happens…" Ray trailed off. He stood and threw on his raincoat. "Until then… goodbye, Mighty."

"Ray, wait!" Mighty shouted just as Ray pulled open the door. A frosty gust blew through the door. Mighty rushed up to Ray and grabbed his sleeve.

"What now, Mighty?"

"I didn't want to have to do this, but you give me no choice."

"What are you on about now?"

"Her or me?"

"Wh-what?"

"It's either her or me," Mighty gave Ray the ultimatum he never wanted to give. He felt trapped. Like there was no way out. This was his last chance. "Either dump her, or we'll never be friends again."

"Mighty, don't make me choose. I don't want to choose," Ray begged.

"I'm sorry, Ray, but you can't have both."

"I want both."

"You can't. Now, choose. Her or me." Ray swallowed hard. He felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces as the words left his tongue.

"I choose Clove." Without another glance, Ray dashed out into the pouring rain.

…

 _I wasn't sure at first. It all seemed too farfetched. Blaze, my daughter. Impossible. I would have known what my own daughter would look like. Right? I'd know it if I looked in her eyes. Wouldn't I?_

 _I remember her mother. I broke her heart and cut her out of my life. I didn't want anything to do with a daughter. We were young and I was scared. I shouldn't have done that, but we can't change the past. I tried and tried again to be apart of Blaze's life but her mother wouldn't let me. She didn't want me ruining Blaze's life like I did to her. If only she had told me her name, then I could have figured it out._

 _No… Cobar must have gotten it wrong. Her aunt must be wrong. Blaze can't be my daughter. There's only one way to prove it. I watched Blaze over the next few days in my spare time, examining her habits and movements. She didn't seem much like me. But then, that Saturday, I walked past her and glimpsed a sight of it. How had I never noticed it before? There, hidden around her neck was a small, slightly cracked amethyst adorning her neck, hanging from a piece of rope. The necklace I gave her mother to give to her._

 _That's when I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, Blaze the Cat was my daughter. Or should I say, Blaze Shark._

…

The rain continued to pour as Sally ran from cover to cover. She sprinted across the fields, squelching through mud-ruts and splashed in deep forming puddles before she finally made it back to the dormitories.

"That storm really came out of nowhere," Sally shook her hair dry as a silver sliver cracked through the darkened sky. She wiped her hands on her blue jeans before pushing through the door and entered the main lounging area for the students. Each chair, couch and beanbag were filled with loitering students who had nowhere else to go in the stormy weather.

Sally scanned the sea of familiar faces until she stopped and scowled at a specific one.

"What do you want?" Scourge huffed as Sally strode up to him.

"Where do you get off on ruining other people's lives?"

"Well, if you really wanna know how I get off just meet me in my room in ten minutes," Scourge winked obnoxiously.

"You disgust me," Sally scoffed.

"Maybe I'd disgust you less if I had a vagina."

"What's your deal?"

"You're the one who approached me," Scourge shrugged with disinterest. Sally groaned.

"I'm talking about Cosmo."

"What about that runt?"

"You know she's got an addictive personality and yet you still decided to drug her up. Why? Do you like watching her ruin her life or is it so she'll keep giving you money," Sally shot out an accusing finger.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that shit. I've seen the effects it's taken on Cosmo and I've seen Rouge smoke with her."

"Yeah, you've seen Rouge, not me. We might be dating but we're separate people," Scourge rolled his eyes.

"I've known Rouge longer than you. I've known her for almost a year and she's a lot of things, but a drug dealer isn't one. I know you converted her."

"Choose your next words carefully," Scourge threatened.

"Like you scare me," Sally challenged with utter disregard for his warning. "I know you forced Rouge to try drugs and got her addicted."

"Yeah, Rouge got her addicted, not me."

"Cut the shit, I know it's you. Don't drag Rouge's name through the mud."

"You want the truth."

"Are you capable of telling the truth?"

"Chaos, you're always so high and mighty. You always think you know best for everybody but look at you. You don't know anything. The truth is I don't do drugs. Never have. Rouge always tried to get me to take some pills with her but I never did. Fiona used to make fun of me and call me a pussy but I didn't think I needed to. I used to use, back when I needed to numb the pain but for once I'm actually in a good place. Have been for a while now and I don't want to rely on them anymore," Scourge spat. Sally's eyes widened as he spoke. "I know what they can do to people and I want no part of it anymore. Maybe if you didn't just assume I'm horrible because of stereotypes and go talk to Rouge you wouldn't look like such an idiot. Fuck off, Sally. Get lost."

"But… but I…" Sally trailed off. "Okay, well maybe you didn't but you still like seeing other in pain and I won't stand for it."

"Go start another fire," Scourge hissed as he stood. Sally froze, her whole world stopped spinning as the words left his mouth.

"How… how do you…" Sally couldn't speak. She was too flustered.

"I might cause some pain, but at least I've never burnt down a school. Why don't you go take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror, or are you too disgusted by your own appearance. Drugs might ruin your body, but you've done that all to yourself." Without another word Scourge pushed past Sally and stormed up to his room.

"What are you looking at," Sally growled as a few students shot her sidelong glances. They all quickly turned away from her and went back to their own business.

…

Mighty couldn't take the sidelong glances and whispers behind his back. He couldn't keep up his stalwart appearance any longer. He needed an escape. He needed some time to be alone and reflect, especially after his earlier talk with Ray. It felt like his whole world was crumbling in around him and there was nothing he could do.

Mighty shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his hoodie and took off into the cold night. The rain had ceased but the grass was wet beneath his feet He followed the snaking forest path, squelching through mud as he made his way to the lake, it's zaffre water shimmering from the moon's glow. Mighty turned and his eyes flew skywards as he stared at the top of the curtain of rock stretching high into the sky. The cliff that overlooked the lake. The place where all Mighty's troubles started back on that fateful night.

It didn't take Mighty long to climb up the incline. Once he was at the top he sat precariously on the edge with his legs dangling off, staring at the moon. His thoughts wandered as his glazed over eyes surveyed his surroundings. He thought about Clove, Tikal, Eclipse, all his strong friendships that had slowly been severed. However, Ray was always the center of his thoughts.

"How did things go so wrong?" Mighty said aloud. "I only tried to help."

"Mighty?" A voice called curiously from behind. Mighty froze but he relaxed when he turned and laid eyes on none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Oh, hey Sonic, what are you doing here?" Mighty responded solemnly.

"I was thinking by the lake when I saw you climbing the cliff and came to make sure you were okay," Sonic replied. Mighty couldn't put his finger on it but Sonic's words felt hollow, like there was no feeling behind anything he said. He looked horrible and his eyes screamed sadness.

"Don't worry, I wasn't going to do anything," Mighty assured. "Just thinking, like you. Wanna think together?" Mighty offered as he pet a space beside him on the edge of the cliff. Sonic shrugged emotionlessly and sat beside him, letting his legs dangle.

"I take it things in your life aren't going so great either?" Sonic asked. He could feel the similar depressing, helpless aura emanate from the armadillo beside him.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Mighty sighed. The two boys sat in silence for a while thinking until Mighty finally spoke up again. "I'm sorry about Tails."

"Thanks… I'm sorry about Ray."

"You heard?"

"Everybody heard," Sonic said quietly. They descended into more silence. "Hey Mighty."

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever imagine life would get this fucked up?"

"I knew senior year would be tough, but no, I didn't think things would get this bad. I never thought so many people could hate me, and I never thought one of my close friends would be… well, wouldn't be there to graduate with me," Mighty sighed.

"Me neither."

"Did you love him. Truly?"

"I did. Did you love Ray or Clove?"

"Love is just a promise to eventually have your heart broken," Mighty said. "So, yes, I did love them."

"I guess that's true." There was more uncomfortable silence as the two looked at the sky, lost in their own sadness.

"Do you know what you're gonna do now?" Mighty asked randomly.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, like, what you're going to do in the future."

"I never really thought of it. I guess I always assumed I'd become a runner on the Olympic team," Sonic shrugged. "What do you want to be in the future?"

"I have no idea. I think I want to be a scientist."

"What type?" Sonic asked, enjoying conversation's levity.

"Environmental. I know it seems dumb, but I want to figure out a way to save the planet. We're over populated, we have a lack of space and water, climate change is starting to show some disastrous effects. I want to help find a way to save the planet. Everyone is looking to other planets but I haven't given up on Mobius. We can save it. I know I can. Maybe I can win like a Nobel prize for figuring out a way to easily and effectively turn ocean water into drinkable water or find a way to create electricity with no harmful biproducts."

"That's not dumb. I think that's pretty cool."

"What about you?" Mighty turned to look at Sonic after spending most of the conversation speaking at the lake. "You told me you assumed you'd end up pursuing your running but what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"You'll think it's stupid," Sonic blushed.

"No I won't. I promise."

"Alright… well, I always wanted to be… a dad."

"A dad?"

"Like, I always wanted to have children and be the best dad I can be. Raise them properly, watch them grow into good people and guide them on their journey. I want to give them something I never had…"

"Sonic… that's actually really sweet. I think that's an awesome thing to want to be."

"Thanks, Mighty. I… I'm glad I met you," Sonic managed to smile. The first time in a while he accomplished a smile. "Tails had good taste in friends."

"He really did. I'm glad I met you, too. It seems you're one of the only people I can call a friend at the moment," Mighty admitted with a sad smile. The two sighed as they turned back to the ocean and spent most of the night just sitting beside each other lost in thought.

…

"Mum, please, no I can get better," Cream bargained as she paced back and forth across the carpeted floor of her dorm room. She ran a hand through her hair as she spoke into her phone.

"I'm sorry but my decision is final," Vanilla's strict voice boomed out of the speaker.

"I can study more, I'll make my grades increase and they'll be as high as they were before," Cream's voice broke as she tried desperately to persuade her mother.

"I've heard that excuse too many times."

"But exams are just around the corner and if I ace them it'll boost my final scores I swear."

"Cream, enough," Vanilla screeched immediately silencing her daughter with an authoritarian tone. "I've been considering this for a while and based on how you've acted my fears have been answered. You're grades have never been this low and after that poor boy's death-"

"Tails is more than just some poor boy," Cream interrupted forcefully.

"Exactly my point. You're too invested and it seems its affected you worse than it should."

"How could you be so cruel?"

"I'm doing this for you," Vanilla explained distantly. "Ever since you moved to that country campus everything has gone wrong. Those people you affiliate yourself with are nothing but trouble. I've already booked the flights and my decision is final."

"But-"

"No buts, Cream," Vanilla silenced her. "In December, after your graduation, you're moving back to Soleanna with me. Am I clear?"

"…yes mother," Cream sighed defeatedly as she accepted her uncertain future.

…

Jet and Ray lay in their beds both engrossed in their phones. Their roommates were out. Scourge was probably off somewhere with Rouge while Void had mysteriously vanished earlier that week, leaving just the two boys alone.

"Hey Ray," Jet spoke up.

"Yeah?" Ray asked automatically, his eyes still glued to his screen.

"Can I get some relationship advice?" Jet's words were shaky showing a side of vulnerability Ray hadn't seen since he had started dating Cosmo.

"Oh, you want relationship advice from me?" Ray pulled himself from his phone, honestly surprised anybody wanted advice from him.

"Yeah, you seem to be in a stable relationship with Clove, right?"

"I guess it is stable," Ray thought aloud, deciding against bringing up his whole current ordeal with Mighty and Clove. "So, what advice do you need?"

"Well, it's just…" Jet paused trying to decide the right words. "We were hanging out a bunch and I just realized that I loved her with my entire being one day and-"

"Oh no," Ray interrupted. "You didn't say the L word, did you?"

"Sorta… why, is it that bad? I would have thought you of all people…"

"I know I seem like somebody who loves saying love but ironically I think it's a strong word. I've learnt from past experience how terrifying the word can be to people, especially somebody like Cosmo," Ray explained.

"So you think I blew it?"

"Not necessarily. You might be ready to say it, but you can never just tell somebody you love them without knowing if they are ready to hear it."

"Umm…"

"Just bottle up your feelings inside until you know they love you back and then you can both say it together," Ray finished.

"That… that sounds kinda… wrong," Jet scratched his head. "Like, I don't think that's the best thing to do."

"Well, maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but at least tell me this. What did you say after she didn't say she loved you back?"

"Well… I kinda," Jet shuffled around under his blankets awkwardly. "I sarcastically told her she sure managed to say the next thing she said easily." Ray stared at him with a deadpan expression.

"And you think what I do is wrong…" Meanwhile on the other side of the dormitory Cosmo and Amy were cleaning their teeth in the girl's first floor bathroom.

"Hey Cosmo, why the long face?" Amy asked as she gargled some water in her mouth and spat it out into the sink.

"Huh, what?" Cosmo shook her head as her eyes met Amy's reflection.

"You've been so out of it lately. Something's wrong and if I could guess I'd say it has something to do with a boy," Amy frowned as the look that crept its way across Cosmo's face. "What happened with Jet? Did you guys break up?"

"Oh, no, no, nothing like that," Cosmo assured. Amy noticeably relaxed.

"Well, if it isn't that then what could it be."

"Alright, since you want to know," Cosmo sighed. "Could I have some advice?"

"Always."

"If you really liked somebody but they suddenly told you they loved you and you weren't ready for it what would you do?"

"I'm always ready for love."

"What about in your first relationship."

"I was still ready. Why do you ask?"

"Jet told me he loved me and I didn't say it back."

"You didn't say it back?" Amy gasped. "Why not?"

"I just… I don't know, I was scared," Cosmo admitted. "It just came out of nowhere and I couldn't bring myself to say it."

"Okay… let me ask you this. Do you like Jet?"

"Of course."

"Do you miss him when he isn't around?"

"Yes."

"I think you love him, Cosmo."

"So why can't I say it?"

"I'm not sure, but I can say this. Love is mysterious. It's a beautiful, wonderful thing, but it works in mysterious ways. Some people, like me or Jet, can say they love people very easily because that's just how we are, but for others it can be harder. I have no doubt, you do love him, but you just might not be ready to say it. That's okay. Just give it time and eventually you will be able to but if you don't feel ready, don't rush it."

"Wow…" Cosmo breathed as she stared at herself in the shimmering mirror. "That… that's actually really helpful."

"You're welcome," Amy replied sincerely.

"Thanks," Cosmo smiled.

…

 _I'm not like other guys. There was always something different about me, ever since I was a little kid, but I could never put my finger on it. It wasn't until I was in the eighth grade that I truly understood why I felt different to everybody else. I saw the world through different eyes. I felt differently to the other boys in my class. I didn't join in their conversations after physical education in the locker rooms about which girls they like or which actresses they found the hottest because I just didn't think like that. I was too busy drooling over them instead. Imagine what they would have said if they knew I was looking at them like that. Stupid, creepy, gay Mephiles the Dark._

 _My home life wasn't much help. It's not like I was afraid my parents wouldn't accept me, I knew they wouldn't care. No, that wasn't the problem. The problem was I didn't really have parents. My mother was long gone and my father would always work. Ha, work, now that's a laugh. His 'work' wasn't really what normal people would call work. He's sort of a terrorist. You see, he doesn't really like Central City, or the whole of Mobius. Now I'm not calling him one, but the government surely thinks he is. He's an enemy of the state, constantly on the run from G.U.N. That's why he's never around._

 _I had a string of caretakers that looked after me in my youth while dad was doing jobs for his illegal organisations. He rarely visited because G.U.N agents would always shadow me. They thought I didn't know but I saw them stalking me. They were using me as bait to get to dad. Whenever dad did see me, he'd get rid of the caretaker that helped take me to him so they wouldn't talk. It was horrible. People that genuinely cared for me gunned down so heartlessly. I tried to warn them at the start but they would always dismiss it as an overactive imagination and would always pay the price. I hated it, but over the years I learnt to distance myself from them and close myself off so I wouldn't feel the hurt again._

 _Then everything changed when I got the opportunity to board at Mobius High._

 _My freshman year was amazing. I could finally be alone and wasn't shadowed by the government anymore. I was in the middle of nowhere, dad didn't know where I was and I could finally live a life of my own. Nobody knew me. I made real friends. I tried to change the way I felt. I tried to make myself like girls. I didn't want to be an outcast again. I wanted to feel like I belonged, but the longer I lied to myself the harder it got._

 _When I'd hug Clove in the mornings as a greeting I'd feel nothing at all. It was always just a friendly hug, which would be okay since that's how she saw it, but when I hugged Mighty the same days I'd feel different. It was a tingling sensation that built up inside me like lust. Late in Sophomore year I had my first kiss when Mighty's cousin came to visit and stay at the campus for a few days. I remember how amazing it felt kissing him underneath the bleachers but Mighty found out. I thought he'd hate me, they all would, but he was super chill about it. He said it wouldn't change how he felt or our friendship and, you know what? It didn't. I was finally able to be myself and my friends accepted me._

 _I still liked my alone time and kept my distance from those I wasn't comfortable with but then everything changed when he showed up. I know it's cheesy, but I honestly think it was love at first sight. When Shadow came to hide from everybody at my spot it was like looking in a mirror, and every moment we spent together since that fateful meeting was electric. I fell head over heels._

 _Then I fucked up. I got drunk, I slept with Sonia and I got her knocked up. I loved Shadow, but I knew what I needed to do. I had to provide for the kid and support it and so I proposed to Sonia. I knew I didn't love her in that way, but I did start to care for her and I thought maybe one day I would begin to feel lust for her. I'd accepted my life until everything got turned upside down._

 _I can't believe I thought I was safe. I can't believe I thought it was over and that I could actually let myself be happy. I can't be happy. I know that now. I'm not allowed to be, that's just the cards I was dealt. But I didn't think I'd end up here. Like father like son, I guess. It's been weeks and I'm still here… wherever here is…_

The single bulb hung low from a string attached to the ceiling. A gruff man's voice cut through the silence like it so often did as the light flared to life illuminating my surroundings. Mephiles was sitting on the cold steel of the chair, his wrists cuffed to a metal loop on the table.

The interrogation room was small with no windows, one door and the single light source. Mephiles hated it. He hated being trapped. He wanted nothing more than to get back to school, back to his friends, to Sonia and, most of all, to Shadow.

"We've been over this so many times and I'm at my wits end. Give me the answers I need," the Commander snapped as he slammed his fist into the table.

"I've told you all I know," Mephiles pressed in a defeated tone.

"Your father escaped again and we know he contacted you. What's he planning and where is he?"

"I don't know!" Mephiles shouted.

"This is your last chance."

"Do what you will. I don't care anymore."

"You know, I was thinking the other day," the Commander began as he paced the room. "I issued your case to one of my best agents. I think you and him and quite acquainted. Shadow the Hedgehog." Mephiles' eye twitched at the name. "So, you do know him. Good, we thought so. It was odd how we assigned him to snatch you and bring you here for questioning and he told us you knew nothing and were out of the picture."

"Shadow…"

"He lied to us to protect you. Why would he do that? Well, imagine my surprise when we learnt you were getting married and were alive. I just had to talk to you personally."

"I don't know anything! Just let me talk to Shadow, or Sonia. Somebody," Mephiles begged.

"Unless you talk, I'll make sure you never get to see Shadow again," the Commander threatened.

"I… I… I don't know anything," a single tear slid down Mephiles' cheek as the Commander coughed disbelievingly, switched off the light and left Mephiles moaning alone in the dark, silent room.

* * *

 _A/N: And there you go. Mephiles didn't run away and he wasn't kidnapped by Shard like a lot of you theorised but instead was taken by G.U.N. Did you all forget he is the son of a dangerous terrorist and Shadow lied to the commander about solving the problem? G.U.N couldn't be fooled for long and they knew the perfect time to make him dissapear. It just looked like a groom with cold feet. But now that we know what happened to him, how will he escape?_

 _Cosmo and Jet have hit their first lovers quarrel. Can you call it a 'love'rs quarrel if Cosmo can't say that she loves Jet? It might seem like a strange and basic arc to have with these characters but trust me, for some people saying love is a really big deal and so I thought Jet, the easy to fall for and Cosmo, the never fallen for before would be great characters to explore a scenario like this._

 _Espio's still writing songs but he might be letting his emotions cloud his judgement. With Thrash breathing down his neck he needs to get some songs finished quick, plus he needs to write one to sing at Tails' funeral and he still has to worry about that letter Tails wrote him on his death bed. What could it be?_

 _Finally Knuckles and Julie are at complete peace with the past. It might have gotten weird but they've both matured and moved on. Now that the sibling and love interest arc is behind them, what is next in store for these two characters? Hint time, we've seen Knuckles' father but we haven't heard a thing about Julie's mother, have we?_

 _Yes, Mina is pregnant, but not with Manic's child, but Tails'. Poor kid, his father is already dead and he/she hasn't even been born yet. Speaking of unborn babies, looks like Spike lied to Sonia about being the father. But why would Spike do that, and will he tell Sonia the truth or will Manic have to take matters into his own hands?_

 _Not everybody has been holding out. Ray and Mighty's relationship has been pushed to the complete limit and then a little further until it finally broke. Is this the end of the power friendship? But more pressingly, Lumina has become a prostitute? With school fees and no help from Razor or her family, it seems it's the only thing she can do to provide for her toddler._

 _Scourge and Silver, another puzzle piece placed, but there's still more empty spaces than filled. We know they met at space camp, we know they became best friends and we know that something terrible happened to Scourge which gave him his scars and he went to live with Silver for a bit. What happened to him that led to the change, why did he leave Silver and how did he become the Scourge we know and tollerate today? Chapter 52, Scourge's Story. That's all I'm saying._

 _Sorry for the month wait but this chapter was another looooooong one and since I've started my new story, Outlast, plus was finishing up the second (again go check it out on wattpad) I've had little time. Still working multiple jobs, too and I've moved in with a new roommate so life has been changing a bunch recently. Uni starts back up on the 26th so I'll have even less time but I'm only three chapters away from finishing War of Faith so when that's all finished I'll have a little more time to write SH:EL. Anyway, you don't want to hear my life story, you just want to see what will happen next time (which hopefully won't be another month wait. I'll try my hardest!)_

 _Qotd: There were a lot of flashbacks this chapter. You had Scourge and Silver, Mephiles, Manic, Lumina and Razor (kinda). Which one was your favourite and which made your heart break?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

Mighty and Ray have a final public confrontation

 _Lumina has to get more drastic_

 _Mina receives terrifying news_

 _Shadow Vs. G.U.N and Mighty vs. Scourge (again)_

 _...and Spike reveals a shocking dark secret about his past and why he lied to Sonia_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 47: Rock Bottom_


	47. Chapter 47: Rock Bottom

Chapter 47

Rock Bottom

Mina sat at her usual table inside Emerald Café typing away on her laptop. She sipped her flat white while absentmindedly staring out at the leaves swaying in the trees. She couldn't think properly and didn't know what to write.

As she struggled to think up another line to the song that continued to allude her the bell atop the door sounded and Espio strolled in, ordered a coffee and took a seat at one of the tables tucked away in the corner of the establishment. Mina closed her laptop, took a deep breath and approached him.

"Hey Espio," she smiled with a little wave.

"Oh, hey Mina, what's up?" Espio responded with little enthusiasm.

"I, um, just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Why?" Espio was hesitant, not sure what the mongoose wanted from him.

"Can't a friend just see how another friend is doing?"

"Since when are we friends?"

"What is your problem?" Mina huffed. "I'm just trying to be nice and you're being a massive douchebag."

"Sorry, sorry," Espio apologized. "It's just that, last time we had a genuine connection you ended up just using me for my music."

"I did not! Whatever other people said to you was wrong. That was never my goal. I just wanted for us to be friends. And I never told anybody about what you told me about Bean. Not a soul."

"Really? You didn't even tell Breezie?" Espio was unsure.

"Not even Breezie," Mina affirmed.

"Alright, but that still doesn't explain why you think something's wrong."

"I mean, it's pretty obvious. But also… I was kinda walking by your room when you played that song for Ray. It seemed a bit… I don't know… aggressive?"

"Look, it's how I feel, alright? I express myself through my music."

"I totally understand. I do the same thing, but right now I'm hitting a bit of a writer's block."

"You write music now, too?" Espio asked. Mina nodded.

"I was actually asked to write an appropriate song to perform for Tails wake this weekend and have been trying to write something but it's just hard. He's been a really big part of my life and I have so much to say but just can't express it," Mina sighed with a dejected look.

"Well… I hope the right words come to you."

"I was thinking… maybe you could perform a song?"

"Me? Why would you do that? What's in it for you?" Espio was hesitant.

"Why do you think there has to be something in it for me? I told you I'm not just using you," Mina groaned.

"I know, I know, sorry. Well I appreciate the offer but I don't think Left Me Behind is an appropriate song to sing at a wedding."

"Obviously not that one," Mina shook her head. "I was thinking more a duet. We've all lost somebody close to us and we could write it as like two sides of the same story. I know you're a good writer when you put your mind to it and it would be really special if we could give Tails a proper send-off. Chaos knows he deserves something sweet after all he did for everybody in life," Mina lamented aloud. Espio mulled it over, considering his options but finally accepted.

"Yeah, alright. It would be a nice thing to do. Tails and I were friends for a while and I'd like to think he's looking down on us and smiling right now," Espio thought aloud.

"Great. Meet in my room after dinner tonight to work on it?"

"Sure." Mina smiled as she got up to leave but Espio called out to her one last time. "Oh, and Mina! Thank you."

…

Despite the heat, Mighty wore the baggiest hoodie he had, shielding his face underneath the hood. He shoved his hands deep in the pockets and kept his head low. He was sweating profusely but the heat he felt was still more comfortable than the judgmental stares and whispering comments that he usually got. The fabric safeguarded him from the stares that bore into the back of his head.

"Hey, Armadillo," a victorious voice barked above the crowd. Mighty didn't turn around. He kept his head low and sped up his pace. His tormentor reached out and snatched the back of his neck, pulling down his hoodie. "Where do you think you're going."

"I'm not in the mood, Scourge," Mighty mumbled.

"You don't get off that easy," Scourge smirked as he spun Mighty around and forced the teenager to look him in the eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" Mighty asked. "I get it. You won. I surrender, you're the better man. Now can I just go?" Scourge's smile was instantly wiped off his face. He didn't like Mighty when all the fire in his belly had been extinguished.

"What's wrong with you? Where's the fire? Where's the fight?"

"Gone."

"You're pathetic. Just look at you, fallen so far off your high horse. You used to strut around the school but now you're just a cockroach scurrying around underneath my feet." Mighty said nothing. Scourge groaned. "You're no fun anymore. What happened."

"I lost." Scourge thought of a way to get Mighty to fight back. He craved the back and forth. Scourge delivered a swift punch into Mighty's gut, expecting a violent retaliation. Taken off guard, Mighty stumbled backwards and fell on his back. Storm, Honey and the rest of the students that surrounded him all howled in laughter. Mighty growled and narrowed his eyes. Scourge smiled. He wanted Mighty to get up, rise to his feet and punch him in his face but right when it seemed Mighty was going to act, he backed down.

"There's no point," Mighty whispered silently. "You win."

"Pathetic," Scourge spat as he turned to walk off. The rest of the students got bored of seeing the sniveling teenager lying on the ground and went back to their own business. All except two.

"Hey, man, are you alright?" Sonic asked as he rushed to the floor and knelt beside Mighty. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, nothing's broken except my dignity," Mighty ignored Sonic's worried words.

"C'mon, let me help you up," Sonic offered.

"I can stand on my own," Mighty struggled but winced when he put weight on his ankle. He had twisted it as he fell backwards.

"You don't have to be so stubborn all the time," Espio smirked as he appeared on Mighty's other side. "Wasn't it you who once told me how important having friends was."

"Don't turn my words on me."

"Just let us help you," Espio insisted and slung one of Mighty's arms. Sonic mirrored Espio's actions and together they helped Mighty to his feet.

"Let's get you to the infirmary. The nurse will fix your ankle right up," Sonic tried to smile, his mind finally distracted.

"Thanks, guys, but you don't have to pretend to like me just because I'm hurt."

"We aren't pretending," Sonic insisted.

"Surely you've heard all the things people are saying about me," Mighty sighed as he hopped in-between the two of them.

"We have, but we don't care. We know you and we don't believe them."

"Also, I know what you're going through," Espio added. He continued before Mighty could interject. "By that, I mean I know the pain Tikal can cause. I actually used to date her, but we broke up before coming here. Back in my old school I was like you, and you probably noticed for the first couple of months I was here. People made fun of me as I walked the halls, too. But I got through it, and so can you."

"Thanks, Espio… and Sonic. This… this really means a lot."

"We're here for you."

"No matter what," Sonic added.

"I guess, right now, apart from Blaze, you two are my only real friends…"

…

Manic strolled through the halls, his backpack strap lazily strung over one shoulder. She shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he stepped out into the crisp afternoon air.

"Manic!" A voice called to him. Manic turned and saw Amy waving him over. He ignored her and picked up the pace, his sights set on the dormitory. "Manic, please, wait up!" Manic didn't look back. He kept forward, breaking out into a slow jog but Amy was relentless. He was mere inches away from the dormitory, his foot just brushing the bottom stair when he felt her hand clasp around his wrist and wrench him backwards.

"What do you want, Amy?" Manic barked, finally acknowledging her.

"I just want to talk to you," Amy responded, her eyes filled with anguish.

"Fine, I'm talking, now hurry up so I can get to my dorm. I have a lot of work I need to do."

"Manic… please… I'm sorry, okay."

"You're sorry? Oh, alright, I guess that makes everything alright then," Manic said sarcastically.

"Manic, why are you being like this?"

"Why am I being like this? I don't know, maybe because we were fucking and I thought we had something between us but apparently I was just a piece of meat and nothing more."

"You're much more than that. I swear," Amy reasoned.

"You say that, but when you're talking to Sonic you backpedal. I know you, Amy. You love my brother more than anything and I can't be okay with that. I can't be with you knowing that at any second as soon as he feels like he wants to give you a third, fourth, fifth chance you'll go running to him like a lost puppy."

"But Manic, I won't. I promise."

"I don't believe you. Sorry, but I just can't keep getting hurt by you. It's over, Amy."

"Can't we at least be friends?" Amy bargained, clinging to any shred of hope to have Manic remain in her life.

"…No. Sorry, I can't," Manic hung his head, unable to meet her gaze.

"But Manic I-"

"I said no," Manic shouted as he turned and bounded up the stairs, disappearing into the dormitory.

"…Love you."

…

"I'm so done with this," Wave complained as she slammed her thick, heavy text book closed and leant back in the plastic chair. "It's just too much. I don't care how Captain Metal won the war and got peace. We have peace now and that's all that matters."

"While I don't quite agree that the past doesn't matter, but I am done with reading it for now," Cream replied as she gently closed her workbook and rubbed her aching temples.

"Well, we've got the pod for another twenty minutes," Wave said nonchalantly as she noted the time on her phone as she began scrolling through her messages.

"And you thought two hours wouldn't be enough time," Cream chided. The two girls sat in one of the few glass library rooms that they had booked to study in peace for their final History test before their exams started. They had spent over an hour with their heads stuck in the past and it had drained them both.

"Alright, well I don't wanna leave early, so, what do you wanna do?" Wave asked as she kicked her feet up on the table.

"Well… I have been meaning to talk to you about something," Cream sighed as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Yeah, and what's that?" Wave shot Cream a strange look.

"Well… my mother called me the other day and-"

"Do you think Jet and Cosmo are actually a good fit together?" Wave interrupted out of the blue.

"S-Sorry?" Cream squeaked in surprise.

"I mean, like, we've both had a thing for him, that's obvious," Wave sat up and inched closer to Cream.

"…And?"

"And, like, do you think Cosmo is a good girl for him?"

"I…" Cream paused to think. She would be lying if she said the thought hadn't crossed her mind every now and then. "I know what Jet is like with women. He's quite…"

"Needy," Wave finished helpfully.

"Yeah… but, he's also very gentle and understanding. I'd say he's a good fit for Cosmo."

"But is she a good fit for him?"

"I… I think so," Cream nodded finally. "She's sweet, kind and genuinely cares for him. Jet needs to be in a relationship that goes slowly and that's exactly what Cosmo is looking for."

"So, you agree with me then?" Wave asked.

"Agree with what?"

"That you and I might have… overreacted a bit, when we approached the two of them."

"Oh… yeah, I think we should apologize," Cream sighed aloud.

"We were pretty bad friends."

"Now that I can agree with," Cream concluded.

"Sorry, I completely cut you off before," Wave finally said after a few moments of silence. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No…" Cream sighed, swallowing the new about her eventual move back to Soleanna. "Nothing at all."

…

 _"Sis, c'mon, dad's just being dad, don't do this," I whined as I lent against her door. My sister, Demi-Na, was grumbling to herself as she pulled on her high black socks and stuck them into her high stilettos. Make-up caked her face and her eyes were drowned in shadow. Her long hair, which she usually tied up in a pony tail, hung low down her back._

 _"Yeah, and mum should have defended me but she didn't," Demi countered angrily as she slipped her spaghetti string purse around one shoulder and stomped over to the window._

 _"Demi, please, don't go," I begged. "It will only make everything worse." She was sixteen at the time, and I was only thirteen. Our family had a fight at the dinner table that night. We always seemed to get into disputes. It's my father, he's just one of those type of guys, especially because of his job. It's stressful, and we had to move a lot. I didn't really mind since I didn't have many friends, but I knew Demi resented him for it. I guess that's why she decided to sneak out that night._

 _"I'll be back before midnight, I promise," Demi winked as she carefully slid her second story bedroom window open and crept out. She gracefully hopped onto a thick branch jutting out from a nearby tree._

 _"You'll only make him madder."_

 _"It's just for a few hours and I need to be seen at this party. Just cover for me until I get back."_

 _"But… But… Alright, I'll cover for you," I sighed._

 _"Thanks, Spikey. I love you little bro," she silently cheered before descending the tree and rushing off into the night. I still think back to that night and scold myself for not doing more. If I had just made her stay, things would have been so different. My life wouldn't have been turned upside down and I wouldn't be as scarred as I am today._

 _She had come back that night at about three in the morning. I woke up to sobbing in the room beside me. I tiptoed in to investigate and saw Demi crying her eyes out in her bed. I tried to comfort her but I didn't understand what was wrong. She didn't tell me, but she let me hold her. I thought whatever happened wasn't that bad since she never brought it up again. She never was the same after that night, however. Then I learnt why…_

 _Two months past and Demi had started to get more and more worried. I didn't really understand why at first, but I heard dad arguing with her one night. I eavesdropped and discovered the truth. Demi had gotten pregnant, at the ripe old age of sixteen. That explained why she was crying. It turned out one of the seniors at her school had slipped something into her drink and raped her that night._

 _"It's your own fault for sneaking out that night," my dad yelled._

 _"Are you fucking kidding me?" Demi was hysterical. She could barely function._

 _"You'll be a mother before your seventeenth birthday. Do you know how that will make me look?"_

 _"Of course, dad, it's always about work, isn't it?"_

 _"Just get an abortion. I'll pay for it and we can sweep this whole thing under the rug," he bargained._

 _"What? No, I could never," Demi's hands were shaking._

 _"Demi-Na, the other families can't know about this. They might try to make a move," he growled, pacing up and down the kitchen._

 _"Dad, forget about the other families. I was fucking raped!" Demi froze and fell to her knees, tears pouring out of her eyes again. Saying it out loud was enough to send her into another shock._

 _"Dad, leave her alone," I tried my best to act tough as I barged into the room and defended my sister. Mum was away on a business trip and I knew I was the only one that could stand up for her. We always were close. Because of all the moving we did, our friends came and went and at times we were the only people there for each other. We shared everything. She was my best friend and I was hers. I couldn't just abandon her, despite how scared of our father I was._

 _"Oh, look who's come to her aid. Our little night in shining armour," Dad rolled his eyes._

 _"Demi needs our help now more than ever."_

 _"You know nothing about her, Spike," he growled. "You're two young to understand the severity of the situation. Leave this between us and go to your room."_

 _"But Dad, I-"_

 _"I said now!" he interrupted forcefully as he pointed me upstairs. I glanced at Demi, still slumped on the floor. She said nothing but her eyes begged me to stay. I should have stayed. I wish I stayed, but I was weak. The second thing I wish I did differently. But instead I scurried off to my room like the coward I was… the coward I still am._

 _I could hear him giving her the ultimatum as I climbed the staircase. He said either she got the abortion, or she left the family. Why didn't I run back down? Why didn't I face him?_

 _I crept into her room the next morning to comfort her. I had made some bacon and eggs on toast just to show her that no matter what dad tried to make her do, I would always be there for her. I had planned out what I was going to say while cooking. I was going to tell her that I'd be there for her and if dad really did try to kick her out of the house I would run away with her. That was how life was for us. Where one went, the other followed. But I couldn't follow where she went. I just couldn't…_

 _"Demi," I sung sweetly as I knocked on her door. "I'm sorry about last night. I made you some breakfast." No response. I knocked again. "Demi, please, can we just talk like we used to? I feel like we've gotten distant in the past two months and I just want you to know that no matter what, I'm here for you. I know I'm still young and I can't imagine what you're going through but you're my sister, my favourite person in the world. I love you, Demi, and I want you to know you are not alone."_

 _Still nothing. I put on a brave face and pushed open the creaky door. What I saw still scars me. I still occasionally wake up sweating in the middle of the night. I lost my grip from sheer shock and the plate fell from my hand. It shattered on the ground as dozens of sharp ceramics sprawled across the carpet. My heart skipped several beats and for a second I thought I was going to faint._

 _There, right in the middle of the room, was Demi, a rope tied tightly around her neck. She hung from the ceiling, her legs dangling off the ground. Her face was white and she had no pulse._

 _"Demi!" I screamed as I rushed to her aid and cut her down with a pair of scissors I found on her make-up desk. "Please, Demi. Please don't be dead. Please come back to me. I need you, please." I sobbed uncontrollably as I held her body in my arms, cradling her head and combing her hair. I didn't know what else to do. I was a mess._

 _I was never the same after that. I receded further into my shell. I blocked out the few friends I actually had and I refused to even look at my father. They say time heals all wounds, and it did help, but I was never fully healed. I can stomach my father now, and I can show him respect, but I don't love him. I can't. I don't understand why mum stayed with him. Maybe because he lied about how it happened, or maybe she did it for me. She was the only reason I didn't run away myself._

 _But then things changed. Mum decided to send me to boarding school. She thought time away from my father and his job would help, and do you know what? It did. I was bullied in my first year, but I didn't care. I was weird. I was broken. I knew it and had accepted it. And yet life has ways of surprising you. In my case, it came in the form of Breezie the Hedgehog. She became my first best friend. Over our first three years of high school we grew so close, almost as close as Demi and I were, and I found myself falling in love with her. She helped heal me, but she never felt the same._

 _One day I told her about my past and she just hugged me. She knew no words would help, and a hug was exactly what I needed. I guess that's why I felt so betrayed when she used me. She knew how much I needed her and she took advantage of that. I guess she didn't mean to, since she didn't know how much I loved her, but still._

 _Then it seemed history repeated itself. A young girl, only a year and a bit older than Demi, had gotten herself in the same situation. Sonia wasn't raped, thank Chaos, but she had gotten pregnant at a party. She was young and it broke my heart to see her in such distress. I'd have panic attacks just thinking about what Sonia might have done. I was going to lie to her, but then it was revealed that Mephiles was the father. Mephiles did the right thing and asked her to marry him. I felt at peace knowing Mephiles would make sure to treat her right. He was a good guy… at least I thought he was._

 _When Mephiles left Sonia at the altar I knew I had to do something. I couldn't let her fall into the same depression and do something stupid like Demi had done. That's why I went to comfort her and I realized we had a lot in common. I did begin to fall for her, but then she refused me. I got scared. Demi was all alone, she had nobody and I didn't show her I loved her. That's why she did it, and my mind told me Sonia was going to do the same thing. So I lied. I let her believe I was the father so I could be there for her like I never could for Demi. Sonia wouldn't be alone, not if I had anything to say about it._

 _But now Manic knows. He knows and if he tells her I lied it might push Sonia over the edge. I don't know what to do. I might've dug my own grave, but I feel like I've dug hers too. I can't let Manic tell her, but I can't tell her either. I don't know what to do…_

The whole day Spike felt horrible, and he couldn't shake Manic's unending, torturous stare. As the days passed by, Spike was no closer to figuring out what to do. He needed Manic to understand, but he didn't know how. Spike felt like both him and Sonia were on borrowed time.

…

As the last image faded and the screen grew to black the room was plunged into darkness until the slow crawl of the white credits illuminated the faces of the two teenagers. Silver's eyes were filled with joy and glee as he fought the urge to applaud. Meanwhile, beside him underneath the same blanket, sat Scourge. His face was harder to read, holding a host of mixed emotions but one feeling towered above the rest. Nostalgic bliss.

Scourge wriggled a little, his leg brushing against Silver's underneath the blanket as the reality of what was happening finally dawned on him. He flicked his gaze sideways and noticed Silver staring right at him, deep into his eyes.

"What are you looking at?" Scourge growled.

"Just you," Silver replied with a smile. The first genuine smile he had mustered in a long time.

"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Scourge coked an eyebrow.

"Just the look on your face… in your eyes," Silver giggled slightly. "I've never seen you that happy since… well since before you ran away and left me."

"Hey… don't say shit like that," Scourge's tone softened slightly. "You're right, I haven't felt this happy. I guess it's nostalgia. I guess Space Fight V was a good choice." Silver's features fell as he stared down at his knees hidden beneath the quilt. "Something the matter?" Scourge asked, noticing his change in demeanor.

"I just… I missed this. You and me, watching nerdy space movies together."

"I'd lie if I said I hadn't missed it too," Scourge admitted.

"Why'd you leave, Scourge?"

"Please, don't ask me this now."

"But why? We were closer than anybody. You even lived with me for a short while and I thought…"

"You thought what?" Scourge turned dark again. "You thought we'd live a happy, peaceful life in the stars away from all the shitheads in this world?"

"I… I don't know. I just thought, since we were together, we'd be able to weather anything. I thought you were my best friend."

"I was… once. But I… I just can't."

"Why?" Silver pleaded but changed his tactic when he saw the stern warning in Scourge's eyes. "Alright, I understand. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay because, well, because you're here with me now. I guess that's all that matters."

"Silver… you're such a nerd," Scourge smirked.

"Yeah, I guess I am. I missed you, Scourge." Without warning, Scourge leant over and wrapped his arms around Silver and brought him in for a swift, tight embrace as Scourge rested his chin on the crown of Silver's head. It lasted a few seconds before he quickly pulled back but it was more closeness the two had shared in over five years.

"S-Scourge?" Silver yelped in surprise. "Did you just… hug me?"

"Yeah, I missed you too. But if you ever tell anybody I hugged you I'll deny it and punch you in front of them just for good measure."

"Oh Scourge," Silver shook his head with a sad smile and a warmth in his heart. "What happened to you?"

…

"Uh-huh," Sally nodded listlessly as she stuck her hand deep into the packet of potato chips and shakily brought it up to her mouth, taking the longest time to eat a single chip. Ever since she had finally seen through the fog clouding her eyes she had been doing her best to take small steps back to recovery with the constant comforting help of Julie. Julie had helped Sally rediscover her old, first love. Salt and Vinegar chips. Although hard to eat more than a handful at first, Sally was steadily eating more of the tasty snack.

"Sal, are you even listening?" Tikal asked.

"Huh, wha?" Sally stammered as she choked on the chip.

"You have no idea what I was talking about, do you?" Tikal pointed out judgmentally.

"Sorry, sorry," Sally apologized. "I just haven't really been myself recently."

"I've noticed," Tikal frowned. "I'm worried about you, Sal. I feel like we've known each other for ages and recently you have seemed to be struggling a bit. I miss how close we used to be."

"Same," Sally admitted. "You were the first real friend I made here that wasn't Sonic and I do miss the sleepovers we used to have. I've just been dealing with some things recently."

"Well… if you ever need somebody to talk to I'm always here for you."

"Thanks, Tiks."

"Speaking of always being there… I've noticed you and Julie hanging out a lot recently," Tikal smirked tauntingly. "Is there perhaps a little romance blossoming, hmm?"

"Shut up," Sally tried to hide her obvious blush.

"I knew it, I knew it," Tikal cheered. "You should ask her out!"

"What? No, no I couldn't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because she's still recovering from the whole Knuckles debacle. Besides, she's straight."

"So?"

"So? Wha... do you even… ugh, never mind," Sally pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to block out Tikal's frantic laughter at her embarrassment and flustered responses.

"Calm down, Sal, I'm just teasing."

"Well, two can play at that game. How's Eclipse going?"

"Can we not?" Tikal's mood instantly soured.

"Oh, what, trouble in paradise?"

"Seriously, please stop."

"Pour Tikal can't get her rocks off as often as she wants," Sally persisted.

"It's going horrible, okay?" Tikal shouted, surprising both of them. Sally silenced herself and stared aimlessly. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that."

"I'm sorry I pushed. I didn't know. Is everything alright?"

"I don't even know," Tikal admitted. "He's just so clingy recently. Like, I can't have five minutes to myself. He's always there and it's so annoying."

"I feel like this isn't new."

"No, it's been like this for a while. He's driving me insane but he just won't take a hint."

"Well… complaining won't do anything about it," Sally advised.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's simple. You have to options. You need to talk to him about giving him some space…"

"Or?"

"Or dump him. The choice is yours."

…

A silent tear rolled down Lumina's cheek as she stepped out of the store with a tight-fitting cap on her head. Her eyes were glazed and vacant, her heart hurt and empty. She counted the money she had received and pocketed it. There was enough for another week to send to the sitter, but she was already short from last week. She needed another job.

Lumina was glad the sun was already going down as she skulked down the tarmac ribbon scared with potholes and cracks. She hated that street. She hated the cars that slowed down to scope her out. Their eyes, cold and calculating, decided if she was worth fucking. To them, she was nothing but an object. Something to stick their dick into for a price. But for her, they were more. They were the only way she could supply for her child. They were a means to an end. A destructive, damaging means.

"Hey, you up for another round," a familiar car slowed down as a man called out from the window.

"Same price as last time," Lumina replied tonelessly, dejected.

"Only if you give me a smile," the man taunted.

"Can we just get this over with?"

"Don't be too eager. Just give me a smile and then you can suck me off, whore," the man spat. Lumina let her soul float away, leaving her body an empty husk as she curved her lips into a forced smile.

"That's it. Now get in here and let's get this over with," he commanded as he pulled the car onto the side of the road, throwing open the passenger door. Just as Lumina went to step into the car, a sudden gust of wind billowed down the desolate street, ripping the cap from her head. The man gasped in disgust at the sight of Lumina's completely bald head.

"Gross, you shaved your head?" he gaged. "Get out of here you ugly slut," he slammed the door shut and drove away into the distance. Lumina dropped to the floor and swiftly threw the hat back onto her head to hide her secret.

Lumina couldn't find the strength to stand back up. She stayed on her knees as the tears blew from her face and drenched her clothes, thinking on everything she had to sacrifice to scrape enough cash together to supply for her baby.

…

Mina's mind was racing as she waited with hands in her lap outside the principal's office. Thoughts swam around in her brain, all trying to understand the same question. Why was she here? She didn't know why Razor had suddenly called her. She racked her brain, thinking back to try to remember if she had broken any school rules. Mina thought she had been good recently. She had tried to be.

"Ms. Mongoose?" Razor smiled warmly as he stuck his head out of his office door. "I'm ready for you now."

"O-Okay," Mina squeaked as she slowly rose and shuffled into Razor's office, taking a seat in one of the two seats positioned in front of his mahogany desk. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"Something wrong?" Razor asked in confusion. "No, no of course not."

"Then why did you call me here?"

"It's… it's about your father."

"What about him?" Mina asked normally.

"He's returning to… well, to claim custody," Razor admitted quietly.

"I… I don't understand. I've been living with dad while school isn't on with mum. Why would he be trying to claim custody?"

"Mina… I don't think you understand. I'm not talking about Arthur."

"But who else could… could… no," Mina froze, her eyes doubling in size as fear shimmered behind her iris'. He felt her entire body tense up, her bones growing rigid. Her mouth drained of saliva, her tongue stiff and dry. She tried to speak but no words could come out.

"Yes… I'm afraid it's true," Razor sighed, his gaze lowering. "Shellbreaker Otter won the court case."

"But… but…" Mina croaked, unable to form a sentence or force out more than a single word.

"I understand what you must be thinking but I did all I could. He's managed to gain full custody and you will have to go and live with him after you graduate this year."

"Razor… Razor please, you can't… you have to… you can't let this," Mina babbled, circling her words like a mad woman as she tried to understand what was happening.

"You know I can't do anything. I've tried." Mina felt her whole world come crashing down around her. It was like the inescapable void that she had spent all her life running away from had opened up again and swallowed her whole. A fain droning buzz filled her ears as hope drained away. Mina couldn't take it anymore. Without warning she burst into an uncontrollable sob, tears streaming down her eyes and face like two cascading waterfalls.

"Mina… Mina please, don't cry. I wish there was more I can do. I truly do," Razor felt his heart break for the teenager. Razor could only guess why she had reacted this way, but he had no idea the full torment that man had put her through.

"I can't let him back in. Not now… especially not now," Mina choked through sobs.

"Why not now?"

"I can't let him ruin another life. He ruined my childhood. I won't let it happen again."

"What are you talking about?"

"I… I… I'm pregnant."

…

Blaze rushed down the corridor, already late for her last class of the day. Her backpack bounded up and down behind her as she tried to navigate through the twisting halls of the main tower.

"Blaze!" A commanding voice resonated through the halls. Blaze instantly traced the voice to its shouter but wanted no part in a conversation with the person. She continued running but her pursuer was perseverant. "I said, stop!"

"Fiona, get off me," Blaze growled as she span around and slapped Fiona's hand away. "Get your ugly man-hands off me."

"Don't you dare talk to me like that," Fiona snapped menacingly, her icy eyes narrowing as she glared deeply. Blaze matched her stare unflinchingly, refusing to back down. "Curious," Fiona relaxed slightly, her tone lightening but no less conniving.

"What?" Blaze spat stubbornly.

"You're not scared of me anymore."

"Why should I be? You're all talk."

"I think we both know that's not true," Fiona smirked, flicking her rust-coloured hair.

"What do you want, Fiona? I'm already late."

"I just want to ask a question and then I'll let you be on your way."

"Hurry up, then."

"Did you tell Sally or Julie about the bars?"

"You mean the fake fatty bars you switched out?"

"We switched," Fiona added poignantly. "And did you?"

"No. Why?"

"I saw Julie skulking around them, inspecting them. I think she thinks something's fishy about them."

"Well, if we get caught I'll make sure to personally let her know what you did," Blaze clicked.

"Hey," Fiona grabbed her wrist. "You throw me under the bus and I'll pull you down with me. We're in this together whether you like it or not. I can make your life a living hell if I wanted to."

"You don't scare me anymore, Fiona. I didn't tell her anything, but honestly, I really couldn't care less anymore," Blaze rolled her eyes.

"You will care if Julie traces the fakes back to us," Fiona added threateningly.

"Whatever," Blaze ignored her threats and walked away.

"Get back here. We aren't done!"

"Yes. We are."

"Nobody walks away from me," Fiona called out in an infuriated tone.

"Just watch me," Blaze added finally before she twisted the door knob and disappeared into her class, leaving Fiona fuming in the hallway.

…

Bean span the pencil around in his fingers as he combed his other hand through his hair. His notebook was open and he had a few math problems jutted down but he couldn't figure out how to solve them. His textbook was sprawled unceremoniously beside him but no matter what Bean tried he simply couldn't figure out how to solve them.

"This is impossible," Bean huffed as he slammed the textbook closed. "I'm so gonna fail this test," he complained aloud when he heard a knock at the door. "Did you forget your key again, Infinite?"

There was no answer, just more knocking. Bean sighed as walked to the door, opening it with a judgmental comment about forgetfulness when he trailed off into stunned silence.

"Hey," Espio waved awkwardly as he spoke in a soft voice.

"Go away," Bean instantly soured, his eyes drooping and his head falling to Espio's shoes. He couldn't bring himself to look at the chameleon in the eye.

"Bean, please, I-" Espio was cut off but the door slamming closed in his face. "Bean… Bean c'mon, open the door."

"I said go away," Bean growled through the wood.

"I just want to make sure you're okay. I've heard you've been down and things after Tekno haven't been great."

"Sure… like I'd believe you."

"Why wouldn't you? I just want to see how my friend is going. I'm worried about you."

"Bullshit," Bean snapped. "We're not friends."

"Of course we are."

"We haven't been friends in a long time. Ever since you got into bed with Fiona and decided to ruin my life and everybody else's life."

"You were the one that left me, Bean. Don't say it's my fault," Espio debated through the closed door.

"You tried to break me and Tekno up! You couldn't just be happy for me. Then you went around with Fiona making everybody miserable."

"I'm sorry. I messed up and I kick myself every day. I'm trying to make amends."

"Maybe I don't want you to make amends."

"Bean, stop being so stubborn. You were always so stubborn," Espio snapped. He instantly regretted it. "Bean… I'm sorry I didn't mean that."

"Just leave, Espio."

"Not until you let me in so we can talk about this."

"Look who's the stubborn one now. Just go away."

"Bean, I just want to talk to my friend."

"We aren't friends!" Bean yelled. "Get that through your thick skull."

"Well, you're still my friend," Espio sighed. "Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could go back in time and fix what I did. I just want to be friends again. I broke away from Fiona, but I saw you and Tekno so happy I didn't want to make you sad. Now you're sad and I can't… I just can't sit by knowing that you're unhappy."

"We're not friends so you don't have to care."

"I'm not giving up on you, Bean."

"Espio, just leave!"

"…Okay," Espio gave up finally. "But this isn't the end. I won't give up on you. Hope you have a nice sleep," Espio concluded as he shuffled away. Bean sighed, clamping his eyes shut. He curled up a fist and beat his hand into the door, crying out angrily. His thoughts and feelings washed around inside him uncontrollably, caught in a wild hurricane. Bean didn't know what to think or how to feel.

"What happened?" Bean finally sighed aloud as he fell to his knees at the door and leant his forehead against the cold wood. "Why did you change?"

…

It had finally finished downloading. Sally opened up her kindle and gazed down at the new book she had just bought. It was late at night and her roommates were both fast asleep. Sally knew she should probably get some sleep too but she was just too eager to read the book. She would never admit that to Amy.

Sally flicked to the first page of the digital book and began reading. It was a book familiar to her. One she had helped Amy proofread when she was writing it. It was Amy's finally published book. However, Sally began to feel strange, and then angry as she continued further and further. It wasn't until she got to the end of the book that she felt proper rage, confusion and anger.

"How could Amy do that?" Sally thought quietly as she finished the final page. Sally was confused. That's not how it originally ended. It was different. It completely changed everything and was way more depressing and bitter.

"Why would she do this?" Sally thought. Sally wanted to get to the bottom of it. She made a mental note to confront Amy later. She wouldn't let Amy get away with what she had written.

…

Tikal flicked the lights on, turning them to their dimmest setting as she tiptoed into the main lounging area that joins the two sides of the dormitory. She glanced at the analogue clock hung from a nail on the back wall. It was almost three in the morning. Tikal sighed as she slumped down on one of the pillows.

Her eyes were dark and red and had thick bags dragging them down. She yawned. Tikal was so tired but she was scared of sleep. She couldn't face the nightmares again. They plagued her every night. The thought of fickle life and how quickly Tails' was taken away. Those headlights of the car haunted her and she didn't want to go back to that. She wouldn't.

"Hey, Tikal?" A voice whispered through the dim light. Tikal froze, fearful that she had been caught breaking a handful of rules and staying out way past curfew. However, her heart slowed when she turned and saw Eclipse standing in pajama pants in the doorway.

"Eclipse?" Tikal rubbed her eyes, still not sure if she was just imagining him there or not.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" Eclipse asked warmly as he slipped over to her and took a seat beside her.

"You could say that," Tikal dodged his question, avoiding his eye contact. She couldn't help herself. She just felt uncomfortable around him.

"Hey, Tiks, is everything alright?" Eclipse asked softly.

"Yes, I know I look horrible you don't have to rub it in," Tikal jabbed back angrily, the tiredness affected her mood and shortened her temper.

"I didn't mean it like that," Eclipse sounded almost offended. "I just meant, like, I noticed you haven't been yourself recently and you seem to flinch when I try to touch you. Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Tikal, please, talk to me. I love you. If I've done anything know you can tell me. I can't try to fix it if I don't even know what it is," Eclipse begged. Finally, Tikal lifted her head and peered into his eyes. That stare… that beautiful stare that she had fallen in love with. She felt her heart break and melt at the same time.

"No… no it's not you, Eclipse. I promise," Tikal sighed as she inched over to him and snuggled into his side. Eclipse draped a heavy arm around her, squeezing her protectively. "It's just… I'm just still shaken about Tails, I guess."

"I know what you mean," Eclipse sighed. "I know you were much closer to him than I ever was and knew him much longer so this must be even more difficult for you, but just know I'm here. We can all mourn for him, and we should, but we don't have to do it alone. It's times like these when you need to rely on those around you. Those who love you and let them help."

"Thanks," Tikal whispered. She leant up and placed her lips softly against his. She waited a few seconds before she pecked again. Then again, and again, each time getting more and more aggressive until she pried his lips open with her tongue and explore around inside his mouth. She relished in the feeling. The feeling was almost alien, it had been so long since she had been properly intimate with him. With Eclipse, her supposed boyfriend.

"Tikal… Tikal," Eclipse gulped air as she held her back. "Are you sure we should be doing this? You're hurt and I don't know if this is what you really want right now. I think you just need sleep."

"Don't tell me what I want," Tikal said as she attacked his neck. "I don't want sleep, Eclipse. I just want you. Now, hurry and take your clothes off."

"But Tikal, we could get caught," Eclipse said worriedly.

"Exactly," Tikal smirked as she pulled down his pants, exposing him. Eclipse couldn't hold back anymore and eagerly gave in to his desires as Tikal let him slip inside her on the couches in the middle of the lounge.

…

The room was dark and dull. A single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling provided the only source of light. The room was empty. A single chair sat in the middle with nothing else. The room was hell. A constant barrage of pain after a plethora of unanswerable questions.

Mephiles sat, bound tightly by thick rope on the single chair. A burly man had just delivered another painful punch into his gut. Mephiles' face was bruised and his nose broken. He wheezed as he coughed up some blood. He looked completely disheveled. His eyes were red rimmed and black bags sagged underneath. Scars ran across his face with fresh blood seeping from where the man's ring had cut the skin. His lips were chapped and cut and his eyes were devoid of hope or emotion.

"The commander has had about enough of the dumb act," the man growled. "Another attack was organized and two good agents lost their lives because of your father," he added accusingly.

"I don't know where he is," Mephiles coughed, spitting up blood onto the cold, tiled floor below his bare feet. "I haven't known for years and that's the way I liked it."

"I was hoping you'd say that," the man smirked as he cracked his knuckles and delivered another painful punch right into Mephiles' cut. He moaned out in pain, his head falling limp as he struggled to breathe. The man bent down and pinched Mephiles' chin, raising his eyes and forcing him to stare deep into his menacing glare. "I can do this all day."

Mephiles tried to resist but he couldn't. It had all become too much. The man opened his mouth to berate Mephiles again when there was a knock at the door.

"How fortunate. You get a small break," the man taunted as he sauntered over to the door, but got quite the shock when he reached to open it. Without warning the door burst off its hinges and the man was sent flying backwards, blown off his feet. Confused, Mephiles turned to look what the intrusion was and found his heart caught in his chest. There, standing in the open doorway, was Shadow.

"Mephiles!" Shadow cried out happily as he rushed over to the moaning boy. Mephiles couldn't believe his eyes. He was convinced his brain was playing tricks on him. It couldn't be real. Shadow, his knight in shining armour, breaking down a door to rescue him like out of a movie. It just didn't make sense.

"Mephiles? What have they done to you?" Shadow gasped as he cupped Mephiles' cheek, noticing the deep scars and fresh, purple bruises that littered his face and body.

"Sh-Shadow?" Mephiles croaked out, his vision blurry from pain.

"Yes. It's me. Don't worry, you're safe," Shadow cooed reassuringly as he placed a soft kiss on Mephiles' lips.

"Shadow?" The man asked, confused, as he rose back to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"You shouldn't have done this to him," Shadow growled as he turned his head, fire alight in his angry eyes.

"I'm going to have to report you to the Commander. This is a complete breach and violation. I-" The man didn't have time to finish before Shadow was upon him. Shadow sprinted up in the blink of an eye and delivered a painful uppercut right into the man's jaw. The man stumbled backwards, but recovered quickly. He tried to respond but Shadow was quicker, dodging his punch and slamming his knee into the man's gut. He bent over in pain and Shadow brought his elbow down onto his head. The man crumpled to the ground, knocked unconscious.

"Shadow?" Mephiles asked again groggily as he tried to focus on the fight.

"Come on, I'm getting you out of here," Shadow said as he made quick work of the ropes that bound Mephiles. Mephiles tried to stand but the pain was too immense. Shadow carefully heaved Mephiles up and draped his arm around his back, slowly walking away.

Together, Shadow and Mephiles staggered down the hallways of the G.U.N holding facility. Mephiles took note of the few guards that Shadow had had to incapacitate on his way to finding Mephiles. Shadow had been on the war path, and nothing could stand in his way. The two were lucky as they made their way through the building, but their luck finally ran out.

"Agent Shadow," a familiar, disapproving voice probed as the commander stood before them, right in front of their only exit.

"Commander," Shadow nodded facetiously.

"Let him go, Shadow. Think about what you're doing," the Commander growled. "He's a prisoner and he isn't going anywhere."

"The hell he is," Shadow spat. "How could you do this to him? He's done nothing wrong!"

"He's the key to finding Crimson!"

"He's just a teenager. He's innocent in all this, but look what you've done to him," Shadow shouted accusingly. "It's inhumane."

"It was necessary."

"Necessary?" Shadow couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How could you say that? How could you do this? You were like a father to me."

"I still am, Shadow. I still have your wellbeing at heart, but despite the feelings you harbor for this boy, your duty… our duty to this country should stand above all else."

"Screw that," Shadow snapped.

"Don't speak like that."

"I'll speak how I damn well please. Now get out of the way. I need to get Mephiles out of here."

"I can't let you do that."

"Are you threatening me?"

"If that's what it comes to," Shadow dared the Commander to stand in his way.

"So, it's treason, then?" Shadow said nothing but braced himself for conflict with the one man that has shown him the most kindness and guidance. "I cared for you your whole life. From when you were born, to helping adopt you from those horrid orphanages."

"Maria cared for me. I didn't even know you existed until this year."

"Who do you think hired Maria to be there for you?" The Commander added. Shadow said nothing. "Think about what you're doing, Shadow. We need Mephiles to find Crimson. I know how you feel about him, but you have a duty to the country. Don't you want to help save the world?"

"Mephiles is my world," Shadow responded softly.

"Shadow?" Mephiles said again, realization in his eyes. "Shadow… it's really you." Shadow's words had helped slice through the hazy fog that had blinded him and he finally understood what was happening.

"Yes, it's me. Meph, it's me," Shadow smiled.

"Shadow… thank you… I always knew you'd come find me. I never gave up hope," Mephiles smiled as he leant over, shut his eyes and pressed his lips firmly against Shadow's in a passionate kiss. He ignored the pain that flared in his lips. He just wanted to feel Shadow.

"I love you too." The Commander froze as he watched their display, reevaluating his stance.

"You really love him… don't you?"

"I do," Shadow nodded. "Please, Commander, you say you've cared for me my whole life. If that's true, and you truly want me to be happy, you'll let us leave. Me, and Mephiles."

"I… I can't let an agent do that."

"Then I don't want to be an agent anymore."

"What?"

"If it's against G.U.N, then I don't want to be apart of G.U.N anymore. I saw what they did to him. If you can't let him live a happy life… if you want to just use him as a pawn for a greater goal, then I don't want to be an agent for you anymore."

"Are you quitting?"

"Yes… I think I am." The Commander was silent for a few moments before he sighed and stepped aside.

"Alright then," The Commander nodded.

"You… you're letting us go?"

"I am. I know I shouldn't, but, as a favour to you and your father, I will. With his last dying breath he made me promise to look after you. He wanted you to have a good life and I can see this boy makes you happy. I can't let an agent leave, but, if this is what you want. I won't stop you."

"Thanks, Commander. For everything. I'll never forget what you've done for me," Shadow thanked him as he helped Mephiles up and together they wobbled past the Commander and out into their normal lives again.

"I hope you guys are happy together, agent Shadow," The Commander nodded as the door closed behind Shadow, separating him from his future life at G.U.N.

…

As the bell rang, the students gathered their belongings and quickly filed out of the class, drawn forward to the cafeteria by the sweet-smelling steam that was billowing from the kitchen ovens. Rouge was the last in the class to pack her stuff up. She hated the cafeteria food, and only ever ate it begrudgingly. If she had a choice, she wouldn't go near the stuff.

"Rouge!" An angered voice garnered her attention as she slipped out of the classroom. She strained her gaze through the sea of bubbling faces dashing around the school hallways of the tall building when she spotted an angry squirrel storm up to her.

"Ah, Sally, so nice to see you," Rouge smiled through a happy façade.

"Cut the crap," Sally growled. "I've got a bone to pick with you."

"You want to bone me? Well, Sally, I can't say I'm not flattered but you know I don't swing that way," Rouge taunted playfully, adding her signature flirty wink for good measure.

"You know that's not what I mean," Sally snorted, unflustered. "I'm here to stand up for somebody who can't."

"Look, if you're mad at me, that's fine but stop with the cryptic clues and just tell it to me straight."

"I'm talking about Cosmo."

"What about her?"

"I talked to Scourge and he seemed adamant that he wasn't responsible for her problems. He helpfully pointed me to you."

"Oh, he did, did he? That smoking hot idiot," Rouge said angrily. "Well, what do I have to do with Cosmo?"

"I know you were the one that sold her the drugs. You were the one that got her addicted," Sally poked a finger accusatorily into her chest, just above her breasts.

"I didn't get her addicted," Rouge acted insulted.

"Why'd you do it? Gambling wasn't enough? Maybe you saw how addictive her personality is and decided you could make some money off another chump. We're all just little ants scurrying underneath your boot, aren't we?" Sally snarled.

"Watch what you say, Acorn," Rouge countered, adopting a tone and style almost mirroring that of Fiona. "I didn't get her addicted on purpose. It was just some marijuana. It's not addictive."

"But it's Cosmo. You saw what she's like."

"I did. And I tried to help her kick her gambling addiction. Who do you think forced her to stay away from Storm and Honey's little get togethers?"

"You probably only did it to make her crave your goods more."

"You throw around accusations pretty easily, Sally. Maybe I should throw some back at you, arsonist."

"Scourge already tried that tactic on me," Sally ignored her. "I won't let you distract me. I'm here to stand up for Cosmo, not me. Do your worst."

"You really love protecting the weak. No wonder you and blue are such good friends. If you must know, I cut her off."

"And another thing. You… what?"

"I said I cut her off," Rouge repeated. "I saw how destructive it was becoming so I stopped selling to her. I'm not heartless, Sally. I know what dependency looks like and I didn't want her life to turn to shit like Scourge's used to be. When he told me about how hard it was to kick his addiction, I saw some of him in Cosmo. I couldn't let that pour girl go through what he did so I thought the best course of action was to completely cut her off. Cold turkey."

"But… but you…"

"What? You don't know what to say now that you have nobody to go to war with? Take a good hard look at yourself, Sally. Not everybody wants you to be there hero. Does Cosmo even know you're fighting for her?"

"Well… no," Sally admitted.

"Why don't you stop trying to make demons and just talk to her yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's some food with my name on it that I need to try to force down. Later, Sally," Rouge brushed by her victoriously and sauntered down the now empty hallway.

"Maybe I should just talk to Cosmo…" Sally sighed.

…

Mighty thanked the nurse as he hobbled out of the school's infirmary, two long crutches propped under each arm. His left ankle was bandaged and floated limply in the air as he hopped along on his right foot. He had just awkwardly pushed through the main doors when a frantic body slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

"Ouch," Mighty moaned in pain as he flailed about, clutching his sore ankle.

"Oh my Chaos, I'm so sorry Mighty," a familiar, flustered voice panicked. Mighty instantly froze and looked up at the boy crouching over him. His blue eyes and face were cast in shadow and his golden hair was highlighted by the shining sun.

"Ray…" Mighty breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about what happened earlier and what Scourge did," Ray began as he stuck out his hand, offering to help Mighty up. Mighty took Ray's help reluctantly. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh… thanks, I guess," Mighty whispered. The two shuffled gracelessly together, their eyes flicking everywhere except at each other. "Well, thanks for thinking of me but as you can see, I'm fine so I should probably get going."

"Wait," Ray called out as Mighty hobbled down the first stair. Mighty paused and looked back as Ray breathed and recounted the speech he had mentally prepared.

"I know you probably don't want to see me right now but I think I need to get this off my chest. I'm sorry I chose Clove the other day but you gave me no choice. You put me in an impossible decision. You're still my best friend, Mighty, and I don't want to cut you out of my life but you're pushing me to my limit. Clove is fine with us still being friends while I date her. Why can't you be fine with it too?"

"Mighty I… I can't talk about this with you," Mighty dodged the question.

"Mighty… please…"

"You just don't understand."

"Then help me understand! I want to understand why I need to make this choice," Ray begged.

"I'm sick of this conversation, Ray. We are just going around in circles."

"And we'll keep going around in circles until you tell me why you're acting this way."

"Oh, why _I'm_ acting this way," Mighty snapped. Ray had hit a nerve. "I'm acting fine, you're the one who's acting like a selfish prick."

"Mighty, don't be like that. I don't want to fight."

"No, you never do. You've always shied away from conflict. You just allow yourself to hurt the people closest to you while you act selfishly in your perfect little bubble where everybody needs to do what you want."

"It's not like that!"

"It is! You've always loved Clove. You told me yourself, and like an idiot I trusted you. This was probably your plan all along."

"How could you say that about me?" Ray asked.

"You probably manipulated me all along. Was the cliff even real?" Mighty stopped in his tracks, his eyes shooting open. He instantly regretted his accusation. "Ray… Ray I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"No, I think you knew exactly what you meant," Ray growled, his eyes growing dark and malicious. "Yes, Mighty. I purposely tried to commit suicide just to trick you. Everything I do is about you, isn't it? I can't have a life. I'm just Mighty's stupid, ugly little shadow, aren't I?"

"I didn't mean-"

"No, no, really, it's okay," Ray ignored him. "Let's get it all out in the open. Maybe I should go try to kill myself again so that I can force you to stay being my friends. It's what I do, don't I. Manipulate people."

"Ray I-"

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be me?" Ray interrupted Mighty a second time, tensions raising as his heart began to beat faster and faster. "Do you have any idea what it's like to have a brain that's constantly insulting you. Constantly saying how you're not good enough and how you're ruining everybody's life. Do you have any idea what it's like to constantly compare yourself to your best friend, knowing he's much cooler, hotter, more confident, funnier… I'd go on, because that's how I think."

"Do you have any idea what it's like to have the person you care about most in this world tell you he wants to kill himself?" Mighty countered. "Do you have any idea how painful that is. Do you have any idea what you'd do if he did it? What would I do if you left?"

"You'd move on. You don't need me, but I need you."

"Ray, of course I need you. But when you tell me I'm the only reason you're still alive, of course I'd drop everything to try to make you happy. The burden you put on me, I knew I had to help you. I had to make you happy… no matter what…" Mighty trailed off. Ray opened his mouth to argue but suddenly it hit him.

"M-Mighty…" Ray breathed. "You… you didn't." Mighty nodded, unable to meet eye-contact. Slowly everything washed over Ray. Every stupid thing Mighty did or question he never answered. Ray finally understood everything. "You dumped Clove to help me."

"I love you, Ray. You're my best friend and I decided your life and happiness is much more important than a silly high school relationship. I made my choice, and despite everything, I don't regret it."

"You… you're an idiot…"

"What?"

"Why would you do that for me?" Ray almost shouted. "Why would you sacrifice your life to help me?"

"Why are you angry?" Mighty shouted back. "I did it for you."

"Exactly, and you know that's what makes me depressed. I wanted to jump because I was afraid I was ruining your life. How is ruining your own life helping me? Now I just… why did you tell me?"

"I didn't! This is why I never did. I didn't want you to blame yourself."

"How can I not blame myself. It's all my fault," Ray pinched himself. "Ugh, why did I tell you I relied so much on you. Why did I put that burden on you? I wasn't thinking. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Ray, stop," Mighty grabbed Ray's wrist, struggling to stay balanced on his foot. "Don't hurt yourself."

"I deserve it."

"You don't. But do you understand now why I didn't want you to date Clove. I still love her."

"I… I understand."

"So… will you dump her?" Mighty asked after a moment of silence.

"Wait… what? You still want me to dump her?"

"Did that conversation just go over your head?" Mighty asked, confused. "Now you know why I dumped her."

"But… but why didn't you tell me ages ago. I would have dumped her. I wouldn't have asked her out in the first place if I knew," Ray whined.

"Because I thought you'd hurt yourself. And I was right. You were in a much worse state back then, I was afraid you'd go further…"

"But… I can't dump her now."

"Why not?"

"I love her."

"So did I!"

"But I need her, Mighty. Like I needed you, I need her. I've fallen so hard for her, and after I've got a taste, I can't go back. I've spent the past couple of years fantasizing about what it'd be like with her."

"You… you had sex with her…" Mighty felt his world crumbling down around him. He didn't want to think about it. But it was true, and now he couldn't get the taunting image out of his head.

"Mighty… I would have told you but I thought it would make things worse."

"You had sex… with my girlfriend…"

"She's not your girlfriend. You dumped her."

"I dumped her for you!"

"I didn't ask for that!" Ray defended himself.

"But you did! When you told me you were gonna kill youself without me and you only don't think about ending it all when you're with me… that's basically telling me I need to spend more time with you. You forced my hand."

"I… I didn't meant to."

"Well you did… and you still fucked her."

"I guess I did that too," Ray sighed. "And I'm sorry… but I won't leave her. I can't."

"You had sex with her… despite everything," Mighty repeated over in his head, unable to believe it unless her heard himself say it.

"I'm sorry."

"You won't leave her…"

"I'm sorry," Ray repeated.

"I hate you," Mighty whispered.

"Wh-what?"

"I said, I hate you!" Mighty bellowed, anger exploding from within him.

"Mighty… don't say that. You promised me you'd never hate me… You never break your promises. You've never broken a promise before," Ray hated himself and he hated how weak he felt. Tears began brimming in his eyes as his heart broke in front of him.

"I guess there's a first time for everything," Mighty concluded bitterly as he turned and limped away as fast as he could. Ray stood there, his world crumbling around him. Mighty said he hated him. Mighty couldn't hate Ray… that's not how they work. Mighty and Ray, two peas in a pod. You couldn't have one without the other. But Mighty said hate. Ray needed to feel better. He couldn't take the pain. Tears flowed down his face like cascading waterfalls as he broke into a sprint to the only person he knew that could help him. He ran right into the open arms of Clove the Pronghorn.

* * *

 _A/N: Sorry this one took so long but uni has started up again and I've been swamped already. It's only week three and I've already got three assignments due. That's third year for you... I won't bore you on the details, I'll just get into my usual post chapter spiel._

 _Now some of you guessed that the title Rock Bottom referred to Mighty hitting his lowest point and, yes, that's right but it also referred to another character. Spike. In my longest segment yet we finally got to see some of his past where he hit rock bottom in his life. In a similar situation to Sonia, his sister Demi-Na got pregnant but thought nobody was there for her and hanged herself. In Spike's mind, Sonia will do the same thing. Sonia never would, but that's the thing about traumatic events and PTSD. Spike's mind only shows him the worst case scenario. He's convinced she will do it and he will do anything to prevent that. Now whether you think that redeems Spike or it still doesn't excuse him for lying to Sonia about who the father is, that's up to you to decide._

 _Speaking of Mighty, it looks like his and Ray's relationship has finally ended. Coming full circle, this fight echoes one back in an earlier chapter when Ray told Mighty that he had asked Clove out. Mighty promised he'd never hate Ray, and as we all know one of Mighty's defining characters is that he never breaks a promise. So not only did he break a promise, but he hates his best friend. Does he really? Can their relationship ever be mended. What will Clove think now that she has Ray all to herself? Only time will tell._

 _Mephiles is back, and all it took was Shadow relinquishing his job at the agency. Now no longer an agent, Shadow has more time to focus on Mephiles but now that we know Spike was lying to Sonia, will the pregnant girl come back between the two boys again?_

 _Lumina is falling further into despair as she cut off her hair to help pay the bills for her baby. She's hitting struggle street pretty hard. Same with Mina, who finally broke down after learning the truth about her real father. Who is ShellBreaker and what did he do to Mina to solicit this kind of response? Does any character in this story not have daddy issues?_

 _Scourge and Silver, the story slowly unravels more and more. Just 5 more chapters before their story is revealed in full. What are your theories?_

 _Next chapter is the final chapter for part 3 of this story. Entitled the Funeral, it will naturally be all about Tails' funeral and cap off some loose stories and plot threads that need to end, whilst also giving some teasers and juicy scenes that will set up the major conflicts that will be prevalent through the final part of this story. I won't reveal what the final part will be called or what the final theme of the last 17 episodes will be, but everything will increase in drama as more and more lives are thrown for a loop. Do you want a sneak peak? Well... alright... I guess I can say that the final part will be quite father heavy. Spike's father will make an appearance, obviously so will Mina's, Scourge's home life will naturally be revealed too and the relationship between Blaze and Razor will be explored as well as Jules making a return. I won't say anymore so I hope that's enough. Either way, we still have one more chapter to go before we begin our final 17 chapter clump to close off this massive series._

 _I'm sorry it's been so long but if you want your SH:EL fix don't hesitate to throw me a PM and ask a question or just chat. I love hearing from people who read my work and will be more than happy to talk to any of you. I can't say how long the next part will be but I'm one chapter away from finally finishing the Sontails series so once that's done I'll have a little more time dedicated to this. Either way my top priority is finishing the next chapter to bookend part 4 but its turning into a massive chapter, probably the biggest yet, with over 22 separate scenes. Hopefully I can get it done befre easter but... well only time will tell._

 _Question of the Day: Team Mighty or Team Ray? Who was in the wrong and who do you support going forward. Bonus question (Because it's been a month since I've heard from you) Do you think Spike is forgiven for tricking Sonia now knowing what you do or do you still think he's wrong in tricking her no matter what?_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Amadeus and Rosemary visit the school along with old characters making an appearance such as Bernadette, Aleena, Gold, Ken and Sonar_

 _Razor finally confronts Blaze... his daughter_

 _Mighty finds solace in an unlikely place_

 _Sally confronts Cosmo_

 _Amadeus vs. Sonic_

 _Espio and Mina perform their song_

 _Zonic finally mans up_

 _Jet and Cosmo vs. Wave and Cream_

 _...and Maria?!_

 _All this and so, so, so much more, next time on the final chapter of part 3 - Chapter 48: The Funeral_


	48. Chapter 48: The Funeral

Chapter 48

The Funeral

The top of the sun just peeked over the horizon as Zonic rushed down the stairs of the dormitory. Sullen pinks streaked across the dawn sky as he stepped out into the brisk cold air of the early morning. It was a Saturday morning, the day of Tails' funeral.

Zonic regretted not being able to attend, but he had decided that it was time that he manned up and stopped letting doubts ravage his mind. He knew what he needed to do, and the weekend happened to be the perfect time while there was a multitude of parents arriving to help look after the abundance of teenagers.

Zonic packed a light bag, threw it in the boot of his car and hopped into the driver's seat. He turned the key and the engine sputtered to life, the heater blaring hot air to warm his cold extremities.

"See you soon," Zonic said facetiously to the looming, towering building as he reversed out of the parking lot and set off on his long journey back to the city. His journey back to finally confront Gold.

…

"Today's the big day," Knuckles said mournfully through a long, slow yawn as he stepped out of bed and stretched his aching arms skywards. He clicked his tongue to whet his mouth and scratched his lower back as he walked over to the door and kicked it open. "I'm going to take a piss."

"Thanks for the information," Manic chided as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The tired hedgehog waited until Knuckles had shut the door behind him before he locked eyes with Spike. "So."

"So, what?" Spike asked innocently.

"You know what," Manic insisted. "Have you told Sonia about how you lied to her about being the father? Have you ended it with her yet?"

"Why would I have to end it with her? Maybe she'll understand why I lied when I explain it to her."

"Sure, whatever," Manic rolled his eyes as he hopped out of bed and threw on a plain black t-shirt over his bare chest.

"Where are you off to?"

"None of your business," Manic snarled as he walked to the door, but when he placed his hand on the handle he stopped briefly. "Oh, and if you haven't told Sonia by the end of the funeral, I will." With that final threat, Manic slipped out of the room.

"Dickhead," Spike huffed silently, plunging his head back into the soft, inviting pillow.

…

It was ten in the morning. The funeral was set to start at midday. Rows and rows of plastic black chairs had been set up lining the central grassy lawn that lay between the two main buildings. A closed, mahogany casket sat beside the tall, leafy tree that shaded its contents from the rising sun. Razor rushed around making sure everything was set up properly as some students helped him out. Slowly, parents and other invited guests began to arrive and began conversing about Tails' memory over some biscuits and coffee for morning tea that Razor had provided for the occasion.

Sonic let out a sullen exhale as he stared at the guests from his bedroom window from the third floor of the dormitory. A dour expression blotted his frowning face as he moped at the window. Mighty had fled the room at the wee hours of the morning to his place of refuge while Mephiles and Shadow, who had both slept in Mephiles' bed, had made an effort not to disturb Sonic as they got ready and left to get some breakfast.

Sonic reached into the back pocket of his black slacks and fished out a neatly folded up piece of paper. It was the eulogy he prepared. He skimmed over it, tears rushing to his eyes just by reading it in his head. He missed Tails dearly. Sonic didn't know if he could go through with it. All those people looking at him, listening to him break down about his deceased best friend. Sonic's heart began to beat faster and faster just thinking about it. He began to sweat and panic rose from deep within him.

 _Knock, knock._

The knocking at the door distracted him. He quickly stuffed the paper back into his pocket before he rushed over to open the door. He was slightly taken aback by the teenager standing on the other side in a stunning jet-black dress.

"H-Hey," Blaze murmured shyly from the door. Her eyes were rimmed with black mascara and were red from sadness.

"Oh, hey Blaze. What… what are you doing here?" Sonic asked.

"I… well it's a little stupid." Blaze turned to leave but Sonic stopped her.

"Please, if it's coming from you it can't be stupid."

"Thanks Sonic, that's really sweet," Blaze smiled softly as she sniffed. Sonic rushed over to his beside table and retrieved a box of tissues from the drawer. He handed it to her. Blaze thanked him as she dabbed her eyes, careful not to mess up her mascara.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Blaze laughed humourlessly. "I guess I'm just sad about Tails. I don't know. I thought I had gotten past this but today. It's just…"

"It's like having this funeral has made it all real again, like it just happened," Sonic finished for her, understanding what she was going through.

"I should've known you'd understand. I guess that's why I found myself drawn to your room."

"Thanks for coming. To be honest I was having a little bit of a panic attack before you showed up," Sonic admitted. Blaze reached out and cupped his hand in hers helpfully. Sonic looked down at it in stunned silence.

"It's okay. I'm here for you."

"I have to say a eulogy. I don't know if I can do it. What if I break down on stage?"

"You won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know you. Besides, I'll be right there in the front row. Just focus on me and pretend nobody else is there and you can get through it."

"You promise?"

"Pinky promise," Blaze nodded, holding out her flexed little finger.

"What are we, eight?" Sonic joked lightly. Blaze gave him a look and refused to lower her finger. Sonic sighed with a smile and wrapped his pinky around hers.

"Good. Now c'mon, I'm sure there's people out there who want to talk to you. I think I saw your mum and Aleena arrive a little while ago," Blaze helped lift his spirits as she ushered him out of his room. Despite both of their hearts aching after Tails' death, both knew that the other one understood the pain his death left and together they would make it through this tough time.

…

Mighty felt bad being in this room. He knew he probably shouldn't be in there, he wasn't super close with Tails. Sure, they'd grown close when they had spent all their time together over the school break but they were far from best friends. However, the empty room that Tails left behind proved to be a welcome hiding place from the rest of the school that seemed to ridicule Mighty and spit on him as he walked the halls. Somehow, he had become the most hated person. Not even his closest friends supported him.

Mighty would hate to admit it, but that particular morning he found himself crying. If there was one thing people knew about Mighty it was this; He never cried. Nobody, apart from Ray, had seen Mighty cry in over ten years. Even as a child he didn't cry much. He was always happy and optimistic, always a smile plastered across his carefree face. That wasn't so much the case these days.

It seemed childish but Mighty felt safe when he crawled through the opening of Tails' Blanketopolis and sat cross-legged on the comfy pillows. It was a place Mighty could come to think, reflect and occasionally do some of his study in peace. Today was no exception. He had already been cornered in the bathroom by Storm that morning and accused of being a backstabbing dickhead. He didn't want any more altercations. Not today, of all days.

The sound of the door swinging open alerted the armadillo. Mighty stayed quiet, hoping whomever opened the door would leave but luck wasn't on Mighty's side. He heard the blankets rustle and before he knew it Shadow had crawled through the opening with a surprised look on his face.

"Mighty? What are you doing in here?" Shadow asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Mighty fired back defensively, trying to shield the obvious signs of tears from the inquisitive intruder.

"I thought I saw somebody come in here and thought it might have been Sonic but I guess I was wrong. So I guess I'll just… wait, have you been crying?" Shadow asked. Mighty cursed silently as he feverishly wiped away the evidence.

"What?" Mighty sniffed like an idiot. "No, of course not. I don't cry."

"Mighty, c'mon. Everybody cries. It's nothing to be ashamed of," Shadow assured him comfortingly.

"Why are you being nice to me? I thought you hated me?"

"I don't hate you. I just… you can just be a bit frustrating sometimes. Remember we didn't get off on the right foot."

"I was just trying to stand up for Ray. I thought you were bullying him and I get a bit stubborn sometimes," Mighty admitted.

"You can say that again."

"Like you're the one to talk."

"Fair, but I wasn't bullying him. But then when everybody was turning on me… again, you were there to try to protect me and, I don't know, I just got annoyed. I didn't think I needed protecting. It made me feel weak and powerless and I just took my anger out on you," Shadow said.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help."

"I know, and I thank you for that but sometimes people don't want your help."

"Yeah, I guess I know how you felt now anyway. It sucks when the whole school turns against you."

"It sucks, doesn't it. But don't worry, I get it. I've been there, more than once. It'll all blow over soon. Besides, if it doesn't then it's my turn to protect you," Shadow winked. Mighty couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape his lips.

"Thanks Shadow. Y'know, you're not such a bad guy once you let people get to know you. You're kinda like Mephiles. You two make a good couple," Mighty elbowed him as he rose his eyebrows.

"Mephiles always defended you to me when I complained and I never understood why he was into you but I do now."

"Wait," Mighty's cheeks flashed red. "Meph was… into me?"

"You're kinda cute when you're oblivious."

"C'mon Shads, quit it," Mighty complained like a little boy. Shadow was wracked with more raucous laughter. Then, he stopped.

"You… called me Shads."

"Yeah, is that okay? I like to give my friends nicknames."

"We're… friends?"

"I'd like to be. As long as you and Mephiles don't invite me for a threesome. Sorry, I'm not into that," Mighty laughed.

"Alright," Shadow laughed, but there was something about Mighty that reminded him of Sonic. Only Sonic called him Shads, but here Mighty was doing the same thing. When Shadow really thought about it, Mighty and Sonic shared a few similarities.

"Shads, you alright?" Mighty waved a hand in front of Shadow's vacant face. "Am I losing you?"

"Sorry, was just thinking about stuff. Come on, let's get out of here and go pay our respects to Tails. Just forget about Ray and Clove and all of them for today. Meph and I will hang with you the whole time."

"Thanks Shads. I'm glad we talked, and I'm sorry about pissing you off in the past."

"Don't go getting to sentimental. Just stay your annoyingly optimistic self and we'll be all good," Shadow smiled.

"Alright deal, as long as you stop calling me cute," Mighty laughed as the two crawled out of Blanketopolis.

"Sure thing hot stuff."

"Shadow," Mighty whined as he rolled his eyes.

…

"Clove, what are you still doing in bed?" Amy asked as she dashed back into the room to grab her black purse. "We're meeting the others down there in five minutes."

"You go ahead, I'm still waking up," Clove waved Amy away. She was still firmly tucked underneath her blanket, waiting as Cosmo, Blaze and, eventually, Amy left to attend the funeral.

"Alright, but hurry. The procession starts in an hour and I'd hate for you to be late," Amy said as she fled the room in a hurry. Clove sighed, a long slow exhale. She threw the blankets off her and stood up with a wobble. For the past two weeks, ever since Clove found out the news she had been waiting until her roommates had left for classes before she'd get up. Clove stepped into some black trousers and pulled on a thick, woolen jumper. She wasn't going to wear a dress like the other girls, especially not in her current predicament. Clove hated that spring was coming to a close and summer was just around the corner because the days were getting warmer. However, she continued to wear big clothes. She had to.

"Clove, I ran into Amy in the hallway and… what are you wearing?" Tikal barged in without warning like she often did.

"N-Nothing. I'm just a bit cold," Clove dodged her question.

"It's hot as fuck. It's thirty degrees outside today," Tikal frowned. "Clove… is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" She deflected.

"You've just been acting a bit weird this past fortnight. I didn't want to say anything but, well, I just want to make sure you're alright."

"Tiks, trust me, I'm fine."

"Clove, I've known you almost my whole life. You can't fool me. I know something's been on your mind and you haven't been your usual self. I'm your best friend. You can trust me," Tikal said.

"I know, I know. It's just… it's hard for me to say it out loud."

"Just say it to me and I can help."

"This isn't something you can help me with."

"Try me."

"Alright, but you promise you won't tell anybody."

"Of course, I promise," Tikal affirmed.

"Alright, here goes," Clove took a deep breath. "The reason I've been a bit off and have been wearing all these extra hot clothes is because… well, I found out that I'm pregnant." Tikal's eyes grew wide at Clove's confession. Her jaw dropped open from shock.

"Clove, you… you're pregnant?" Clove nodded her head slowly. Tikal couldn't believe it. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or concerned. Then, a horrible thought crossed into her head. She didn't want to ask it, but knew she had to. "Is it Ray's kid?"

"No," Clove shook her head with tears in her eyes. "It's Mighty's!"

…

"Hey Ray," Spike greeted solemnly as he strolled up to the wooden bench Ray was sitting on underneath the shade of the thick tree beside the parking lot.

"Oh, hey Spike," Ray waved nonchalantly. "I take it Sonar messaged you too?"

"Yeah. She seemed really upset over the phone," Spike nodded as he took a seat beside Ray. Spike drew down his shades to block out the blinding light of the sun that reflected down on the left part of the bench.

"She called me too asking if I could meet her here. I could hear Amadeus shouting in the background," Ray noted.

"I wonder how this will all turn out," Spike thought. "Last time he was here I'm pretty sure he disowned Tails."

"Sonar tells me he blames Sonic for Tails' death."

"Now that's just not fair," Spike shook his head.

"I know but give the man some credit. He just lost his son, he's still grieving."

"He also disowned him."

"He was still Tails' father." Before Spike and Ray could argue any further a sleek, silver Mercedes-Benz roared around the corner and a disgruntled man in a black suit stepped out of the passenger seat. He strode around to the passenger seat and opened the door to help out a slightly shorter yet stunningly gorgeous woman. She wore the most extravagant, long black dress with supporting heels. A veil covered her saddened face but her gloved hands continually dabbed at her unseen eyes with a very damp tissue.

"Ray, Spike," Sonar wailed as she barreled out of the car and rushed over to the little bench.

"Sonar," they both cried out in unison as she shot into them and wrapped her skinny arms around them both.

"I'm so sorry about Tails," Ray gave her his condolences.

"If you need anything we are both here for you," Spike added.

"Thanks…" Sonar sniffed. Being back at the school instantly brought back memories of her cousin. She looked back at the elder couple, her aunt and uncle, as they walked over to her. "They were fighting the whole car trip," Sonar whispered.

"Spike, nice to see you again, son," Amadeus nodded in a low, gravelly voice as he stuck out his hand.

"Likewise, Mr. Prower," Spike gripped his hand firmly.

"How is your father going these days?" Amadeus pried.

"I wouldn't know," Spike countered with hostility.

"Spike," Rosemary wept as she threw her arms around you. "L-Look at you. You've g-gotten so big."

"Thanks, Mrs. Prower. I'm sorry about Tails."

"He's in a better place now," she tried to hold her composure. Ray stood back and watched awkwardly. He wanted to say something to console her but the words escaped him.

"Come now, Sonar. We need to go make the rounds before the funeral begins," Amadeus said matter-of-factly, jumping straight to business.

"Would you mind if I spent some time with Ray and Spike before the funeral, uncle?" Sonar asked in a sweet voice. "They were both good friends of Tails and I'd love to hear some stories from them."

"Absolutely-"

"That sounds lovely," Rosemary sniffed. "Spike," Rosemary turned to the son of one of her and Amadeus' close friends. "Please look after her until the funeral."

"I'll keep her out of trouble," Spike nodded with a joyless smile.

"Don't interrupt me like that," Amadeus snapped quietly.

"Now is not the time for that, dear. We need to go."

"We talked about this," Amadeus hissed as he followed his wife, leaving the three teenagers alone once again.

"Are they alright?" Ray piped up finally.

"Mum says Tails' death has put quite a strain on their marriage."

"Sonar, today is not a day for gossip," Spike chastised.

"Sorry."

"Now come on, where do you want to go first?"

…

Mephiles and Shadow strode across the lawn hand in hand, ignoring the wavering stares and judgmental stares that were thrown their way. They were on a straight path towards one particular person. Sonia the Hedgehog. Shadow was unsure if the funeral was the right time to have the conversation with her about everything that happened but Mephiles couldn't wait any longer.

"But I love you," Shadow had said the night before.

"But Sonia is carrying my baby," Mephiles replied. "I can't abandon her."

"You can still be there for the baby, but you can be with me, too."

"I'm sorry, Shadow, but I need to set things right. I thought you understood that."

"I've already lost you once, I can't do it again."

"But Mephiles."

"Let's just talk to her. Then we can talk about this later."

"Fine," Shadow had cut the conversation short when he rolled over and turned his back on Mephiles. They hadn't spoken much since that argument. Shadow had left early in the morning to go get ready and was distracted by Mighty.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Shadow whispered as Sonia turned and locked eyes with them.

"I have to be," Mephiles said as he tried to read Sonia's face. It was tough to determine how she was feeling. There was a mix of shock, relief, anger and something else.

"H-Hey Sonia," Mephiles began awkwardly as he let his hand slip from Shadow's. "S-Sorry about leaving you." _Slap!_ Sonia's response hadn't been with words but instead she replied with a swift slap across his left cheek. Mephiles held his reddening cheek. "I guess I deserved that."

"How could you leave me at the altar?" Sonia asked, finally finding her voice. "If you didn't want to marry me then why did you let me get my hopes up?"

"I did."

"Then why did you leave?"

"Because I was taken," Mephiles said.

"Look, if you don't want to tell me then that's your problem but don't fabricate some stupid story," Sonia growled.

"Sonia, it's true," Shadow stepped in to diffuse the situation. "His father-" Shadow cut himself off and gave Mephiles a glance. Mephiles nodded wordlessly. "His father is… is not a good person. My commander, the leader of G.U.N, wanted to use Mephiles to get to his father and my mission was to bring Mephiles to be… well, tortured."

"Tortured?" Sonia gasped. It was only then she noticed Mephiles' black eye, busted and cut lip and bruised body.

"I refused so he got other agents to do the job I couldn't. They took him on the wedding and they've been holding him since," Shadow explained.

"But why'd they release you now?"

"Because of him," Mephiles let a small sideward smile as his eyes flicked to Shadow. Sonia studied his expression and felt her heart fall a bit. She knew that look. It was the same look she used to give Shard. The look of true love. She couldn't marry him. He belonged with Shadow. She knew that now. Besides, she always had Spike.

"Mephiles, I-"

"Wait. Before you say anything, I just want to tell you that this doesn't change anything," Mephiles interrupted her. "That baby is mine and I still promise to be there for it. And, if you still think marriage is what you want, well, I'll do that for you."

"Mephiles, that's really sweet," Sonia smiled. She noticed the frown grow across Shadow's face. She laughed inwardly when she saw his face light up like a school boy on Christmas morning after her next words. "But I don't want to marry you."

"Why not?"

"I can see how much you care about Shadow, and how much he cares about you. I can't stand in between true love."

"What about the baby?" Mephiles asked.

"That's the funny thing," Sonia said. "While you were gone something happened. Spike happened."

"Spike?"

"We're kinda dating now."

"That's wonderful, Sonia."

"There's more. Spike revealed the truth. He wasn't as drunk as you or I that night. He can still remember some of it and he told me about how you and I never left and met in a room somewhere."

"What are you saying."

"He said that not only was it impossible that you and I had a chance to sleep together that night, but he was the one that did sleep with me."

"But that means," Shadow gasped.

"Spike is the father, not you." Mephiles had no words. Neither did Shadow. They didn't need words. As soon as they heard Sonia's declaration they turned to each other with newfound light ignited in their eyes. Mephiles fell into Shadow's embrace as the two closed their eyes and crashed their lips against each other.

"Sonia, c'mon, mum's waiting to see us," Manic ran up to her and whipped her away from the two boys before she could argue. However, as she was dragged away by her brother, she looked back once more at both Shadow and Mephiles and a happy thought crossed her mind. Finally, after everything, they could have their happy ending.

…

Lumina had wandered into a battlefield but instead of guns and bullets flying through the air it was angered mouths and hateful words. She wanted to stay hidden, especially after selling all her hair. Lumina didn't even have enough money to buy a wig. Instead she wore a hat that sat snug on her head.

"Oh, great. And look who else decides to fucking join in," Fiona snarled as she noticed Lumina. Damn. It was too late. Lumina couldn't escape now.

"Don't bring the poor girl into this," Scourge bellowed. He was on his last nerve with Fiona.

"Poor girl? This is the girl that decided she wanted to ruin my fucking life, just the way you did."

"Lumina did nothing to you." Lumina was surprised that Scourge of all people was defending her. "I used her and Void to get you mad. I didn't send you to that prison. I didn't make you fall for an engaged man."

"You made him run away!" Fiona accused.

"His own fucking guilt did that," Scourge spat. "I also didn't make myself fall in love with Rouge. That just happened whether you like it or not."

"Don't spout me that love bullshit. You've never known love."

"With you I never did, that's for sure."

"You only like her for her body. She fucks you good and that's all you care about. That's all you've ever cared about," Fiona narrowed her eyes.

"That's all I ever cared about with you," Scourge sneered angrily. "You were just a piece of meat, but Rouge is different. I actually like her, something you'll never understand. So please, do us all a favour and drop the jealous act. It's getting bloody sad."

"Jealous? Because you don't want to fuck me anymore? Ha, you wish, creep," Fiona hissed.

"Just because you've never known proper love-"

"I have too!"

"Chaos, that wasn't real love and you know it. Stop crying over that little pussy."

"Don't you call him that."

"What was that little bitch's name again?" Scourge tapped his chin.

"Don't you dare."

"Patch, wasn't it?" Fiona's face went red with anger. It was as if she were an erupting volcano and nothing could stop her blowing her top. Nothing, except the devil herself.

"Fionnula Fox, behave yourself and get over here now," Claire demanded in a stern voice. Fiona's anger dissipated from her like a puddle in a summer day. Her spirits instantly soured when she turned and saw her mother standing proud in a black pantsuit.

"Mother… why are you here?" Fiona asked.

"I was invited by Amadeus Prower if you must know," Claire answered strictly. "Now, find your decency and follow me. We need to look proper."

"Later, Fionnula," Scourge taunted as she stormed away.

"I'm sorry, Fiona," Lumina apologized as Fiona stormed past her.

"You're not fooling anybody with that stupid hat," Fiona growled as she ripped off Lumina's sunhat revealing her bald head. Lumina felt her heart drop as gasps emanated around her.

"Fiona! Why the hell would you do that?"

"If you want to be a dyke can you at least tell Void to take me back first," Fiona grumbled as she marched up to her mother like an obedient dog.

"That was nasty. Nice work, Fionnula," Claire complimented her daughter. A rare occurrence indeed.

"Mother, could I ask for a favour?"

"No more favours. You still owe me a lot."

"I promise I'll be on my best behaviour for your entire visit here."

"You will do that regardless," Claire snapped.

"Or… I could just embarrass the family in front of Mr. and Mrs. Prower."

"You will do no such thing young lady," Claire narrowed her eyes. "Don't try to manipulate me. It's a fight you won't win."

"It's just one small favour."

"…What do you want?"

"I just want to use the private investigator that you sometimes hire to get dirt for your cases."

"How do you know about that?"

"I'm not as stupid as you think, mother. I'm also pretty sure that's illegal."

"Alright. You behave and say nothing about my P.I and you can use his services free of charge."

"Pleasure doing business with you," Fiona smiled. Although annoyed Claire had to admit she felt a strange feeling. It was almost pride at her daughter's resourcefulness.

"Might I ask why you want to use him?"

"Just need to dig up some dirt on a certain bat," Fiona smiled.

…

It had been a couple days since Cosmo had seen Jet. At the start she had been avoiding him. She ate outside during lunchtime and went straight to her room after the day ended. Luckily, she only had one class with him. Even after her talk with Amy she still didn't feel ready to talk to him. She just wasn't sure and she needed more time to think. She didn't get more time.

"Cosmo, we need to talk." Jet's voice was serious and straight to the point. Cosmo jumped with a fright as she spun around and almost fell backwards from shock.

"J-Jet, don't startle me like that," Cosmo spluttered.

"I know you've been avoiding me," Jet cut straight to the point.

"Jet… it's Tails' funeral. Can we do this another time?"

"I need to say this to you."

"Fine," Cosmo rolled her eyes. She wanted to wait until she fully understood the thoughts in her own head but his insistence and lack of patience only served to provoke her. "What do you want to say."

"Sorry."

"Well if that's the way you're going to… wait, what? Did you apologize?"

"I said I'm sorry."

"For what, exactly?"

"For everything," Jet sighed. "For being a jerk and for forcing you to say you loved me. It was a dick move. I just want to say that I love you, Cosmo. I have for a while now but if you aren't ready to say that then I understand. You're worth waiting for."

"Thanks, Jet. I… really like you too," Cosmo replied after a small pause. Jet nodded and flashed her a joyless but understanding smile. "You've been there to help me and you're one of the reasons I can resist some of my urges. You're sweet and funny and kind and cute…"

"Don't make me blush," Jet chuckled.

"It's true. I think I love you, but I just want time to say it on my own when it feels right. I've never felt this way about anybody before and it's all new. Thanks for understanding. You're the best boyfriend ever." Cosmo wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close to her, crashing her lips against his as their tongues lapped at each other.

"I know," Jet added with a cheeky smile.

"Chaos, you can be annoying sometimes."

"But also sweet and funny and, what else, cute?"

"Arg," Cosmo growled as she gave him another kiss.

…

"Julie, what are we doing in here? This feels wrong," Knuckles voiced his reservations as Julie inserted the key she swiped from Sally and entered the room she shared with Fiona and Sonia.

"We're investigating. It's like those brother-sister crime fighting shows," Julie answered excitedly.

"I still don't know…"

"Well whatever, you don't have to help me find what I'm looking for. You can just guard the door instead," Julie pushed past him stubbornly as she began searching around Sally's things. Knuckles shifted his gaze between Julie and the door before shrugging and letting it close behind him.

"Alright, what are we looking for?"

"Glad you've decided to participate," Julie smiled. "There are these bars that Sally has been eating and they are really bad for her. I want to find where she is keeping her stash and confiscate them from her."

"Don't you think that's a breach of her privacy?" Knuckles asked.

"Do I need to put you back on door duty?"

"I'll shut up and help," Knuckles answered as he took the other half of the room to search possible hiding places. Together they searched high and low, checking in the shadowed corners of the cupboards and the dust littered spaces underneath their beds but neither teenager found any evidence of the health bars. Not even a wrapper. However, just when Julie was about to give up searching she found a small duffle bag at the foot of Sally's bed. Her conscience fought against her but it wasn't strong enough to stop Julie's determination. She unzipped the top and began snooping through the contents.

"Bingo," Julie exclaimed as she ran her hands through hundreds of the blue-packaged bars. She picked some up to examine but found something strange. A little over half of them felt different to the others. They seemed slightly bigger and were heavier. Julie thought it was strange.

"Hey, I think I found something," Knuckles called out.

"Yeah, me too. I found her supply of the energizer bars."

"I found some of Fiona's, too."

"Wait, Fiona? But she doesn't have any," Julie knitted her eyebrows together in confusion as she joined Knuckles. He had retrieved an old backpack that Fiona had cast aside in the back of her cupboard behind some of her jackets. Sure enough there were more of the energizer bars packed inside.

"Why would Fiona have them as well?" Knuckles asked aloud, but Julie's mind was already racing too fast to hear him. Finally, she understood why there were two different varieties.

"That snake," Julie hissed under her breath. "She's been sabotaging Sally and slipping her fake energizer bars.

"Fake how?" Before Julie could answer they heard Fiona growl in anger, coupled with an insult thrown by Rouge. Knuckles rushed to the window and peered out. He noticed Fiona grumbling to herself as she stomped up the steps of the dormitory.

"She's coming back to her room," Knuckles warned. "We need to leave."

"But the bars," Julie complained.

"There's no time. Come on!" Knuckles grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. Julie acted fast and on instinct. She grabbed the bag, threw a strap over her shoulder and fled the room before Fiona could return.

…

"Are you ready to do this?" Cream asked nervously as the two girls rushed down the steps of the dormitory.

"I miss our old friend group," Wave admitted solemnly. "Besides, it's the right thing to do. We were in the wrong and we need to apologize."

"What if they don't accept our apology?" Cream fretted as she saw the two teenagers talking alone beside the tall tree in the distance.

"That's a risk we'll have to take," Wave nodded as Jet turned his head and locked eyes with her. His stare was unreadable. Wave used to always be able to understand what was going through Jet's head with a mere look but lately the two had drifted apart so much that she only saw a husk of the boy she once knew.

"Wave… Cream… what are you doing here?" Cosmo asked reservedly, still on edge after the last time the four had a confrontation.

"Here to tell us how we're both making a mistake?" Jet asked pointedly.

"Jet, Cosmo… we came to say that we're sorry," Cream began, swallowing the fear.

"We overreacted," Wave admitted as she turned to Cosmo. "We've both had feelings for Jet in the past and we just didn't want to see him get hurt. We know what he can be like."

"And Jet," Cream looked at him. "We're sorry we are trying to control you. You hurt us both in the past and we've both hurt you but we managed to move past it. You've found love with Cosmo and after talking about it we decided, as your close friends, that we support you. Both of you."

"Thanks guys. That's really nice of you to say," Cosmo smiled.

"So… you forgive us?" Cream asked.

"Of course we do," Jet laughed. "To be honest, we were just talking about we miss the old group. Us, you two and Sonia. The five amigos. The most unlikely group of friends brought together under circumstance."

"I'm glad to hear that," Wave smiled.

"Well, since that's settled do you guys wanna sit together for the service?" Cream asked but before Jet or Cosmo could answer the angered shrieks of Sonic filled the air around him. They turned to see him shouting at what appeared to be an older version of Tails.

"Who's Sonic yelling at?" Wave asked.

"That's Amadeus. Tails' father," Cream said. "Quick, let's go see what's happening," she decided as the four joined the ever growing crowd of people surrounding the ongoing feud.

…

Sonia smiled inwardly as she was dragged away from both Mephiles and Shadow. She was happy they finally found each other and was glad she wasn't inadvertently standing in the way of both of them finding happiness. However, as they faded from her view her mind wandered about just how different her life and future would be if Mephiles hadn't been taken during their wedding. They'd have gotten married, Spike never would have said anything and Shadow would have continued to accept his fate.

"Sonia, Manic, my darlings it is so wonderful to see you," an ecstatic voice snapped her out of her thoughts as a taller woman rushed over and threw her arms around both of her children. She pressed her crimson lips once against Manic's cheeks and again against Sonia's. The kiss was wet and sloppy and Manic had to wipe his hand to remove the slobber and lipstick that stained his skin.

"Mum, gross," Manic complained aloud. "Do you have to do that in public?"

"What he means to say," Sonia interjected, "is that he's happy to see you too."

"Yeah, that too," Manic rolled his eyes sarcastically with a smirk.

"Aleena, I'm glad you found them," Bernadette's voice sung out from behind them. Bernadette strode up to join the group with Sonic trailing behind. Although he still didn't look quite like himself it was clear to both Manic and Sonia that he was in higher spirits than he had been since Tails' death.

"How are you doing, dear?" Aleena asked as she hugged Sonic tightly. "I'm so sorry about Tails. My thoughts and prayers are with you."

"Thanks Mrs. Hedgehog."

"We've been over this countless times, honey. It's Aleena," Aleena chuckled.

"Glad to see you at least feeling a little better," Sonia whispered as she slid beside her brother.

"A little, I guess," Sonic said but his gaze never left his brother. The two hadn't had a proper talk since Sonic discovered that Manic had been secretly sleeping with Amy the whole time despite what happened between the three of them over the break.

"Sorry," Manic mouthed but Sonic turned away. This time it was Sonic that got to be mad about a girl. It was always a girl with those two. Sonia rolled her eyes. They'll never learn, she thought.

"I know you've been down since… well since the horrible accident," Bernadette began carefully. "But Aleena and I have a surprise for you kids."

"A surprise?" Sonia asked.

"We've been thinking about it for a while now, but we decided that today would be as good a time as any to tell you. It's nice to have at least some good news on the dark days," Aleena continued.

"What's the news, Ma?" Manic asked.

"Well," Bernadette took over. "Aleena and I have decided to live together."

"What?" Sonic gasped.

"I've been quite enjoying my time in Central City and Bernadette has graciously decided to let us live with her. This way you guys can develop an even closer relationship and we can all be there to help you raise your child, Sonia."

"Um, mum, not that I'm delighted at the news but are you sure that is such a good idea," Sonia asked as she gestured between both Manic and Sonic who were locked in an intense staring contest. Neither one wanted to admit it but over the months together they had begun to develop a telepathic bond. It was as if they could tell what the other was saying from just a look. They were too similar, and they didn't like it.

"I broke up with Amy," Manic said out of the blue, as if to answer Sonic's probing, silent question.

"What?"

"I broke up with her. I should've known better after last time, but I've discovered that family is more important. You're more important, bro," Manic smiled. Sonia couldn't help the gigantic smile that swept across her face as Sonic's features flushed. "So, whaddya say? Brothers?" He held out his fist.

"Brothers," Sonic affirmed after a moment's pause after they bumped fists. "She was just using you for your body, wasn't she?"

"A little," Manic replied and the two laughed. It was the first time Sonic had laughed since Tails' death. It was the first time he felt happy again.

"Psst, Sonia. Can I speak to you?" Spike asked as he crept up behind her.

"Oh, hi baby," Sonia cooed as she placed a kiss on Spike's cheek.

"Who's this handsome young man?" Aleena asked.

"This is my boyfriend, Spike the Porcupine," Sonia announced proudly as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Nice to see you again, Spike," Manic hissed with a raised eyebrow. His words were laced with judgment and his eyes screamed warnings.

"Spike and Sonia? When did that happen?" Sonic asked obliviously.

"A little while ago," Spike blushed guiltily. "Anyway… I need to go talk to Sonia. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. Just make sure you come and see me after the funeral."

"I promise mum," Sonia smiled as she let Spike lead her away.

"What was that about?" Sonic asked. "I've never seen you that harsh to him."

"He knows what he did."

"But what did he… you!" Sonic's voice grew loud as he shouted angrily his last word. His eyes instantly narrowed, hatred flaring in the center of his emerald iris'. His glowered at the man in the black suit that pushed his way through the crowds. Amadeus.

Rosemary followed behind her husband, tears streaking her eyes as thoughtless students and even some teachers mobbed her as she tried to push past them.

"Oh my Chaos, Rosemary I'm your, like, biggest fan. Can I get a selfie?" Honey asked as she nagged the celebrity.

"Mrs. Prower, it's an honour to meet you. Could I have an autograph," Mr. Ash asked politely.

"No way, you're even hotter in person," Storm remarked.

"Get out of our way, vultures," Amadeus shouted as he shepparded off the hoards of rabid fans. Rosemary was clearly distraught and the calls for photos and autographs wasn't helpful at all.

"There he is," Amadeus snarled as he guided his wife up to the hedgehog family.

"Oh, Bernadette, it's so good to see you again," Rosemary sniffed.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Rosemary," Bernadette consoled her close friend as she brought her into an embrace. "And I'm sorry for all those kids bugging you. I'll help fend them off for you. It's the least I can do."

"Thank you," Rosemary thanked as she pulled apart and turned to Sonic. "It's nice to see you again, darling."

"It's nice to see you too, Rosemary."

"Don't talk to her," Amadeus growled.

"Don't talk to him like that," Bernadette snapped. "He did nothing wrong."

"He polluted my son. He's the reason Tails is dead," Amadeus snarled, spittle flying from his mouth in unbridled anger.

"Me?" Sonic bellowed. "You were the one who disowned him. Maybe if you hadn't been such a homophobe Tails wouldn't have been in such a depressed state when him and I broke up. Maybe he would have had somewhere to turn."

"If you hadn't tricked him with your sinful ways he wouldn't have ever been depressed in the first place."

"If you had been a decent human being he'd still be here," Sonic stuck out his index finger and poked Amadeus in the chest.

"Don't you touch me with your filth," Amadeus clamped his hand around and bent Sonic's hand backwards. Sonic flinched in pain but refused to back down.

"Leave me son alone," Bernadette jumped to Sonic's defense.

"Stay out of this. And stay away from my wife!"

"Army, please," Rosemary begged, using Amadeus' pet name. He shot her a fearful glance and she quickly shut her mouth and looked downwards.

"I heard about how it happened. I know you were the last one to talk to him before he jumped in front of the car."

"He didn't jump. The car came out of nowhere. He was fine when I was talking to him."

"What did you say to him? Did you tell him to kill himself?" Amadeus asked.

"How dare you ask me that," Sonic exploded with anger. "I would never."

"I heard you told him you didn't love him. After manipulating him into thinking you were the center of the world that'd be a pretty big bombshell."

"That's rich coming from you. At least I did love him."

"Don't lecture me about love."

"Or what?" Sonic threatened. "As far as I'm concerned you killed him."

"Uncle, Sonic, please stop fighting," Sonar rushed up to stop the ensuing feud. "This is supposed to be a time for mourning, not fighting."

"Stay out of this," they both shouted at the same time. Sonar shrunk away as Ray ran up to help.

"I'll take this to court, son," Amadeus warned. "Any judge in the state would agree with me that you groomed him and convinced him to commit suicide. As far as I'm concerned, you killed me son."

"You lost the right to call him your son when you disowned him," Sonic fought back.

"Bite your tongue."

"Make me," Sonic slid up his sleeve and made a fist with his hand.

"Sonic the Hedgehog," Razor's deep, commanding voice rang out over the crowd of onlookers that had circled around the two feuding families. "Stand down right this instant."

"B-But sir," Sonic stammered but Razor seized his shoulder.

"Come with me young man. We don't threaten people with violence. This is supposed to be a funeral, not a fight club."

"But he-"

"Just lost a son. He's grieving. You need to be respectful," Razor scolded. "Now, follow me."

"But I… alright," Sonic looked down dejectedly, ignoring the concerned stares from his mother, brother and Aleena.

"And the rest of you," Razor shouted at the crowd. "Go find a seat. The service is about to start." The crowds dissipated as quickly as they formed as children and teachers scurried away, leaving just Amadeus, Rosemary, Bernadette, Aleena, Sonar, Ray and Manic behind.

"I hope you get your son under control soon, Bernadette, or I'll threaten legal actions," Amadeus straightened his tie.

"Don't you come near my son again," Bernadette responded.

"Fine by me. Come on Rosemary, let's go," Amadeus strode off. Rosemary made eye contact with Bernadette. Her eyes were swimming in sadness and although she said nothing, her gaze begged for help. Bernadette's heart broke as she watched the wrecked woman float away like a ghost, following her husband blindly.

…

"I promise mum," Sonia smiled as she let Spike lead her away. He led her through the hoards of people crowding around Rosemary the movie star and over around the side of the dormitory to the old, moldy wooden table. Breezie noticed the two walk past her and couldn't help her curiosity as she followed a few paces behind.

"This is all romantic," Sonia cooed as she placed her hands on Spike's hips and pushed him against the table, crashing her lips against his as she soaked up the saliva coating his bottom lip.

"S-Sonia… Sonia," Spike tried to talk to her but the way she kept attacking him with kisses and rubbing her hands up her size he couldn't help but feel his pants get tighter.

"That's it, say my name," Sonia moaned softly into his ear, hormones running crazy from the baby still growing steadily inside her.

"Sonia, stop," Spike managed to force out despite his body screaming at him to bite his tongue. Sonia stepped back from him and shot him a dejected look.

"Oh… sorry."

"No, no it's not that I don't want you," Spike assured her. "I do. I really do."

"So what's the problem?" Sonia asked.

"I just… Something's been nagging at my conscience for some time now and I think it's unfair to continue going along the way I have without telling you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've done something bad, but for a good reason. I just hope you forgive me."

"Spike, stop talking in riddles and just tell me," Sonia said.

"Okay… the truth is… I lied," Spike breathed.

"Lied about what?"

"About everything. Everything except about how I really feel. I do really like you, Sonia. That was never a lie."

"I don't understand," Sonia's heart was beating a mile a minute as she tried to process Spike's confession. "What exactly did you lie about?"

"You and I, we never had sex at the party. I didn't see Mephiles go anywhere or do anything. I didn't watch you the whole party. I lied about it all. The truth is, Sonia, I'm not the father. I'm sorry."

Spike expected her to be angry. To shout or yell or tell him what a jerk he had been. Spike somewhat agreed with that. He knew the lie wouldn't last. He knew it would all fall apart when the baby was born but Spike thought if he could just get Sonia through to the pregnancy then she wouldn't end up the same way his sister did. But he had to tell the truth, because if it came from Manic instead of him it would be even more devastating.

As Spike waited for a response, none came. That is to say, no verbal response came. Instead Sonia slapped him across the face, turned away without a word and stormed off to hide the tears that spilt down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry…" Spike whispered as he cupped his stinging cheek.

"What kind of trouble did you get yourself into now?" Breezie asked as she stepped out from behind the corner she was hiding behind. She startled Spike.

"B-Breezie? What are you doing here? How much did you see?" Spike asked.

"Everything," Breezie admitted as she took Spike's hand and lowered it. "Ouch," she crinkled her nose at the thick, red hand-sized mark imprinted on the side of Spike's cheek. "She really must have hit you hard."

"I deserve it."

"Dude, c'mon, you don't deserve being hit no matter what you've done. Except by me, that is," Breezie winked and gave him a light punch on his arm.

"Wow, thanks a lot," Spike rolled his eyes sarcastically but couldn't help the small smirk that crept across his face. "Do you think Sonia will be okay?"

"You really did like her, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. I guess I have a thing about liking girls that can't ever be mine," Spike said as he turned to Breezie.

"Well, don't worry, you did the right thing," Breezie ignored his remark. "But if you're still feeling a bit down you can always help me out in my next shift after the funeral?"

"Wow, you're letting me help do your job? Thanks a lot." Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"What else are best friends for?"

"We… we're best friends again?"

"Yeah… I mean, I hope so. I was the one who fucked up so it's your call. Just know that no matter what you think of me, you're still my best friend."

"What about Mina?"

"She's my best girl friend, but you're my best friend friend," Breezie smiled.

"Well… then yeah, you're my best friend too. Let's just put our fight behind us and look forward," Spike said.

"Forward to the coffee shop after the funeral?"

"Fine."

"Yay, you're the best, best friend ever," Breezie cheered.

"I'm glad we're friends again." Before Breezie could reply she felt her phone vibrate violently in her pocket. "One second," she held up a finger as she answered the call. "Hello? Yes… yes this is she… what? How? What?! Who did it? Well… thanks for calling." Breezie hung up. Spike didn't understand the conversation, only hearing Breezie's half but he saw the sadness that swept across her face as her eyes began to water.

"Breezie… are you okay? Who was it?"

"Sorry," Breezie sniffed. "I have to go." She turned, covered her eyes with her sleeve and sprinted off into the dorm room. Spike wanted to follow her but the feeling he saw on her face made him pause. He'd known that look. It was the same look he had on his face when his mother had died the previous year. It was the look of grief.

…

Rouge took a seat on one of the chairs and crossed her legs. She flicked her gaze around the students that began to find their own seats in the rows surrounding her but found no sign of anybody she wanted to talk to. She sighed and pulled out her cellphone.

Rouge: _Babe, where are you?_

Scourge: _Sorry, just had to deal with Fi. I'll come find you in a sec_

"Of course," Rouge rolled her eyes sarcastically as she pocketed her phone. "Typical."

"What's typical?" somebody asked from behind her. Rouge turned in surprised and was about to belittle whoever owned the voice for eavesdropping but her expression softened when she saw it was only Eclipse.

"Oh, hi Eclipse. Nothing, just Scourge," Rouge said. She patted the seat beside her. "Come, sit next to me. I'd like to thank you for helping me with my history report."

"Rouge, really, it was no problem at all. Is everything alright with you? Is Scourge giving you problems?"

"What? No, not at all, but it's cute that you think you could do anything if he was," Rouge chuckled.

"I so could."

"Big strong Eclipse wants to come to the rescue of little old me? Well, I must say I am simply flattered," Rouge flirted harmlessly. She couldn't contain her laughter when she noticed the inklings of a blush creep over Eclipse's embarrassed face.

"You know that's not what I mean."

"Hun, there's no need to get flustered I'm just teasing. I assure you, everything is good between Scourge and me. In fact, things are great."

"That's great," Eclipse rubbed the back of his neck. Rouge could tell he wanted to say something more but something was holding him back.

"Cat got your tongue?" Rouge pried.

"Hmm?"

"I know there's something else you wanted to say to me. C'mon Hun just say it."

"Well… it's not really something I want to say. It's more something I want to ask."

"Then ask it."

"Alright. People have been telling me that Tikal and I have been being a bit too… full on recently in front of people."

"You know I was never one for PDA."

"I know that, but some people have told me that she has been saying how I've been too clingy behind my back. After all the shit with Mighty and everything I thought I should be there for her more but I think I'm pushing her away. I really love her and I don't want to lose her so I thought I'd ask you because you seem to know everything. Do you think I'm being too clingy?"

"I'm flattered you think I know everything," Rouge began. "But, perhaps you have been laying it on a bit strong recently. Tikal is not a girl that wants to be controlled. Just give her some space for a little bit and things should sort themselves out."

"Okay, thanks Rouge."

"Anytime. Now, are you gonna sit with me? Razor's about to start."

"I really should be getting to Tikal." Rouge rolled her eyes and shot him a knowing, judgmental glance. "…Fair point. I'll stay here with you, sure."

…

 _The low-lying clouds rolled overhead, grey and thick with precipitation which only added to the gloomy ambiance of the field. The rows of black fold out chairs had been neatly arranged, all facing the lectern. Every kid in the school and some family members took their seats. All the guys wore their fancy blacks and the girls all donned black dresses and some even had black veils to cover their faces. All was silent. No birds were chirping, nobody was conversing and not even the wind dared to howl and ruin the somber moment. The only time the silence was broken was for some stagnated coughing or the quiet wails of some of the attendees. Razor finally stood from his chair in the front and walked over to the lectern, his fin protruding out the back of his black blazer._

 _"Thank you all for coming," Razor began in a somber voice. "I'm sure the deceased would have appreciated how you have all taken the time to come and pay your respects," he continued, addressing the saddened crowd as he held out his arm, gesturing to the closed casket that lay behind him._

 _"_ _It was a real tragedy, one that nobody could have seen coming," Razor continued, eyes scanning the sea of faces. Some crying, some distant and some seemingly emotionless. Each student dealt with the death their own way. Some mourned in groups, whilst others grieved alone and some were indifferent to the whole ordeal. The death only serving as a reminded of their own fickle mortality. Time had passed since the death, but the physical funeral and seeing his body in the casket was enough to rattle even the coldest of hearts._

 _"_ _Tails was a straight A student. He was kind and fiercely loyal to his friends and loved ones. I often saw him sacrificing things of his own to make sure others were happy and enjoying their time at school. The car cut his life short and it's a horrific tragedy. One we all need to grieve for and move past, as Tails would have wanted." Rosemary sniffed, blowing into a tissue as Razor continued to speak. He went on about Tails, his family and life until finally he decided to let Sonic prepare his eulogy._

 _"_ _Now I would like to invite somebody very special up to the stand to read their eulogy," Razor announced finally, stepping aside. "Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic took the stand and glanced uneasily over the crowd. His eyes shifted from his mother, Bernadette, over to Amadeus and Rosemary, Ken who sat in the front row, and finally landed on Blaze._

"Just focus on me," Blaze mouthed silently. Sonic took a deep breath, took out the folded up piece of paper from his breast blazer pocket and, with a shaky hand, began to speak into the microphone.

"Even those who weren't friends with Tails knew him. They saw him laugh larger than life in the cafeteria, speak about upcoming events at assemblies and walk around without a care in the world," Sonic began. "But those who were lucky enough to be able to call Tails a friend knew what he was really like."

"Tails was shy, nervous around new people and he wasn't always happy. He had some tough times through his final years at school. But that didn't matter because, for him, he'd put it all aside to help his friends. I was lucky enough to call him a best friend and despite everything he was going through he'd always put everything on pause to help me, even if I was the cause of his heartache. He was loyal to a fault."

"But I couldn't imagine my life without him. He was always there to wish me a good morning when I woke up. He always shared his food with me if I was hungry at lunch even if he hadn't eaten anything that day. He'd always make sure I understood work and helped me learn even if he had a thousand assignments due the next morning. Even at his most selfish, he was selfless to the end."

"People always came up to me and said that they wished they had the same closeness that Tails and I shared. I always respond with the same sentence. I'd always say 'it's because Tails is amazing.' And it's true. We've had hundreds of fights, some the most severe fights I've ever had with anybody, but we always managed to come back from the brink in the end. It's because he always saw the best in me. It's because he always was the best of me."

"I love you, Tails, and I hope you're happy wherever you are," Sonic closed his eyes and said a silent prayer as he turned and placed a lone rose on Tails' casket. Then, without another word, he dismounted the wooden pop-up stage and went back to his seat beside Blaze.

"That was beautiful," Blaze whispered as she slipped her hand around his. He squeezed her hand thankfully. After Sonic stepped of the stage, Razor clambered back to the microphone and spoke clearly to the weeping audience.

"Thank you, Sonic, for those beautiful words. Now, I've asked Mina Mongoose, as one of Tails' closest friends, to come up and perform a song she wrote about Tails." Razor stepped aside as Mina climbed up onto the makeshift stage with Espio in toe.

"H-Hello," she mumbled into the microphone. "Tails was very precious to me. We've known each other since we were five years old and despite a few years apart he's been a big part of my life. When I was told that Tails had asked Razor to let me perform a song at his funeral I was touched, but I'm not a writer. That's when I went to Espio for help. With his help we were able to get some feelings across about love, loss and hope for the future. We decided to make it as a duet."

"Tails. We hope you like this, wherever you are," Espio said solemnly as he strapped his guitar around him and began strumming the first notes. "This is 'Miss Me Too.'"

 _Espio: Breathless  
Without you I feel lost in darkness  
Nightmares plague my dreams, keeps me restless  
My heart, soul and whole world are gone, I've withdrawn  
Now I,  
Must try to decipher my feelings  
But I can't stop my head from reeling  
This all seems unreal, it's not true, I need you_

 _I'm still thinking, they're all lying  
Can't stop drinking, I'll keep trying  
Beyond the endless horizon  
I'll greet you with the sun at dawn  
Chase away encroaching shadows  
Wading through the murky shallows  
Find the light to pierce the water  
I'm still drowning, doesn't matter now!_

 _Mina: Ironic  
That I feel sick without you, it's chronic  
Without your warm breath I'm pneumonic  
Darkness closing in, I can't breathe, please save me  
Dependent,  
In life I was your one true defendant  
But I had let you go, no repentance  
This can't be amended this time, I'm not fine_

 _But it's true that I still miss you  
Call me names but I'll still kiss you  
Beat me down but I'll get back up  
'Cuz I know that we can make up  
Felt my world come tumbling downwards  
Shed my tears on trampled flowers  
You taught me to stay determined  
It's the blind leading the blind this time_

Tears began to drip down Mina's cheeks as she sung and fell onto her blouse but she refused to let her shaky voice falter. She wanted to stay strong for herself and for Tails. He deserved this.

 _Mina and Espio: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh  
Whoa, oh, oh, oh_

As they sung together in perfect, beautiful harmony tears began to well up in Rosemary's eyes from her seat at the front row. Together both Espio and Mina began to sing in unison to conclude the song.

 _Espio (Mina): I can't give up, it's not too late  
(Tell me why, did we become so estranged?)  
I'll prove them wrong and change our fate  
(Please tell me why did we change)  
Save my angel from the devil  
(Are you with the devil?)  
Heartbreak makes me detrimental  
(Wasn't accidental)  
And I don't know why I just can't put you to rest  
(Your anger's not satiated)  
My heart has ceased beating in my chest  
(All those memories we created)  
Because I miss you  
(My head's messed up 'Cuz I miss you)  
But I wonder, do you miss me too?  
(But I wonder, do you miss me too?) _

"Thank you," Mina whispered into the microphone as she turned, placed her hand on Tails coffin and said a silent goodbye before dismounting the stage with Espio.

"Thank you, too," Rosemary said as the two teenagers passed her. "Tails would have loved it."

"And thus concludes our formal ceremony," Razor announced. "If you'd like to join me in the hall presently we've prepared some food and drinks and a slideshow of Tails had been set up. You may come and leave anytime. Thank you."

…

Cosmo followed Jet, Sonia, Cream and Wave through the grand entrance into the hall. It was set up with plastic tables full of food and bottles of champagne and wine. A small table was set up near the stage with a small projected pointed at the white screen that had descended from the roof. Different pictures of Tails throughout his life flashed over the screen.

"I can't believe he said that," Cream said.

"Let's kick his ass," Jet cracked his knuckles.

"Nobody lies to our Sonia like that," Wave agreed.

"Please guys, can we just forget about it?" Sonia pleaded.

"How about we just have a drink and try to forget about it?" Wave offered. They all gave her a nasty glare. "What?"

"She's pregnant," Cream pinched the bridge of her nose. "She can't have any alcohol. Sonia couldn't help but smile.

"Seriously, it's fine. Let's just talk about something else," Sonia asked. Cosmo was about to pipe up when Sally raced up to her and spun her around.

"I just need to borrow her for a second. I'll give her back presently," Sally promised as she whisked Cosmo away from her friends.

"Sally, slow down. What's going on?" Cosmo huffed when Sally dragged her over to a corner of the hall which was filling up with a steady stream of parents, teachers and students.

"First I accused Scourge and then I got mad at Rouge," Sally began, "but I should have just come to you first."

"What are you talking about?" Cosmo asked.

"I know about addiction. Trust me, I know how hard it can be."

"Sally, let me stop you right th-"

"No, Cosmo. The first step is admitting it. I know gambling was tough to kick but replacing it with drugs is not the answer. As your friend, I wanted to say that I'm here for you and want to help you quit."

"Sally, I'm touched, really, but I don't need your help."

"I know asking for help is hard, too, but you don't have to ask. I'll be here for you," Sally smiled.

"Sally, just listen to me," Cosmo said more forcefully than she meant to. Sally bit her tongue. "As I was saying, I'm touched, but I don't need help. I know I have an addictive personality. I've always known, and it's been the most destructive thing in my life but for once I have a constant."

"A constant?"

"Yeah," Cosmo smiled as she turned around and looked over the bird stuffing food down his mouth like his life depended on it.

"Jet?"

"Jet," Cosmo nodded. "He might be a bit rough around the edges and I know he has his own issues, but he's mine. He's the one constant in my life that's constantly there for me. He knows I have my problems but he doesn't care. He loves me for me, despite what I do. I've never had somebody like him before and he's helping me be better. He's helping me quit, one step at a time. I don't feel the nagging feeling as much when I'm with him."

"Oh… so, you have it under control?"

"Not fully, but we're taking baby steps. Together," Cosmo smiled.

"That's… that's great," Sally cheered. "I'm so happy for you, for both of you. Well, I'll let you get back to it then," Sally clapped her hands together, pleased with the easy conclusion she found. She thought it was silly how much of a big deal she had made it. She decided she'd go up and apologize to Rouge afterwards and explain how Cosmo was handling it. It was the least she could do.

"Thanks Sally," Cosmo waved as she walked back over to the other four members of her group.

…

Blaze cursed herself for forgetting a jacket. The clouds had gathered and swirled in the sky, growing darker as the precession had gathered in the hall and a thin drizzle of rain poured down from the sky. Blaze picked up the pace until she made it to the dormitory.

She raced up the first flight of stairs and dashed down the hallway to her room when the sound of something pricked her ears. She slowed and listened out for it again. There it was, unmistakable and constant. The sound of somebody crying.

"Hello?" Blaze called out as she tiptoed down the hall. The crying quickly ceased, but not quick enough to stop Blaze from figuring out which room it came from. It was from Tikal's room. "Tikal, is that you?"

"Go away," a sad voice came from the other side of the door.

"Breezie? Breezie, why are you crying?"

"I said go away."

"Please, Breezie, can I come in?" Blaze asked.

"Why? We're not friends. I stole your boyfriend from you," Breezie sniffed.

"We moved past this, remember? Breezie, just let me come in and we can talk about this. I know it's a sad day but we can talk about Tails and-"

"I'm not crying because of Tails," Breezie interrupted.

"Then why?" When no answer came Blaze gripped the handle and, to her surprise, the door opened easily. It wasn't locked. She noticed Breezie sitting on her bed, some wet, used tissues lay on the covers beside her. Blaze crept into the room and took a seat beside Breezie, leaving some room between them.

"I said go away."

"If it's not about Tails, why are you so upset?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"What do you know about loss?" Blaze gave her a confused look.

"You know today is Tails' funeral, right?"

"I mean about family."

"Well, the truth is I don't have a family anymore."

"What?"

"My mother died of skin cancer many years ago and my last living relative, my aunt, died a few weeks ago," Blaze admitted.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Breezie felt sympathy. Blaze scooted a little bit closer and Breezie didn't recoil. Despite how she felt, she welcomed the closeness. "What about your father?"

"I never knew him," Blaze sighed. "This is all I have to remember him by." Blaze reached underneath her collar and pulled out a necklace with half of a small amethyst connected to the end. "I never leave my room without this. Even though I never knew my dad I feel like he's with me when I wear this."

"That's sweet."

"So, now you know about me, you have to tell me about you," Blaze tucked the necklace back underneath her dress and changed the conversation. "Why were you crying."

"Well, like you my mother died a little while ago at the start of the year."

"I'm so sorry."

"And about an hour ago I got a call. They said they had discovered my father's body. He'd been murdered." Blaze let out a gasp.

"My Chaos, who would want to kill your father?"

"I don't know… but they were all I had, Blaze. First my mother crashed her car into a wall when her brakes didn't work and now my dad. I don't know what to do," Breezie sobbed.

"Hey, hey it's going to be okay," Blaze draped an arm over Breezie's shoulders and rubbed small circles across her back.

"And how do you know?"

"Because you and I are in the same boat."

"We both have nobody."

"That's not true," Blaze pointed out. "We both have our friends. We might not have family, but our friends are like our family. What about Spike?"

"Yeah, I guess I do have Spike," Breezie managed a weak smile. She couldn't believe this. The girl she once hated, her rival in love, was the one who she found in her room cheering her up in a way nobody else could. It was strange, but the more Breezie thought about Blaze the more a single word kept popping into her head. Friend. Despite everything that had happened between the two, she considered them friends. "Blaze?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay with me for a bit?"

"Of course," Blaze nodded as she continued to rub Breezie's back. "I won't go anywhere."

…

Zonic had forgotten what the city was like. The bright lights, blaring sirens and constant noise was a stark juxtaposition to the quiet serenity of Emerald Lake that he had become accustomed to.

"This exit?" The taxi driver asked. Zonic brought up the address on his phone and studied the freeway road signs.

"Yep. Take this exit and then follow the road to Wellington street," Zonic replied. The taxi rolled down the ramp and spluttered down the road. Traffic lights and houses flashed past until the cab took a sharp left turn into a quieter street.

"Here we are. Number two-oh-three. That'll be fifty-five please." Zonic forked over the cash, took his bag and stepped out of the taxi. The driver tipped his cap and drove off down the quiet street leaving Zonic alone in his unfamiliar surroundings. Zonic took a deep breath to steady his nerves, swallowed the fear that billowed inside him and walked up the steps to the house. There were two identical houses on either side and the house in the middle shared one of its wall's with either house. It seemed cramped, but the small flowers in pots on top of the railings were verdant green and seemed well looked after.

"Alright, here goes," Zonic steeled himself, rose his hand and wracked his knuckles against the door. The feeling that washed over him was instantaneous. A horrible feeling of fear and regret that crashed into each other to create the cowardice that drenched Zonic. He couldn't do it. He couldn't face her. Without a second thought his instincts took over and he dashed away from the house without a glance backwards.

As soon as he disappeared from view the sound of a lock turning broke the night silence and the door creaked open to reveal none other than Gold the Tenrec.

"Hello?" Gold called out into the cold air. "Is anybody there?" Gold looked all around. She could have sworn she had heard somebody knock in the late hours of the night. She wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her and took one last look. There was nobody there.

Gold sighed. She knew she shouldn't still be having those thoughts but she couldn't help herself. Part of her had wished it was somebody from her old life trying to reconnect with her. Maybe Razor or Espio… or Zonic. She wished it was. With a dejected look, she closed the door behind her and returned to her warm, distant bed.

…

The rain had picked up and began drowning the forest below in torrential downpour. Shadow and Mephiles had both decided they were about ready to go back to their dorm room. They said their goodbyes to Sonic, paid their respects to both Rosemary and Amadeus and set off along the path back to the dormitory.

The clouds were dark and the atmosphere was covered in a tinge of grey hues. Shadow tried to keep his gaze fixed to the floor, shielding his face from the raindrops but in his haste, he accidently kicked a crack in the pavement and was sent toppling forwards. Luckily Mephiles stuck out a hand at lightning speeds and caught him.

"Thanks," Shadow said as he steadied himself and looked behind him to see what he had tripped on. That's when the world seemed to freeze around him. The rain became silent and Mephiles' touch became numb. His gaze shot past the ground and around the hall to somebody standing in the parking lot.

There, standing underneath a black umbrella was a short, skinny girl. She had long, dark-blonde hair with deep blue eyes. She wore cobalt shoes and a navy-blue top over a cerulean dress. It had been years since Shadow had last seen her but it was unmistakable. It was her.

"Shadow?" Mephiles' concerned voice cut through the silence. "Shadow, are you alright?"

"Just go back to the room, Meph," Shadow said calmly as he dropped the key into Mephiles' palm.

"What? Where are you going?"

"Just go. There's somebody I need to talk to." Mephiles followed Shadow's gaze and saw the girl standing there. He wanted to stay. He wanted to argue, but Mephiles knew it would be a fruitless endeavor.

"Alright, but if you're not there in ten minutes I'm coming back down to get you," Mephiles decided. When Shadow didn't answer, Mephiles turned with a sigh and sprinted off to the shelter of the common room.

Shadow's legs began moving on their own. He was drawn to the girl like a sailor to the siren call of mermaid. Even in the dreary rain she seemed to radiate brilliance. The closer he got, the bigger her smile grew over her ruby red lips. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, Shadow caught up to the girl. They were standing barely an inch apart. Shadow could see her breath in the cold air.

"Shadow," the girl began with a soft, melodic voice. "It's so good to see you again."

"Is it really you?"

"It's really me," she smiled. Shadow breathed as he fell into her. Shadow buried his head into her shoulders and wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around her waist.

"I can't believe it's really you. I thought I'd lost you forever. Maria…"

…

Blaze had spent longer in Breezie's room than she had planned to. She'd promised Sonic that she would be right back. That was over an hour ago. She glanced down at her phone and noticed several missed messages from him.

Blaze: _Sorry, I got sidetracked. Be there in five._

Blaze glanced back one last time at the sleeping teenager and quietly closed the door, letting Breezie sleep away her sadness. She raced back down the stairs, out of the dormitory and back over to the hall. She had completely forgotten about the jacket she had set off to retrieve but she knew Sonic was vulnerable and she needed to be there for him.

"Blaze," a stern voice called to her as soon as she entered.

"Sir?" Blaze asked as she noticed Razor strutting over to her. He seemed nervous and he tripped over his words like he was in a drunken stupor. "Is everything alright?"

"I need to talk to you," Razor choked. He didn't know why he felt so anxious. He had rehearsed what he was going to tell her over and over in his head over the past few days but now that she was there in front of him… his daughter, it all became so much harder.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. No, nothing like that," Razor assured. "It's about your aunt. Her executor came to me last weekend and gave me some news about what was written in your aunts will."

"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Blaze asked as she glanced over to Sonic, still sitting on his own on a table beside his mother with a miserable look plastered across his downcast face.

"It's important. It'll take just a minute of your time."

"But I need to-"

"It's about your father." That got Blaze's attention. This was the moment Razor had been waiting for. He took a deep breath in and let out a low, long exhale. "In your aunt's will, it detailed the identity of your father. Your aunt didn't want you to grow up with nobody."

"She knew the whole time?"

"Yes, she did. She didn't want to tell you unless you specifically asked to know, but you never did. You were always happy to let him be a distant memory."

"Of course, I wanted to see him," Blaze said agitatedly. "I always wanted to know who he was, but I thought they'd never tell me because mum never did. Wait, how do you know all of this anyway?"

"In her will it stated that she wanted your father to know who you were if she died so you wouldn't have to be alone."

"What do you mean by know who you were? Of course, my father knew who I was. He walked out on us."

"It's not that simple, Blaze. Your father loved you very much, but things happened and he left before you were born. He sought you out after but your mother didn't want him to have anything to do with you. Something I guess her sister, your aunt, didn't agree with."

"How do you know all this? You didn't know my mother and you don't know my father," Blaze growled. The way Razor was talking to her got her more and more angry but she didn't know why.

"Actually, I did."

"You knew my father?" Razor nodded. "What was he like? Who is he?"

"Blaze… I am your father," Razor admitted. All the blood rushed from Blaze's head. Her face grew pale and her legs felt as heavy as lead, trying to pull her down to the floor.

"Wh-what?" Blaze stammered. She couldn't talk. She couldn't even breath. It seemed so impossible. After all this time, her father was Razor. It couldn't be true. It was just a cruel joke, it had to be. "I don't believe you."

"That necklace you wear," Razor said, pointing to the thin necklace that hung around her neck. Blaze dipped her hand under her shirt and pulled out the amethyst. It shone a deep purple, as pure as the day she was given it by her mother. She had told her it was that last thing of her father's and despite her better judgement she wanted Blaze to have it.

"My father gave me this. It was the only thing he ever gave me. But it's broken," Blaze said as she traced the serrated edge of the beautiful gemstone.

"It's not broken, it's cracked. It was done on purpose. That necklace is how I knew your aunt was telling the truth about you and I. That, and our amber eyes." Blaze looked up. She had never noticed it before but they both shared the same eyes. They were the spitting image of hers, and his iris' shone golden like hers did.

That's when Razor unbuttoned his shirt, slid down his tie and pulled out a necklace of his own. One almost identical to Blaze's, with a similar crack on the opposite side. He removed it from his neck and held it up next to Blaze's. They fit together perfectly. The cracks merged together seamlessly to form one solid gem stone.

"See? Blaze… you are my daughter, and I'm so glad I finally found you," Razor beamed with joy and pride. "I couldn't be prouder of you."

"I… I… I hate you," Blaze snarled as she snatched the necklace from him and dashed off into the stormy afternoon outside.

"Blaze, stop!" Razor called. "Please… come back…" But Blaze didn't come back. She kept running. She didn't know where and she didn't know for how long but she just needed to run. She had spent all day caring for others. Sonic… Breezie… all this death swirled around her and her friends but the one person she wished would have just stayed dead had come back to haunt her. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

"Why?!" Blaze screamed up into the heavens as rain peppered her face. As if in response, thunder roared overhead and a thin sliver of silver lightning streaked across the sky. "Why…?"

…

That night Tikal had the nightmare again. It was just as vivid and horrid as it always was. Again, she found herself floating in a world of black. Again, she could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing and taste nothing. It was a never-ending void of darkness around her. And then the lights shone through the dark and she was teleported to the middle of the quiet street outside Quartz Casino. She couldn't move, she couldn't call out for help. All Tikal could do was face the oncoming silver eyes of the car that barreled towards her.

This time, the car wasn't driverless. Tails was in the driver's seat. He had a crazed look in his eye and a maniacal laugh escaped his lips. His gripped the wheel with white knuckles as the car barreled closer towards her. Suddenly, Tikal found her voice.

"Tails, no, please," she cried out at the phantom car. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It was an accident." Tails pressed his foot further down on the accelerator with an evil smile on his face as the car catapulted towards her before crashing into her.

The sudden impact woke Tikal with a start. Her sheets were wet from sweat as she sat up with a shortness of breath. She puffed and panted as her eyes searched the dark for the familiar surroundings of her room and her sleeping roommates Mina and Breezie. Tikal hopped out of bed and crept out of the room, down the corridor and into the bathrooms. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face.

"Calm down, Tikal. It was just a dream," Tikal told herself but as she looked back up at the mirror it wasn't her reflection looking back at her; It was Tails. His head was slightly caved in and his arms and legs bent at awkward angles with broken bones. He looked exactly like he did when she saw him lying on the road.

"Why'd you do it?" The ghostly reflection asked her.

"I didn't mean to. You ran in front of me."

"Why didn't you stop?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Why?" The reflection faded away and as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared leaving a shocked, sickly looking girl staring back at her. Tikal felt sick. She couldn't hide from it any longer. Whether she liked it or not, Tikal had to face the truth. She stormed off that night. She got behind the wheel with alcohol in her system. She had killed Tails!

* * *

 _A/N: And there we have it. Part 3 is finished with that final cliffhanger! There is only one part to go (17 more chapters) before this long, grueling, dramatic school year is over. I really hope you've all been enjoying this rollercoaster ride so far._

 _Yes... that's right. If you remember correctly, Tikal was the one who had the friends camping nearby. She was the one who borrowed their car and she was the one who ran out of the party after the incident between Eclipse and Mighty. She killed Tails! What will come of this? Only time will tell._

 _Zonic was too much of a coward, still, and couldn't face Gold. Will he ever overcome his cowardice?_

 _Amadeus vs. Sonic, we haven't seen the last of that, don't you worry. But Fiona hiring a P.I to find dirt on Rouge and Julie discovering the truth about Sally and Fiona's energizer bars? Remember, Fiona had help in her cunning plan. Is poor Blaze going to be drawn into the middle of this? Speaking of Blaze, she was there when Sonic mourned over Tails. She was there when Breezie mourned over her father, but now she can't handle the truth. Razor is her father, and she knows it. What will come of these two? Stay tuned._

 _Maria? Why is she back, and why did she leave? Shadow sure seems happy about it, though, and Mephiles certainly doesn't. Speaking of Mephiles, Sonia told him that he wasn't the father and he finally got his happy ending with Shadow, but now that Manic forced Spike to tell her the truth, how can Sonia find the strength to tell him that he actually still is the father. Sorry guys, but you've still got a bit to get through before I let you have your happy ending, if I let you have one at all :)_

 _Thank you all so much for reading and being patient throughout all of this. I know it's been a long, long time since the last chapter but my life is so busy right now and I struggle to find the time to write. Especially because this was the longest chapter yet, over 15,000 words, but it is a "season" finale so that would make sense. Because of uni ramping up and life getting in the way (my girlfriend is getting mad because I'm not spending enough time with her :P) I'm going to take a short break from SH:EL. It won't be long. Just a month or two, but I fell like since we've just finished a part this seems like the perfect time to recharge my batteries and focus more on life. Don't worry, I'm not quitting. I'm so close to the end I won't stop now._

 _Thanks for sticking with me and please don't forget to leave a review. As said above, don't forget to go to my profile page and vote in the poll. You can vote up to 3 times. I'll reveal the results at the end of the next chapter. Thanks and I'll see you all soon!_

 _Next time on SH:EL_

Maria and Shadow have their reunion

Manic tries to get the band back together

Spike's dad finally makes his debut

Amadeus goes on the war path

...and welcome our final two main cast members... Nack and Lien-Da

all this and so much more next time on Chapter 49: Strangers  
And on the final part of Sonic High: Trialing Times.


	49. Chapter 49: Strangers

PART 4: TRIALING TIMES

Chapter 49

Strangers

Three weeks. There were only three short weeks left until the dreaded exam period would begin. November the seventh; That's when the end for the seniors at Mobius High would truly begin. Whether they wanted it or not, the nightmarish two-week period of intense exams would be undertaken. However, it will all be worth it once they emerge on the other side, ready for graduation set on Friday the twenty-fifth, the final day of high school for all the senior's.

Razor the Shark, principal of Mobius High's country campus – Emerald Lake, was ready for anything. Exam period was always the most stressful time of the year, and it would be even more so now that he had to fire his secretary, Gold, after she partook in sexual misconduct with a student, Espio. However, despite being ready for anything, he wasn't expecting this…

October seventeenth – A cool, spring Monday morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but Razor had. He woke early to get some paperwork done before he was set to host the weekly assembly in the grand hall. Three days prior, he received a call from his colleague over at Garnet Grammar. A disruptive girl was displaying unruly and unacceptable behaviour. After a heated discussion, Razor begrudgingly accepted to host the flippant girl while she completed her studies. There were only five and a half weeks until graduation. Razor thought he could handle it. He thought he could handle her - Lien-Da.

"I can't believe I have to bored in this dingy-ass place," Lien grumbled dismissively, her tone abrasive and malicious.

"Like it or not, I promised Coral that you could complete your studies here," Razor answered.

"I would rather just drop out of high school completely," Lien replied offhandedly with a roll of her eyes.

"That choice isn't yours to make. It's your parents. And unless you want me to call them-"

"Please don't," Lien's tone changed sharply as the colour drained from her face, turning her as pale as a phantom. "I'll behave. I promise, just don't send me home to them…"

"Coral sent over your student records," Razor said as he pulled out a thick, full folder filled with loose leaflets and hundreds of detention slips. "You've been to three different high schools and have been expelled from all three due to violent outbursts and horrific behavior. If Coral hadn't reached out to me, you wouldn't have been allowed into any other. You would be sent home."

"But Razor-"

"It's sir," Razor asserted.

"But Sir," Lien swallowed her fury. "You can't send me home."

"Three strikes and you're out. You've had three strikes, but Coral had a soft spot for you. You're lucky I owed her a favour. But mark my words, I will not tolerate any unruly behavior. I believe in clean slates, so I'm metaphorically wiping it clean."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you can start fresh. But listen here, I won't be so lenient after strike number three. If you get in trouble three times, if you get detention three times, if I have to see you in my office three times… you will be expelled and sent back home. Do I make myself clear?"

"But Sir-"

"Do I make myself clear?!"

"Y-Yes sir," Lien bowed her head, biting her tongue.

"Good. Now leave my office. I'll see you at the assembly at nine."

…

Sonic loved watching the sunrise. He loved it almost as much as he loved sitting outside at night looking up at all the constellations in the sky. It helped calm him. It instilled a sense of serenity inside him. One he desperately needed.

Sonic still hadn't been able to mourn properly. Tails had died, and the funeral was held two days ago, but still it didn't give Sonic any closure. He hadn't been able to feel since that night at Elias' party at the casino. He hadn't been able to laugh. He hadn't been able to cry. He only lived, walking around the school like a zombie in a maze. Aimless. He thought maybe after the funeral he would finally be able to put Tails' death behind him like the rest of the school seemed to do, but he couldn't.

The sun rose slowly and Sonic watched it solemnly. All was quiet until a twig snapped. Sonic didn't care. Whoever it was, he didn't want to talk to him. He didn't know who it was until the intruder took a seat beside him and spoke, her voice so familiar.

"Sonic?" Amy asked reservedly.

"What do you want, Amy?" Sonic said without emotion.

"Nobody has seen you since the funeral. We were worried. I thought maybe you'd be here, so I came to find you," Amy explained.

"Well, here I am; You found me. Now you can go back."

"Sonic, please, come back with me." Sonic said nothing, but he showed no sign of moving either. "I miss him too." Finally, Sonic turned to meet her gaze. She felt like she wanted to flinch under his unnerving glare but she had to stay strong. She needed to reach him. "Tails."

"Don't say his name."

"Sonic, Tails is gone. It's horrible. It's truly horrible, but that's life. We thought you were moving on, but after the funeral you seem to have spiraled again. This isn't healthy," Amy said.

"Maybe it isn't, but I don't care."

"Sonic, please, I miss Tails so much. He was one of my closest friends and I grieved for him. We all did. But you need to understand that this isn't the way to move forward. Tails wouldn't want you to throw your life away. He would want you to live. He would want you to be happy," Amy smiled sadly as she placed her hand on his. Sonic recoiled instantly.

"Don't touch me," Sonic hissed. "You don't care about Tails. You never did. You're only here because he's finally out of the way."

"What are you talking about."

"Me. You've always been in love with me. We dated, twice. The only time I wasn't with you was when I was with him, and you're jealous. Now he's out of the picture, permanently, so there's nothing stopping you from getting me back. I see what you're trying to do." Amy felt horrible. She felt her heart break.

"How could you think I'd be that cruel?" Sonic didn't reply, he just looked away, his eyes flitting back to the sunrise. Amy wanted to be mad. She wanted to yell at him, to tell him he was wrong, but she knew it would be fruitless. She exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry you think that about me. But Sonic, despite what you think of me, I'm here because I'm worried about you. I understand how hard this is and I get where you're coming from, but this isn't you. If I were doing this all just to get back with you, it wouldn't be worth it. Because the Sonic I used to love isn't you anymore. I'm going back to campus. If you want to join me and the people who love you, you're more than welcome. If not, you can waste your life away out here in the forest. But I think I know which option Tails wants you to choose."

With that, Amy stood and walked away silently. Sonic waited until Amy had gone before he let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"I don't know."

…

Fiona had spent the night in her mother's hotel room in the quiet town near the school. She wanted to ignore her mother's call but she knew she couldn't refuse, especially after requesting the use of Claire's Private Investigator. Fiona couldn't believe what her mother had told her over dinner last night. Claire seemed almost happy about it, like it would be a challenge. Fiona refused to give any secrets, swearing that she didn't have any information that could help Claire's case.

Fiona couldn't tell anybody what Claire was planning. She knew it would just cause an uproar. Normally she would adore the chaos of such news spreading, but such pandemonium would be the exact spark Claire would be looking for to start the fire. For now, Fiona would have to bite her tongue and keep her head down. At least until she could figure out a way to prolong Claire's endgame until she had graduated. She sure as hell wasn't going to be repeating her senior year.

Fiona waited on the corner of the street beside the hotel for the taxi, tapping her feet when she saw somebody rush out of the hotel. It was Lumina. She looked completely disheveled, and her luscious pink hair was nowhere to be seen, instead a cream-coloured scalp. She was running from the hotel, crying as a woman chased her out yelling profanities.

"Go back to your other whores and tell them to leave my husband alone," the woman shouted. Fiona looked on in astonishment as Lumina rushed down the street. She couldn't believe what she had seen. Lumina was a prostitute.

Fiona wanted to smile. She should have. After all the grief both her and Void had given Fiona this felt like the proper retribution that Lumina deserved for stealing Void away from her. But instead of satisfaction, Fiona felt a different emotion. A new emotion. One she hadn't felt in a long time. It was like guilt and pity, but something stronger. It was Empathy.

…

Espio should be ecstatic. He should be happy and enjoying life. Though his year had started out rough, he had managed to pull through the constant stress. This time last year he was still a womanizer. He still did everything Fiona asked for. He still had no friends. But now, everything was different. Espio had managed to break free from Fiona's strangle hold and secure a good group of friends. He uncovered and dealt with the person who had spread around his nudes and was living it up as one of the most influential people. The rising teenage pop-star that all of Mobius couldn't stop talking about.

But he wasn't ecstatic. He still missed Gold. The former secretary who he started a secret, illegal relationship with. After Razor found out he had expelled her and she left without a word. It still haunted Espio. Why hadn't she at least said goodbye?

"Espio?" Manic called out as he strolled over to the snoozing teenager. Espio looked up, raising a hand to shield the sun's bright rays as he squinted. "Sorry, were you asleep?"

"No, just thinking," Espio answered as he yawned and rose from his spot underneath the tall tree.

"What about?" Manic pried.

"Just everything." Manic wanted to push further but knew that was probably the most information he would receive. The two weren't exactly friends after all. "So, did you want to see me?"

"Yeah, actually I did. Knuckles and I were talking last night and we both decided that we missed music. After everything that's happened to the both of us over the past semester we've let our dream of forming a band together escape us. But no longer," Manic smiled determinedly.

"And, what, you came to ask me if I'd like to join again?"

"Sort of. But it's not because you're a star now or anything. Knuckles and I just thought that we owed you an apology."

"An apology?"

"Yes. Back when we first made the band you weren't in a good place. You told us the band was the only thing helping you and we let our selfishness ruin it. That wasn't fair on you," manic said.

"But if it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't have ever had the courage to be up on that stage at Elias' party, and I would have never been discovered," Espio said.

"True, but that still doesn't excuse our behavior. We've decided to start up the band again and we'll always have room for a bassist and another song writer. If you want to rejoin the band, the offer is always open."

Espio thought about it. He had originally thought Manic was only interested in Espio because of his name recognition but there was something about the way he spoke and the look in his eyes that told a different story. Manic hadn't pushed it, or really asked properly. He just said a spot was always open. Espio thought back to the practices and song writing sessions that the three of them used to have together. They were always the most fun Espio had had back at the start of the semester. He never really did get to repay Manic and Knuckles for saving him that day in the bathrooms and offering him a place in their band. Maybe now was finally the time to show how much those two really meant to him when they gave him a helping hand when he needed it most.

"Alright, I'd love to come back to the band," Espio smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but can we not get Mina or Julie as our lead singers this time?"

"Don't worry, that isn't going to be a problem this time," Manic laughed as the two made their way over to the assembly hall discussing possible ideas for new songs.

…

The hall was abuzz with hundreds of students all filing in through the two side doors and finding a seat in the spacious hall. Dozens of different conversations were being had as students chatted away, waiting for Razor to take the stand.

Sonic was one of the last to find a seat. He peered his head through one of the doors and scanned the room, noticing a spare seat beside Blaze and Breezie. He squeezed through the aisle of students and sat beside Blaze. She smiled at him.

"Glad to see you finally back at school," Blaze said.

"It's good to be back," Sonic affirmed as he glanced behind him and made eye contact with Amy. "Thank you," he mouthed. She nodded, a smile plastered across her face. Sonic wanted to say more to her but a hush descended over the hall as Razor waltzed onto the stage and cleared his throat into the microphone.

"Greetings students," Razor bellowed. "I know some of you are still processing everything that happened on Saturday at the funeral but, as hard is it is, we must all continue to push on. Especially seniors who have exams in only three weeks."

Razor continued with his usual weekly routine. He invited some students to come up and talk about special events that would be happening around the school that week and, finally, Razor took to the stage again to give his final weekly send off. However, this week was a little bit different.

"Now, before I let you all go," Razor began, "I have one final announcement. I know it's almost the end of the year but due to special, unforeseen circumstances we have two new seniors joining us." A raucous chorus of whispers filled the auditorium as rumours and theories ran rampant. "Silence! I know it might be strange for them to be coming so late but they are only here to complete their studies and take their exams. I expect all of you to give them a warm welcome and help them settle in quickly and promptly." As Razor finished, two new students appeared from behind Razor and took the stage.

"She looks so familiar," Jet murmured to himself. "Where do I know her from?"

"No," Wave gasped, covering her mouth as all the colour drained from her face. "Anybody but her." It was like her heart stopped beating and all the colour darkened around her. Everything was black except for the vibrant girl standing on the stage. The devil herself.

"Why does it have to be him?" Cosmo frowned. Of course, just when her life had started to be taking a turn for the better, he'd have to drop back into her life unannounced and ruin everything.

"It can't be," Breezie sighed. "Has he finally found me? Is he really here for me?" She slunk down into her seat to avoid being seen by the boy's deceptive, calculating gaze as he scanned the hall.

"Everybody, I'd like you to give a warm welcome to our two new students, Lien-Da the Echidna and Nack the Weasel!"

…

Rouge waited patiently until the assembly hall became quiet and all the students filed out to get to their second period classes. As the roaming teachers that held back to make sure there were no stragglers were distracted with trying to settle down Wave's hysterical freak-out, Rouge snuck up the stage and behind the black curtains. It was back there that she saw both Nack and Lien-Da talking casually.

"I noticed your eyes flick to a few people in the crowd, Li," Nack taunted with pleasure.

"Don't call me Li," Lien snapped back irritably.

"Aww, come now baby, don't be that way."

"And don't call me baby either. In fact, don't talk to me at all, creep," Lien spat.

"Yeah, Nack. Keep your creepy tendrils away from her," Rouge spoke up as she waltzed over to them. Nack snorted but Lien-Da stared curiously.

"Rouge, baby, long time no see," Nack winked. "Come to yell at me again? I love getting lip from you."

"Keep it in your pants, sweetie. Trust me, with that size you don't want to show it off," Rouge mocked. Nack growled lowly but shook off the anger. He didn't want to give Rouge the satisfaction.

"I think I'm going to like you," Lien smirked.

"Sorry, it's nice to meet you and all, but I need to speak to Nack alone for a second. You understand, yeah?" Rouge asked politely undermixed with a hint of malevolence.

"You want him, you can have him," Lien walked away. "I'll see you around."

"If you wanted to get me alone you could have just invited me to your room," Nack purred.

"Cut the crap," Rouge's tone instantly soured when she was sure Lien-Da was out of earshot. "I know what you're doing here and I don't like it one bit."

"And what, pray tell, am I doing here?"

"Cosmo escaped your sweaty little mitts and you want to get her back with the trappings of gambling. You coddle her addiction and it's not healthy for her."

"Rouge, Rouge, Rouge, you've got it all wrong."

"Oh really?" Rouge crossed her arms unconvinced.

"Really."

"Then what, pray tell, are you doing here?" Rouge mocked him.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anybody else. Got it?"

"Maybe."

"I'm serious," Nack glared at her with unflinching eyes. Rouge relaxed slightly and agreed.

"Alright."

"Okay… the real reason I got transferred here so close to the end of the school year is because I owe some bad people a lot of money. They broke into my house to collect but I was gone. Mum got scared so she put me into a protection program to hide me until this all blows over."

"Oh… seriously?" Rouge felt bad for berating him before.

"Yeah. Please, don't tell anybody."

"Nack… I won't, I promise," Rouge shook her doubts away. "But, don't go near Cosmo, either."

"I wasn't planning to," Nack promised, crossing his heart for emphasis.

"Good." Satisfied, Rouge turned to walk away back to class, completely missing the mischievous smirk that crossed Nack's face as she walked away.

…

 _There are many roles a father should play in any young boy's life. A father should be there first and foremost to provide, be that food, water, shelter, knowledge or love. He's the guiding star lighting a child's path forward in the dark night of life. He's the heat molding the clay into its unlimited potential. Father's are there to care for their children, to teach them and continue to do so until they leave the nest and make their own way._

 _For me, most of these things were true. Trevor, my father, always provided for me, but not in the same way one might think. He gave me food and shelter. That was always easy to provide, my family is loaded. Not that our money was gained legally, though. You see, my father's business isn't exactly the safest, or the most legal. I don't tell people this because I know they'll treat me differently if they knew. Not even Breezie knew what my dad really did; what our family was apart of… The only other person in my life that knew the truth was my sister. Then again, I can't lean on Demi the way I used to. Not after she…_

 _Anyway, my father might not have been the nicest guy, but at least he was there for our family. Or, at least he used to be. Until my sister hanged herself he was. After that horrible experience, five years ago, he became distant. I didn't mind much. I liked being on my own. In truth, I couldn't look at him the same after she took her life. It was his fault. He should have supported her but he didn't. If it wasn't for him, Demi would still be here now, enjoying her twenty-first birthday._

 _That's why I wasn't exactly happy when dad called me saying he was coming to visit school. I tried to refuse but he said it was important. Something I deserved to know. I begged him not to take the limo. I begged him not to take his guards or his driver. He begrudgingly accepted._

 _The truth is… my dad is the head of the Central City mafia. He's a mob boss. I the mob boss' son. That's why I board all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. He doesn't want the people who stand against him to find me, to use me against him. He's shielded me from his life. He said he wouldn't involve me until I was older._

 _Well, I just turned eighteen last month… and now he's coming to see me. Today._

Spike waited with a queasy stomach as the inconspicuous black sedan rolled through the gates and parked beside the bell tower. A well-built purple mole in a black business suit, grey tie and glasses stepped out. His presence was domineering and he moved with purpose.

"Spike, it's good to see you again, son," Trevor said matter-of-factly as he shook his son's hand with strength and vigor.

"Likewise, dad," Spike nodded distantly. He knew it was cruel to keep his father at arm's length, but he still couldn't forgive his father. "Why are you here?"

"Jumping right to business? That isn't like you," Trevor noted.

"Maybe I've changed. I am eighteen now."

"That you are. That you are. However, that's not why I'm here."

"It's not?" Spike asked, confused. He assumed his dad finally thought it was time to bring him into the family business and introduce him to a life of crime.

"No," Trevor shook his head. "Is there somewhere we can go and talk that's private?"

"My room?"

"Don't you sleep with others?"

"Yeah, but they're all probably at class. It'll be private, I promise."

"Then lead the way," Trevor said as Spike lead him over to the dormitory and up the stairs to the fifth floor. Spike made sure to steer clear of any teachers that might be on patrol. He knew it was against the rules to bring off-campus visitors into the dorm rooms but he just wanted the visit to be over as quickly and as easily as humanly possible.

"This is your room?" Trevor asked as his calculated, dark eyes scanned the messy, cramped space that the four teenagers shared.

"Yep. Me, Shadow, Manic and Knuckles."

"It's quaint…" Trevor finally stated.

"So, we're alone. What did you need to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I've rented out a place in the small town near school to be near you for a little bit."

"Why? I've been fine for the past three and a half years. Why now?"

"You might need to sit down for this, son."

"I'm quite happy standing, thank you very much," Spike snorted.

"It's your mother… she's been murdered." Overwhelmed, Spike took a seat on his bed.

…

Zonic huffed a sigh as he watched his students file out of his chemistry class. It had been a long, grueling day and he was in no mood. He had felt completely zapped of energy after his disappointing trip to the city. Just seeing Gold poke her head out of her house had sent his heart a flutter but no matter how hard he tried to fight it, his legs took him running away before he could confront her.

"Mr. Hedgehog?" Fiona asked as she approached the desk, pulling Zonic from his daydreams.

"How can I help you, Ms. Fox?" Zonic replied as politely as he could. "Do you have another chemistry question.

"No, I think I'm fine for the moment. I just wanted to say thank you for teaching me this year. You've been a real help," Fiona smiled.

"That's kind of you to say, but don't thank me yet. We still have three weeks to get through before we can go congratulating each other," Zonic said.

"Well, that's not the real reason I wanted to see you. I was hopeless with chemistry until you became my teacher and because of you I think I have a real chance of getting a good mark in this subject," Fiona forced a fake smile. "That's why I think you deserve to know the truth."

"The truth about what?"

"I know you went back to the city to find Gold while we all attended Tails' funeral on the weekend," Fiona revealed.

"What? But how did you know?" Zonic gasped.

"It's not how I knew, but more why I'm coming to you."

"Are you trying to tell me I shouldn't have left the funeral?"

"No, not at all. I think following your heart is important. That's why I feel like it's my duty to let you know the truth."

"The truth about what?"

"Well, a picture paints a thousand words," Fiona said, copying the words Sticks had once told her as she reached into her pocket and passed Zonic a picture. A picture of Espio and Gold.

"This picture… this is the one Razor had. It's how he found out about the relationship," Zonic recalled.

"Did he tell you how he came by this evidence?"

"No, he said it was a secret."

"That's because Espio gave it to him. He wanted to dump Gold but didn't know how so he thought getting her fired would be the easiest way," Fiona explained.

"How could he?" Zonic growled as he scrunched up the piece of paper and hastened out of the room. Fiona smiled, admiring her dirty work.

"Sometimes it's just too easy," Fiona laughed to herself. "This should be entertaining. It's about time I caused that pain in my side some more heartache."

…

"Wow guys, that actually sounded really good," Manic beamed as he stomped his foot on the pedal and the last drum beat rang out through the music room that their teacher graciously let them use for practice.

"I have to admit, you guys are good at writing music," Espio admitted as he took a swig from his water bottle. "You'd better be careful or I might just steal it and use it for my solo career," he joked.

"I've been meaning to speak to you about that," Knuckles said out of the blue as he removed his guitar and placed it gently on the ground. "How come you agreed to come back to the band?"

"What do you mean?" Espio asked.

"It's just that… your music career has been going amazing. It hasn't even been a year yet and you've already performed at a sold-out arena, you have a platinum selling album and you're one of the youngest, successful popstars since Justin Beaver."

"That's nice of you to say but I don't see your point."

"My point is… why join us? We're nothing compared to you," Knuckles frowned. "For all you know, we just invited you so we could use your name for recognition."

"I agreed to join because I knew you wouldn't do that to me."

"How do you know?"

"Because, practicing with you guys are some of my fondest memories of this place. Besides, remember when we first came to this campus and the whole school was bullying me because of the nudes that Silver sent around?" Knuckles nodded and Espio continued. "Scourge cornered me in the bathrooms and you and Manic were there to save me. I'd been a dick to you all of semester one but still you came to my aid. You saw how sad I was and you offered me a spot in your band. You showed me what a real friend looked like. Not one who ditches you when things get rough, or one who only uses you for manipulation. A true friend. You two changed my life, and I guess this is just my way of saying thank you."

"Wow… you're welcome, Espio. We're glad you're a member of our band," Knuckles smiled. "Right Manic?"

"Huh, what?" Manic whipped his head out of his phone. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What were you saying?" Knuckles and Espio exchanged a humorous glace before bursting out into laughter.

"Nothing," Knuckles grinned. Manic ignored him and focused back on the text he had just received.

Amy: _Manic, please stop ignoring my calls. I just want to talk to you. I know you think I'm just pulling a Mina and using you for Sonic but I'm not. I mean, I'm not anymore. I really like you, Manic. Please, just give me a chance._

"Fucking bitch," Manic spat silently as he ignored her text and pocketed his phone. "Alright, let's take it again from the top!"

…

There was one thing still nagging Sally. A guilt that consumed her utterly. She had been climbing the mountain to recovery steadily, helped forward thanks to Julie's constant companionship and encouragement. But she couldn't defeat her demons without addressing the one that she helped create.

Food had become a plague. Sally's mind had been contorted and she'd lead herself to believe that she didn't need it. Thanks to Julie, she now saw the error of her ways, but in her darkest hour she didn't have anybody to help her and, instead, she dragged another down with her.

Wave sat on one of the wooden outdoor tables enjoying the sunlight, her head buried in a physics textbook. She was dangerously skinny, the same way Sally once looked not weeks earlier. Wave looked almost like a skeleton covered in a thin layer of skin and feathers. Sally knew it was her fault Wave looked this way. She wanted to help her friend whether Wave wanted it or not. But something stopped her in her tracks. She watched in awe as Cream waddled over carrying two chicken and avocado toasties that she'd purchased from the café and dumped them on the table.

"Thanks, Cream. This is delicious," Wave smiled as she unwrapped hers and took a greedy bite. Sally didn't understand it. Last time she'd seen Wave, the girl hated food. Sally wasn't sure what had happened, but she wanted to make sure Wave was okay.

"Wave?" Sally asked as she slipped up to the table. Wave froze as she heard the familiar voice. She gently and slowly closed her physics textbook, took another bite of her toastie and turned around.

"Sally… what are you doing here?" Wave asked distantly.

"I came to make amends," Sally admitted.

"Do you guys want some space?" Cream offered.

"No, that's okay Cream. What Sally has to say, she can say it in front of you, too," Wave answered. Sally felt like she wasn't wanted. She thought it might be best if she turned and fled but something kept her rooted to the ground. Some part of her knew she had to make things right.

"I came to apologize," Sally said finally. "The way I treated you was… well it wasn't cool. When I was at my worst, I latched on to you and, because of me, you developed the same sickness that I had. I tried to trick you to stop purging and took a moral high ground when I was still sick and it wasn't cool."

"I thought we were friends, Sally. You became one of my closest friends and then you lied right to my face."

"I was trying to help, Wave, but I know that doesn't excuse my actions. I just wanted to say I shouldn't have done that and, if you want, I'd love to try this whole friendship thing again. No lies this time. And maybe I could help you for real this time."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Wave replied. "Look, Sally, I'm glad you have somebody to help you get better, but you were that person for me. I was finally getting better because of your help and when you lied to me… it sent me spiralling back down."

"But look at you now," Sally smiled sadly. "You're eating. That's really good, Wave."

"Don't patronise me."

"I wasn't trying to-"

"Look, Sally, I've been getting better because of my friends. Cream, Sonia, Jet, Cosmo… they are the people that have been helping me, not you. Thanks for your apology, I accept it, but I just don't think us being friends is a good idea. I'm sorry," Wave finished.

"Oh… okay. Well, I'm glad you're on the road to recovery. I wish you all the best."

"Goodbye, Sally," Wave said as she turned and picked up her physics book again, not looking up until she was sure Sally had gone far away.

"That was a bit mean, don't you think?" Cream asked.

"It might have been, but I just don't think it's a good idea for me to have Sally in my life. She's a trigger, and I don't want to relapse again. I just hope she understands," Wave sighed.

…

Class was boring. Mighty struggled to keep his eyes open and his attention focused as Mr. Ash droned on and on about the zone wars and which specific historical figures the students would need to know in great detail for the exam.

Mighty had been so focused for the exams and spent a lot of junior year preparing himself for them so that he could get a good score and make it into a good university. However, the longer the year went on and the more friends he lost the less enthusiastic he was. In fact, his mod had soured so much that his trademark optimism had completely faded and he noticed he was turning into a dour, pessimistic drag.

"M-Mighty?" A shy voice questioned. Mighty had dozed off, head buried underneath his arms crossed on his desk. Groggily, he lifted his head and glanced up at the source of the voice drowsily.

"Wh-what?" Mighty groaned. "Cream?"

"I just wanted to let you know that class is over," Cream pointed out. Mighty looked around. The classroom was completely empty. Even Ash had rushed out to make as staff meeting.

"Oh, thanks. Guess I just dozed off," Mighty replied with a yawn.

"A-Alright," Cream said as she began to walk off when she paused. She knew it wasn't her business to pry, but she had begun to feel concerned for the armadillo. She bit her bottom lip in thought before clenching her fists in determination. She had witness how selfless Mighty had been when he'd approached people to help them and she figured he deserved somebody to do it for him.

"Cream?" he asked when she waddled back over to him as he slipped his laptop back into his bag, along with his history text book.

"I-I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Mighty lied.

"I've noticed you change. I don't mean to pry, but you used to be so talkative and happy and optimistic but over the past few weeks in class I've noticed you quiet down, move to sit by yourself and spend each lesson with your head in your hands," Cream pointed out.

"You have?"

"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. It's just… I notice how you always take time out of your day to make sure others are feeling alright and I wanted to return the favour," Cream offered him a weak smile. Mighty stared at her dopily, unsure what was happening. "Sorry, it's stupid. I'll just go."

"No, Cream, wait," Mighty called out as he jumped out of his seat. Cream paused. "Thank you."

"No problem. Just know I'm always here if you need to talk."

"I'll keep that in mind. That means a lot, really, it does," Mighty let a grin cross his face.

"Oh, and by the way," Cream stifled a giggle. "You have some drool on your lip." Mighty froze, red staining his face as he dabbed at his lip to feel the wet substance. Mighty didn't realize how deeply he was sleeping. He always did drool in his sleep.

"Th-thanks," Mighty wiped it away embarrassingly. Cream just laughed in response as she turned and left him alone in the classroom.

"I'll see you around."

…

Spike knew he shouldn't have skipped the rest of the day but his head was still spinning. After his father left, he crawled into bed and slept. He slept the day away, not waking until the sun had sunk below the horizon and a knock on his door stirred him from his slumber. Spike groaned as he sat up and slipped out of his bed. His head was pounding and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Spike, I know you're in there," Sonic called from the other side of the door. "We need to have a talk." Spike smiled for the first time that day. If there was anybody in the whole world that would be able to cheer him up after getting such horrible news, it would one of two people. The love of his life, Breezie, or the hero he idolized, Sonic.

"Hey Sonic, I'm glad you're here," Spike said as he invited Sonic in. "I've been feeling a bit down and I really need somebody to talk to right now."

"I'm not here to help you," Sonic snapped. Spike was surprised. Sonic hadn't shown this much emotion since Tails had died and Spike noticed.

"Sonic, you have so much passion in your eyes," Spike cheered. "That's great news."

"Not for you," Sonic's eyes clouded over with black as he snorted fury. "You shouldn't have lied, Spike."

"What… what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about my sister. You lied to her. You told her you were the father just so… just so what? You could date her? So that you could sleep with her? So that you could be part of my family? That's a new low, Spike," Sonic snarled.

"Oh… you heard about that."

"Of course I did. Leave Sonia alone."

"Sonic… you don't understand, it's not like that," Spike defended himself. "I was just trying to help her."

"Bullshit. You were just thinking with your dick. Y'know, you really are a piece of work," Sonic continued, letting anger control him. He'd felt so empty the past few weeks that when Manic told him about what Spike did to his sister all the rage consumed Sonic. "You were a creepy stalker at first but I came to like you. I thought of you as a close friend by the end, I really did. But then you pull a stunt like this."

"Sonic, just listen to me," Spike shouted, silencing Sonic. Spike was finding it hard to breathe. The news of his mother's death coupled with Sonic berating him made him feel like he'd died on the inside. He wanted to cry. To break down, but he couldn't. He needed to set the record straight.

Spike began to explain the truth. He told Sonic about his family. Sonic was the first person Spike admitted the truth to. He revealed his father's real business, he told Sonic about what had happened when Demi had gotten pregnant and explained how horrified he was when he walked in on his sister's body hanging.

"You mean… you were just trying to make sure Sonia didn't do the same thing when Mephiles left her, even though you knew the child wasn't yours?" Sonic asked, rage dissipating completely.

"I didn't want the same thing to happen. If I had to sacrifice having a child of my own to make sure Sonia was okay… I was willing to do that."

"Wow… and your father really is the head of the mafia?" Spike nodded.

"And he's actually here, now. He came to tell me that… to tell me that my mother was killed and… and he's here to protect me and…" Spike trailed off, tears finally bursting from his eyes. Without warning, Spike collapsed into Sonic and buried his face in the crook of Sonic's neck. After the initial shock wore off, Sonic frowned as he wrapped his hands around the trembling boy in his arms and squeezed back protectively.

"I'm sorry, Spike. But don't worry, as long as I'm here nobody, not even your father, will hurt you," Sonic promised. Sonic didn't know why, but for the first time in a while he didn't feel utterly empty. Hugging Spike filled him with a warmth, the kind that a mother would feel when their child got hurt. Sonic felt protective. Spike had slowly become like a little brother to him and seeing Spike in so much pain hurt. Likewise, Spike felt warm too. Having Sonic hold him tight just felt right. Despite everything that had happened, in that moment with Sonic hugging him, Spike thought maybe everything would turn out alright.

…

Happy is all Shadow had felt that day. He didn't realize how empty he had felt without her in his life. It wasn't like she ignited flames of passion or lit up his night sky like fireworks; mostly it was just her presence that made him smile. Just being near her cast butterflies free in his stomach and gave him the serenity that he couldn't hope to feel without her. The smiles were incomplete and the breaths he took weren't full. Maria always made him feel like the luckiest person in the world. At least… that's how Shadow used to feel.

Even around Tails or Sonic at the beginning of the year, he never felt happy. Then he met Mephiles and all those feelings duplicated. Somehow, he had found somebody that made him feel as full as she used to. Mephiles became the person that created warmth in his soul. Shadow's favourite place switched from Maria's bedroom on cold, winter nights to the grooves in Shadow's side of Mephiles' small bed. He knew he loved Maria, with all his heart, but he was in love with Mephiles. Still, it was like dormant emotions had erupted from within him since she had shown up out of the blue and he hadn't been able to wipe the dopey smirk off his face.

"I still can't believe you're back," Shadow smiled.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much in my life," Maria hid a giggle, her piercing sapphire eyes alight with joy behind the curtain of dark blonde hair that fell over her pale face.

"I have a lot to be happy about at the moment," Shadow replied with a shrug. "I guess my life is finally turning around."

"I'm really happy for you, Shadow. Truly, I am."

"I even got my memory back. The commander told me everything. He told me how you and your mother were hired to look after me."

"That's wonderful news. It was always a burden having to hide the truth from you. When you thought your father and mother had abandoned you in the orphanage broke my heart. So many nights when you were crying in my room I wanted to tell you that you were loved but I had a duty to protect you. I'm so sorry."

"Maria, don't be. I understand, I'm just glad you're back with me now," Shadow shuffled closer to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Just her touch was electric, transporting him back to his early teenage years where he wanted to do nothing more than just be close to her. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"What is it?"

"I know it's weird because we are adopted siblings but, I always had a crush on you. No, more than that. I was in love with you," Shadow admitted.

"I know."

"I… wait, you knew?" Shadow was dumbfounded.

"Well of course I did," Maria laughed again as she relinquished her grip around him. "You didn't do a very good job at hiding it."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Because, I thought it was cute. Besides… I got scared."

"Scared? Of me?"

"Not of you. Of me," Maria replied. "I found myself falling for you, too. I know we aren't related by blood, but you were still my little brother and you were still my mother's mission. I couldn't jeopardize everything just because of my feelings. You know about our line of work. The mission comes before our own feelings." Shadow cast his gaze downwards. If only she knew how wrong that really was.

"Is… is that why you left me without warning?" Shadow asked, his fragile heart displayed proudly just waiting to be broken.

"What? No. No, no, Shadow not at all," Maria soothed as she rubbed small circles across his back. "I promise that wasn't it at all."

"Then why did you leave?"

"I… I can't say. Not yet," Maria frowned for the first time since she had arrived at the school. "I don't want to get you involved until I'm absolutely certain."

"Involved in what? Maria, what aren't you telling me?"

"Shadow, do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Do you trust me?" Maria repeated.

"Of course I do," Shadow responded without a second thought.

"Do you still love me."

"Yes."

"Then I need you to promise me you'll do as I say and not tell anybody that I was here."

"What? Why? Did the commander put you up to this? Is this his way to get me to come back?"

"The commander? Shadow, this has nothing to do with G.U.N," Maria assured. "I just need you to promise me if anybody comes up to you and asks if I was here, you need to say no."

"Maria, are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Promise me."

"Okay, I promise."

"Good. Sorry, I didn't want to get you involved but I'm not sure I have a choice anymore. I've gotta go, but I'll be back soon. I need to sort some things out."

"Maria, what's going on?"

"I've got to go. Goodbye Shadow." Maria jumped off the bed and rushed to the door.

"No, Maria, wait. I only just got you back," Shadow called out desperately as he reached out to grab her wrist. "Don't leave me again."

"I'll be back soon. I promise," Maria offered him a smile.

"But-" Shadow tried to protest but Maria silenced him by stepping up to him, cupping his face in her hands and pressing her lips against his. It was brief, no more than a second, but it was enough.

"I promise. Goodbye," Maria whispered before she slipped out and shut the door behind her. Shadow could do nothing but stand helplessly in the middle of his room.

…

The cafeteria was abuzz that night, but for all the wrong reasons. The truckload of fresh groceries had been delayed and the chefs had to improvise for the dinner that night after exhausting the pantry for the funeral processions. The aroma of the off-date mediocre food was disgusting, but even the stench overpowered it. The food had a greyish quality and was washed out and overcooked to stave off any possible diseases. The few vegetables were mushy from extended time in boiling water and even though their stomachs rumbled, the students refused to eat. This was especially true for Julie-Su and Sally.

"Alright, this is officially disgusting," Julie crinkled her nose as she pushed her tray away from her. "How can they expect us to eat this?"

"You've got to eat, Julie. It's good for you," Sally taunted, mimicking the tone Julie constantly adopted when she tried to coerce Sally into eating more.

"Alright, maybe you had a point," Julie laughed. "Skipping a meal once in a while can't be that bad."

"Where are you going?" Sally asked as Julie stood up and gathered her things.

"There's no point staying here if we aren't getting food, and since none of my team will be fed I'm thinking of just cancelling basketball practice tonight. So instead I figured maybe a walk would be nice."

"Yeah, that does sound nice. Mind if I join?"

"Be my guest," Julie smiled as the two girls exited the cafeteria and strolled side by side down the winding paths that stretched across fields and darted between buildings. They took a sharp left and followed the path that encircled one of the football ovals, veering off it when it forked at the forest's edge.

"Wanna walk to the lake?" Sally asked.

"That sounds delightful," Julie nodded as she entered the bush. They strolled silently for a while enjoying the serenity when Julie finally spoke again. "Hey Sal."

"Yeah?"

"Just a random thought… Have you eaten any of those health energizer bars recently?"

"Oh. No, not really. Since you've been helping me slowly learn to enjoy food again I figured there was no point to continue eating them," Sally shrugged. "Why you ask?"

"Well… it's just…" Julie paused in the middle of the path. "Knuckles and I did a little digging at the funeral and we found something in your room."

"You snuck into my room?" Sally gasped, her gaze turning to one full of judgement. "Julie, that's not cool at all."

"I know, I know."

"What were you doing in there?"

"I was trying to find your stash of those bars and confiscate them so you wouldn't keep eating them. They were destroying your body," Julie admitted, eyes cast downwards.

"Why didn't you just talk to me about them?"

"I tried, but you were adamant. I just wanted to help you."

"At least you admitted it," Sally smiled, finding something positive out of her confession.

"That's not why I did, though. You see, I found something interesting. Those bars weren't helping you like you thought. They had been altered and switched out with something else that was incredibly fattening."

"What? How?"

"We found a secret stash of nearly identical bars in Fiona's things," Julie revealed.

"Fiona, of course," Sally snarled. "Just wait until I give her a piece of my mind…"

"Well, jokes on her because you don't even eat them anymore," Julie tried to lighten the mood.

"That's true. But don't think I've forgotten how you and Knuckles snuck into my room without my permission."

"I know, I screwed up. I was just worried about you. It was breaking my heart watching you slowly destroy yourself and I could do nothing to help. Then, slowly, you began to recover and I was scared that those bars might be halting your recovery. I was just trying to help."

"I'm sorry I did that to you," Sally frowned. "I was in a bad place. I didn't think how my behaviour would affect me of the friends around me."

"And those who love you, too," Julie corrected.

"Yes, and those who… wait, what? Those who love me?" Sally didn't get a verbal answer. Instead, the meaning of Julie's words was shown through actions as she closed the gap between her and Sally and crashed her lips softly against Sally's. Sally's mind was a flutter but her brain didn't let her think. She just let her body take over as she relinquished herself to the kiss, swiping her tongue along Julie's bottom lip until Julie opened her mouth as a reward. None of Sally's troubles mattered in that moment. The moment she had been dreaming of for weeks. The moment where she could actually kiss Julie.

…

"I have to say, you boys really outdid yourselves," Clove commented as she watched Ray through joy-filled eyes.

"Couldn't agree more," Tikal agreed as she watched Eclipse row. The two boys each had an oar in their hand and methodically swept them across the surface of the water as the four-person wooden boat Ray and Eclipse had rented from the school plowed through the still lake.

Ray and Eclipse had been planning the night for the past week. They had both given the girls cryptic instructions to meet them at emerald lake, but the surprise on both their faces were worth it when the two boys pulled the wooden boat out from its concealed place hidden in the reeds. As the moon shone brightly in the clear night sky, Ray and Eclipse paddled Clove and Tikal around the lake.

"Watch out, we're hitting rapids!" Eclipse called out jokingly as both him and Ray started to rock the boat.

"You're both idiots," Clove laughed as she dipped her hand into the cooling water. She cupped some water and hurled it at Ray.

"Hey, what was that for?" Ray spluttered as he wiped his face.

"You just looked so hot, I thought you might've needed some water to cool down," Clove winked, stifling a laugh. Ray smirked as he mirrored her actions by slamming the oar onto the surface and splashing Clove.

"Oh, it's so on," Clove narrowed her eyes playfully as scooched closer to Ray. Ray thought she was going to push her in. Alarmed, he signaled to Eclipse and together the two started to row as she stood, ready to pounce. The sudden momentum took Clove by surprise as she lost her balance, tripped over her heels and was sent plunging into the water.

"Clove?" Ray called out in panic as he leant over the edge. There was no sign of her. She didn't resurface. "Clove? Clove, are you okay?" Ray shrieked again. Suddenly, a few sparse bubbles erupted from the surface and a pale hand emerged from the depths. Ray leant over the boat to help haul her out when all of a sudden, the fingers clasped around Ray's hand and pulled him into the water.

"You should have seen your face," Clove chortled as her head bobbed above the water.

"I guess I deserved that," Ray grinned as he swam beside her.

"How's the water?" Eclipse asked. Clove and Ray exchanged a mischievous glance as the swam up and gripped the boat.

"Why don't you find out," Clove said as she dipped the boat sideways and Ray lurched out to pull Eclipse into the water. Eclipse screamed as he was submerged into the surprisingly warm water.

"You kinda asked for that one," Tikal cackled.

"Oh yeah?" Eclipse smirked as he swam up to her.

"No, no, no, no," Tikal repeated as she tried desperately to grab an oar and row away but she wasn't fast enough and before she could even blink she found herself in the water. Eclipse, Ray and Clove all burst out laughing as Tikal spluttered out water.

"Serves you right," Eclipse taunted.

"Why the hell would you do that?" Tikal exploded, wiping the smiles off her companions faces. "I just did my hair this afternoon and now you've ruined it."

"But I thought… and Clove and Ray… and we were just messing around," Eclipse hopped between thoughts trying to explain himself. Tikal was livid.

"Do you think we should leave them alone?" Ray whispered.

"Yeah, let's give them some space to work this out," Clove agreed as the two quietly swam away to the waters edge and trudged out onto the grass. Exhausted, they both sat watching Tikal and Eclipse argue as Tikal struggled to climb back into the boat.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, Tikal has just been a bit stressed lately," Clove replied.

"They seem to be fighting a lot more these days," Ray frowned. "I'm worried about them."

"You shouldn't. They'll be fine. They always are." Silence descended upon them like a thick mist as they sat on the banks waiting for Tikal and Eclipse to finish arguing and row back over to them with some towels that Ray and Eclipsed stashed in the boat just incase somebody fell into the lake.

"Hey, are you okay?" Clove asked.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you seemed a bit distant today. Is everything alright?"

"What? Yes, everything's fine."

"Ray, it's just me," Clove cupped his hand in hers. "You know you can tell me everything."

"Yeah, I know," Ray smiled joylessly. "I got a call from my mother today. Grandma is back in the hospital again. She says the doctors don't think she has much long left."

"Oh no. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. Grammy is ninety-one so she had a good run. Mum wants me to come back for a bit to be there with her before she passes on."

"But exams are just around the corner."

"I know, but all of our assignments have been finished and classes are pretty much just preparing us for the exams. Razor said I can take some time off school as long as I do all the work that my teachers email me," Ray explained.

"Okay. Well I hope your grandmother is okay. How long will you be gone?"

"Probably about a week," Ray shrugged.

"I'll miss you," Clove frowned.

"I'll miss you too, but I don't leave until Friday so we can spend the next few days together."

"I'd like that," Clove smiled as she leant over and pressed her lips against his, subconsciously keeping her belly as far away from Ray as she could. Ray broke the kiss when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.

"Who's calling me at this time?" Ray asked, but his curiosity instantly turned sour when he saw the caller ID. It was Mighty. "I'll be one minute. I've got to take this."

…

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Espio asked as he strode into Zonic's office. He wasn't sure why the chemistry teacher called him; he was pretty sure he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Espio," Zonic grunted with surprising malice.

"Sir?" Espio's eyes widened. "Did I do something wrong?"

"How could you do it?"

"I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"If it wasn't for you she'd still be here," Zonic continued his cryptic accusations.

"I don't understand. Who would still be here?"

"Gold!" Zonic growled. "You think you could just treat her like that and get away with it? You think there wouldn't be any repercussions?" Zonic was angry. He was livid. The hopelessness of his situation was agonizing but he was too cowardly to alleviate himself of the pain she'd left in his heart. The more he tried, the more he ran. He didn't want to admit it, but Zonic was mad at himself. He needed a place to let out his anger, and Espio fit the bill perfectly.

"I'm sorry. She told me about how you had feelings for her and she felt guilty for stringing you along," Espio admitted sorrowfully. "You have to understand, she had to do it. We couldn't let anybody learn the truth."

"I don't care about that," Zonic spat.

"You don't?"

"No. Sure, it hurt that she loved you and not me, but as long as she was happy, I was happy."

"Then why are you mad?"

"Because you threw her under the bus!" Zonic bellowed, his eyes were alight with fury and his words seethed with anger.

"What are you talking about?" Espio was utterly confused.

"Fiona was always a smart student," Zonic replied. "Far smarter than she has any right to be. I don't know how she did it, but she knew I ditched Tails' funeral to go find Gold."

"Fiona? No, sir, don't believe a word she-"

"Don't interrupt me," Zonic barked. Espio bit his tongue despite his reservations. "She told me about what happened. She told me about the picture . This picture," Zonic revealed the picture of him and Gold in an intimate embrace, lip-locked.

"She gave you this? Where did she get it from?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you used it to get Gold fired. You told Razor. How could you do that to somebody like Gold?"

"Zonic, you have to believe me. I didn't get Gold fired. I would never do that to her. I loved her," Espio defended himself.

"Don't bullshit me."

"Why do you care anyway? Why have you been so angry and mean to all the students since she left. It's not like she meant anything to you anyway," Espio fired back, taking an offensive. The frown that inched its way onto Zonic's sour face said it all. Instantly, Espio knew the truth. "You were in love with her too…"

"Yes," Zonic nodded. "I was."

"That's where you went on the weekend. You went to find her, didn't you?"

"Yes," Zonic repeated.

"Did you find her?"

"No," Zonic replied after a moment's pause. "I didn't. But that doesn't matter, because none of this would have happened if you didn't tell Razor!"

"For the last time I didn't tell Razor shit. I loved Gold. Who are you going to believe, me, or the girl who's known throughout the whole school to be a manipulative bitch." Zonic opened his mouth to argue but hesitated. Whether he liked Espio or not, he had to admit he had a point. Zonic sat back down at his desk dejectedly.

"Zonic, how much do you love her?"

"With all my heart," Zonic replied instantly.

"Why don't you do something about it?"

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because, I love Gold and I want her to be happy. Whether we like it or not, she can't find happiness with me," Espio frowned. "It's just impossible… but with you… If you really love her you need to do something about it. Show her you care."

"But what do I do?"

"That's for you to decide. But do something soon, before it's too late."

…

 _Blood covered the floor. It stained the black and white kitchen tiles and soaked the ripped, tattered clothing of the figure hunched into a ball on the floor. I drew closer tentatively. My skin sweated, my hands were clammy and I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat as fear took over. I was alone, except for the broken figure covered in blood._

 _There was a loud bang but I ignored it. I was fixated on the figure – the figure that haunts my nightmares. Finally when I bent down and rolled it over I noticed the deep wound carved into its chest. There was an empty hole on its left side and beside it, writhing and still beating in the pool of blood, was a human heart. A sharp glass shard protruded out of it, its point stuck deep into the fleshy organ._

 _I turned back to the body and shuddered. There was a cloth, crimson red, covering its face. When I removed it I saw the face of somebody I loved – the face of Rouge the Bat._

Scourge jolted awake and sat upright and ridged in his bed like a lightning bolt had just electrocuted him. He was sweating and his breath was shallow and uneven.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Rouge purred calmingly as she rose beside him and began to rub his back.

"N-Nothing," Scourge staggered. "Just a bad dream."

"A bad dream? What of?"

"Just a memory and something I fear."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. It's fine," Scourge decided as he laid back down. Rouge lay back beside him and draped an arm over his chest, nuzzling her head against him.

"Okay. I'm always here if you need. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, I know. Hey, Rouge?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I love you."

"I love you, too."

...

Mighty lounged underneath the bleachers cradling a half empty bottle of rum. He lay his head back on a wooden beam and tipped the bottle into his mouth, taking another sizeable swig.

"Fuck them all," Mighty groaned to himself as he wiped his mouth. "They think I'm a shit person just because they believe anything those dickheads tell them? Pathetic." Mighty hiccupped as he took another swig.

He'd been lying outside for what felt like hours, watching with a drink in hand as the moon rose in the sky. The night began to get chilly quickly and Mighty had forgotten a jumper in his room. With a grunt, Mighty rose unsteadily to his feet to retire to his room when his phone fell from his pocket.

Annoyed, he bent down to pick up his phone when his red eyes glazed over his lock screen. It was a picture of him standing in front of the dormitories with his arm slung lazily over Ray's shoulder. They both held gigantic smiles across their faces. It was taken the first day of the semester.

"Ray…" Mighty whispered as he stared unblinkingly at his phone. A single tear welled in his eye and splashed onto the phone's screen. Mighty was angry that all his closest friends had all slowly been ditching him over the past few weeks, but there was one who broke his heart each time he saw him out of the corner of his eye. Ray – his best friend. He missed him dearly. In a drunken haze Mighty found himself dialing Ray's number and before he could stop himself, he heard the familiar voice.

"Mighty? Why are you calling?" Ray asked somewhat panicked.

"I just wanted to hear your voice," Mighty slurred.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" Ray sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he exhaled into the microphone. "Mighty… I don't have time for this."

"Oh, you don't have time?" Mighty growled through almost undecipherable syllables. "What about all the times I didn't have time but still made some for you. All those nights I had better things to do but instead sacrificed my plans because you were sad and alone?"

"Mighty, can we not do this now. I'm sick of fighting with you."

"I just miss you," Mighty's tone suddenly changed, and Ray could have sworn he heard Mighty sniff back tears.

"M-Mighty?"

"What you did… it really hurt me. I want to forgive you and run back to your open arms. I really do, but I just can't get myself to face it. I can't accept the fact that after everything you just went with Clove like it was nothing," Mighty droned on, his better judgement clouded as he let the thoughts flow out of him like water from a dam. "I miss you so much and my biggest regret is letting you go. But I just can't forgive you, not when you're with her. I don't know what to do. I'm so conflicted."

"Mighty… I miss you too."

"This was a mistake. I shouldn't have called. Bye," Mighty quickly hung up before Ray could reply and shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Mighty? Is that you?" A voice called through the dark. Wobbling on his feet, Mighty could just make out Blaze's hazy figure as she stepped over to him, ducking underneath the outdoor bleachers. "I thought I heard you out here. What are you doing?"

"Blaze? What are you doing out here?" Mighty slurred. Blaze plugged her nose, the overwhelming stench of spirits clogging her sinuses. Her eyes flitted from Mighty to the bottle he gripped and sighed.

"You've been drinking again, haven't you?"

"Who? Me? No."

"I can see the bottle, Mighty," Blaze rolled her eyes.

"Please don't tell anybody," Mighty begged. "Everybody already hates me enough as it is."

"Come on. Let's get you back to your room. I think you just need a good night's sleep." Despite the smell, Blaze hoisted Mighty up and draped his arm around her shoulders as she helped steady him. Slowly, Blaze led him back to the dormitory, careful not to get caught, before cautiously shoving him into the elevator.

"Alright, gimme your key," Blaze demanded. She unlocked the door and as it creaked open, Sonic rushed to greet the intruders.

"Mighty? There you are, I was wondering about you," Sonic greeted. "Meph is out somewhere with Shadow and I was getting lonely. Wait… Blaze?"

"Hey Blaze, Sonic's with me," Mighty replied dopily.

"Is he drunk? Again?"

"Afraid so," Blaze nodded as she helped Mighty over to his bed. "Does this happen often?"

"Afraid so," Sonic mirrored her words. "What were you doing with him?"

"I just found him drinking alone under the bleachers and-" Blaze was cut off by the sound of knocking at the door. She turned to see Ray hesitantly poking his head through. "Help him get into bed. I'll deal with this."

"But Blaze, what-" Sonic began but never finished as Blaze closed the door on him, slipping out into the hall with Ray.

"Ray, what are you doing here? Now is not a good time," Blaze began standoffishly.

"I came because Mighty drunk-dialed me. He seemed pretty upset. I wanted to make sure he's okay," Ray said.

"He's fine. Now that you know, you can leave."

"Can I see him?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I'll tell him you came by."

"But Blaze… I just want to make sure-"

"I said no," Blaze snapped uncharacteristically.

"He told you the truth, didn't he?" Ray said after a moment of contemplated silence.

"I know enough. All the things you placed on his shoulders wasn't cool. He's really been struggling because of you."

"I can't believe he broke his promise. He said he wouldn't tell anybody."

"You're one to talk. I don't think you have any moral ground to stand on. Besides, he only told me after weeks of me nagging."

"Please, Blaze, I just want to talk to him. I want to try to fix this. I understand you're just trying to be his friend but I know him better than anybody," Ray reasoned.

"I think you lost the privilege to take care of him drunk when you stole his girlfriend."

"I didn't steal Clove from him!"

"Close enough," Blaze huffed. "Look, right now you just need to walk away and give Mighty space. You need to forget about him and move on, like he will soon do."

"But I don't want to."

"You wouldn't have to if you'd just been a good best friend in the first place," Blaze judged.

"Why are you acting so mean?" Ray asked.

"He needs space. At the end of the year, after things have calmed down a bit and the stress of exams has passed, maybe you two can talk. Until then, just leave him alone."

"O-Okay," Ray finally responded. "That makes sense."

"Goodnight, Ray."

"Goodnight, Blaze," Ray concluded when he knew she wouldn't budge an inch. Without any further attempt, Ray turned and marched back down to his dorm room, defeated and depressed.

…

Espio wandered back to his dorm room after another practice session with Knuckles and Manic. It started out a little rocky but they were beginning to sound pretty good together. Espio had already sent out the remaining songs that his label were asking for his solo album and his first proper country-wide tour wasn't set to begin until March the following year. For once, he felt content. There was nothing he needed to do, no secrets he had to protect and no web of lies and drama that strangled him. He could finally focus on something that mattered.

Espio rummaged through his bag stowed underneath his bed and retrieved the letter that Ken had delivered him shortly after Tails had passed away. It was one of the last things Tails had ever written. Now that the funeral had ended and he had completed his duet with Mina, he could put all his focus into Tails' last request. Espio re-read the letter again.

 _Dear Espio,_

 _I've been speaking with the doctors. It doesn't look like I'm going to make it, but you know what? I'm okay with that. You're probably asking why of all people I'd reach out to you and I'm sorry for putting this burden on you but I need help. I know most people will be sad when I go, but eventually they will all move on. But not Sonic. I know him too well. He'll blame himself, he'll cut himself off from everybody and he might even relapse. I can't let him destroy his life because of me. Below is a poem I wrote for him. I want you to make it into a song and sing it for him. Say it's from me, so he knows that it's okay for him to move forward._

 _This really means a lot. Thank you, Espio._

 _-Tails_

Encased in the same envelope was another separate piece of paper with Tails' poem on it. Espio read through it and got out his note book. He wracked his brain and began to doodle some possible melodies. He knew it needed to be perfect. Not just for Sonic, but for Tails. As his last wish to all the people that would grieve for him, Espio knew it needed to be perfect.

…

Amadeus sat in his study, a log fire kindling in the fireplace as he sipped on a rather generous portion of red wine. The bespectacled professor shuffled papers around on his desk, his beady eyes straining to read the small print on the documents. The chiming doorbell removed him from his work as he skulked down the hallway and over to the door.

"Why hello, Amadeus. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Claire. Please, do come in," Amadeus invited the suited woman into his house. Her amber ponytail bobbed behind her as she followed Amadeus into his study where he offered her a seat. "What pleasure do I have to welcome your visit this evening?"

"This," Claire said as she reached into her handbag and pulled out a yellow folder stuffed with paper. She tossed it onto his desk and slid it over so he could read it. "I've decided to take your case."

"Excellent," Amadeus smiled as he opened the folder and scanned some of the documents. "Is this all true?"

"I tried to dig some dirt up about the school and what it's students have been up to but Fionnula remained pretty tight-lipped about it. I'll continue to do some digging until the case is concrete," Claire smiled, admiring her work.

"Perfect. You are the best in your field, Mrs. Fox. I have absolute faith in you. Money is no matter of concern, just get the job done," Amadeus said.

"It will be done. You have my word; the evidence will be gathered and the trial commenced. By the end of the year, the school will be successfully sued for negligence and shut down completely."

* * *

 _A/N: I'm back :) I'm surprised I only took a month and a bit off because I was planning to take a break for a good two months but one day inspiration just hit and I wrote like 4000 words in a day and knew I was ready to continue writing. Again, sorry for the long 13,000 word chapter but most of my reviews say they prefer the longer chapters with lots of characters' stories so I think you are going to like the rest of this final part :) Also I've put a time frame on this final part. Yay! I know there's probably been way more days than there should be already but I've finally given the date we are currently at and also I've forced myself to stick to a timeline for these final 17 chapters. That timeline - Three weeks before exams._

 _Alright, so with the end the trial part of the title becomes clear. Amadeus has hired Claire Fox to take action against the school and their negligent reaction to Tails' death. I mean, letting their students go to a party with alcohol is pretty negligent, isn't it :P_

 _Our two new characters, Nack and Lien-Da, clearly have some complicated past with other characters. Naturally, it wouldn't be an Emerald Lake character without a troubled backstory with previous characters now would it? We already know Nack's past connection with Cosmo but what about his and Lien-Da's with Breezie, Jet and Wave? Either way, the proud Rouge has already made her presence known to them._

 _UnderGround Sound are back! Sonic and Amy make up, again, and Espio finally gives Zonic the kick he needed after Fiona tried to stir up more trouble again. Spikes father is none other than the head of the mafia! That's why Spike didn't want anybody to see his dad, why he has a driver and why he's been so secretive of his past. I also decided to use Trevor because the other porcupines in the comics didn't fit the role and Trevor already has a close connection with Spike anyway. Hope it isn't too distracting. And his mother is dead to? Does EL just have a curse with dead mothers?_

 _Mighty has lost all his old friends but slowly and surely he's making new ones. First Blaze, then Shadow and now Cream. Tikal and Mighty have pretty much swapped friend groups at this point, haven't they? Sonic knows the truth about Spike, Manic won't give Amy a chance the same way Wave won't give Sally one and Shadow's past with Maria is sort of revealed, but she still can't quite reveal why she left. Why does she have to be so secret? What could she be running from?_

 _Sally and Julie are finally official! This relationship has been a slow cooker but finally I'm ready to explore their dynamic further as a lesbian couple. But with one couple forming, it looks like things aren't looking so good for Tikal and Eclipse. Can they continue to survive or is the wound just going to continue to fester? And finally, Tails' final request is revealed. A poem he wrote that he wants Espio to turn into one final song. That's right, just when you thought I was done with songs I have one more tearjerker left up my sleeve. In fact, this story will have two final songs. One will be Tails' and the other... well, let's just say it may or may not involve Fiona in some way :P_

 _Thanks for your patience and I can't wait to hear what you thought of this chapter and what are your theories going forward. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, more than I've had in a while. And since I'm in such a great mood I think I'll reveal the two specials this part. In Part 1 we had Emerald Lake and Elias' Big Bash. In part 2 we had parents day and the break. In part 3 we had the wedding, Elias' bigger bash and the funeral. In this final part there will be 2 specials (But I won't say if they will be multiple chapters or not.) One is a halloween one set on the 31st, but it won't be a special in the way you think. The other will, of course, be the trial. Hope you look forward to it._

 _Qotd: Haven't done one of these in a while, but after the poll (Thanks to those who voted) I have the audience favourite. Surprisingly, by a landslide, it was Mighty. The top 5 characters were Mighty, Fiona, Sonia, Spike and surprisingly, Gold (Shadow came up 6th.) With that information, I'm curious, who is currently your least favourite character? Hopefully I can change some peoples minds in these final 16 chapters._

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Sonic's always been Spike's hero, but what if the roles were reversed?_

 _Breezie meets Trevor with unexpected results_

 _Mephiles and Sonia make plans involving the baby_

 _Lien-Da makes her presence known_

 _...and Lumina has no other option, and Fiona isn't happy_

 _All this and so, so, so much more next time in Chapter 50: Deadbeat Dads_


	50. Chapter 50: Deadbeat Dads

Chapter 50

Deadbeat Dads

It had been another dark night for Sonic. Sleep alluded him and any shut-eye that he managed to procure was littered with nightmares. After the third short horrified nap Sonic knew he would have to go another night without sleep.

Sonic slipped out of bed, threw on a warm jumper and checked the clock. It wasn't even six in the morning and the sun still hid behind the horizon. He cautiously checked on his roommates. They were both still seemingly sound asleep. He reached into the dusty corner underneath his bed and pulled out a hidden beige backpack before creeping out of his room.

It had just happened to be luck that night that Spike had stirred in his sleep and had awoken at the same time. He, too, slipped out of his bed and tiptoed to the window to peer out at the school grounds. That's where he saw Sonic trouncing across the oval.

"What is Sonic doing?" Spike thought.

Meanwhile, Sonic trekked down the forest path and took the sharp left turn at the tree, making his way to the clearing overlooking the lake that he would often frequent. He took a seat on the damp grass, still covered in dew from a frosty night, and unzipped his backpack.

Sonic pulled out a syringe filled with the heroin that Fiona had so graciously supplied after Sonic came to her at the funeral. He knew she was a vice but he couldn't help himself. He needed it. He tied a tube around his upper arm and tapped skin a couple times, squeezing and releasing his hand until his veins became noticeable. The found a thick vein and stuck the needle deep into it, injecting the drug right into his blood.

The euphoric effects were almost instantaneous and it helped numb the overwhelming sadness he had been consumed with. Sonic had thought he'd kicked his addiction but after relishing in the feeling the heroin gave him he knew he had never fully escaped its clutches. He'd relapsed. Finally, what he'd been waiting for appeared.

"I knew you'd be waiting for me," Sonic smiled as he looked out off the cliff at the floating., transparent phantom that hovered just off the edge. "I miss you so much, Tails." The phantom fox said nothing but floated closer to him until it was hovering just in front of him. Sonic reached out his hand, desperate to make contact with the hazed figure when a voice cut through his brain and the ghost disappeared as soon as it had appeared.

"Sonic, what are you doing?!" Spike shouted in concern as he pushed through the bushes and raced out to meet Sonic, his eyes fixated on the empty syringe lying haphazardly next to Sonic.

"Spike, why would you do that? You scared Tails away," Sonic chastised.

"Tails? What? Sonic, Tails is dead."

"No, he was right there. Didn't you see him," Sonic pointed into space. This was troubling. A deep frown crossed Spike's features as he looked at Sonic with pity. His once great hero, his idol, reduced to imagining his dead friend with blood full of heroin.

"Nobody was there, Sonic," Spike tried to soothe. "C'mon, let's go back and get you to bed."

"No, I can't leave now. What if Tails comes back and I miss him?" Sonic begged almost like a small child. It would have been cute if it wasn't so desperate. Spike felt his heart break. He knew he couldn't leave Sonic out here on his own, but he couldn't bring himself to forcibly drag Sonic away. He also knew he wasn't strong enough to do it if Sonic decided to fight against him. Who knew how that drug was affecting his brain.

"You were always there for me, even when you didn't know me," Spike sighed. "So, I guess it's my turn to be your hero." Spike grabbed the syringe and the tube, stuffed them back into Sonic's bag and took it from him. Next, he took a seat beside Sonic and slipped his hand in Sonic's. "I'm here for you. It's okay." Together, the sympathetic porcupine and delusional hedgehog sat in the night and watched the reflection of the lake as the sun slowly decided to begin to rise, sending pink streaks across the morning sky.

…

It was always a surprise to see a familiar face in Mephiles' secluded lounging area on the dilapidated, rotting wooden table tucked away behind the dormitory, shrouded in constant shade. Mephiles found the only time he ever found anybody there was when they were hiding from the school or moping around, coping with sadness. That's why it was a surprise to see Sonia there that early in the morning.

"Sonia? Are you okay?" Mephiles asked when he approached cautiously. Sonia looked up from her hands and wiped away the tears.

"Y-Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to steal your spot. I just… I needed to talk to you," Sonia sniffed, trying to gather her composure.

"Hey, hey, what happened?" Mephiles cooed as he knelt beside her and wrapped a protective hand instinctively around her.

"I'm sorry… I didn't want to come here. I wasn't going to tell you but I… I have to," another tear rolled down Sonia's cheek. "I really didn't want to have to have this talk with you."

"Sonia, it's just me, you can tell me anything."

"Mephiles… why do you have to be so nice?"

"Sorry? I'll try to be meaner next time…"

"No, your niceness and understanding is one of the things I admire most about you," Sonia offered a joyless smile. "That's why this is so hard. It would be so much easier to say this is you were a douchebag."

"Shut up and just tell me you dumb slut," Mephiles snarled. Sonia's face never contorted into one of shock and disgust as quickly as it did just then, but once understanding flushed her features she relaxed.

"I see what you're trying to do…"

"Did it work?"

"No," Sonia laughed humourlessly. "It's about my baby."

"Is it alright? Nothing happened to it, right?" Mephiles asked with concern.

"No, not that. It's just… are you and Shadow happy together?"

"I've never been more happy in my life," Mephiles replied with only truth and passion in his eyes. "He completes me." Sonia bit her lip and another tear rolled down her wet cheek. She couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't ruin his happiness.

"Sonia, I know what you're thinking. You're holding back because you don't want me to be upset. I promise you, I can take it. Please just tell me. I want to know."

"Okay… Spike… Spike lied to me."

"Lied?" Mephiles was confused.

"He's not the father. He made it up. The truth is… I think you might actually be the father like we first thought," Sonia admitted. Mephiles froze. The wind was sucked out of him as he tried to steady himself. It was like all the hope and happiness was ripped from him.

"Why would he lie?"

"I'm sorry. I just thought you should know. I'm not asking you to come marry me again. I couldn't take you away from Shadow like that."

"But… my baby," Mephiles sighed as he placed his hand over Sonia's swollen belly. His skin was cold to the touch and Sonia shuddered against it. Mephiles frowned, but then he felt it. A kick. He couldn't help the sad smile cross his face. "I can't abandon my baby."

"But we don't know it's really yours."

"Let's settle the debate once and for all then," Mephiles said with new found determination. "Before we talk about what if's and make plans for the future, let's find out exactly whose baby it is."

"How?"

"On the weekend we'll go to Central Hospital and take a DNA test and settle this debate once and for all. Then we can know for sure if I'm the father or not."

"And if you are?"

"Then I guess I'll have to leave Shadow. But until then, he can't know. Nobody can."

…

"I'm a little surprised," Spike said as he met his father in the parking lot early that morning. He yawned, still tired from his excursion that night to the lake with Sonic.

"I just want to show a little more interest in my son's life while I'm here," Trever replied as he stepped out of his car and locked the door with the click of a button.

"Since when," Spike replied distantly. Trevor frowned. He didn't like the way he and Spike had grown distantly since Demi died and now that his wife had been killed he wanted to try and bury the hatchet.

"Please, Spike, I'm trying to be a better father. I know I've made mistakes in the past and I let work run my life but you need to understand everything I do, I do it for you and Demi," Trevor said compassionately. Spike scoffed.

"Tell that to Demi's dead body." Trevor opened his mouth to chastise Spike but bit his tongue. The last thing he wanted was to antagonize his son further. "But if you insist, I'll take you to meet her. Just don't mention what you do for a living."

"My lips are sealed," Trevor replied as he followed Spike over to Emerald Café and the place where Spike's best friend was beginning her morning shift, almost crushing Lumina as she raced out of the bell tower and across his path. Trevor might have been a distant father but he wanted to fix that and meeting the girl he knew Spike had been in love with for years was a good first step.

"Alright, let me go talk to her first and then you can come in," Spike said in a strict tone when they came to an abrupt stop outside the café doors.

"But-"

"You will wait and let me talk to her first," Spike repeated.

"Okay," Trevor begrudgingly accepted. Despite the fact that he never liked being ordered around like that he had to admit the way Spike took charge made him proud. Whether Spike wanted to admit it or not, parts of him were definitely made from his father's DNA.

The small brass bell chimed cheerily as Spike pushed open the door. Breezie was still setting up the chairs and tables and her face practically lit up when she saw him walk in. She placed the chair down carefully and rushed over to fling her arms around him. She knew it was an overreaction but after the month Spike spent avoiding her she had to admit she really missed being around him. Bean just rolled his eyes at the display and retreated into the back room to count the supplies.

"Spike, why are you hear so early?" Breezie asked with a smile. "Not that I'm not happy or anything."

"I just came because, well, you know how none of my friends have ever met my father," Spike began cryptically.

"Yeah…"

"And you know how I'm very secretive about my home life."

"Yeah, I never really did understand why."

"Well, you'll understand why soon. But first, my father kinda dropped by the school out of the blue." Breezie's eyes widened with anticipation when she pieced together what he was talking about.

"I'm finally going to meet your father?" Breezie gasped excitedly. Spike nodded.

"But you have to promise not to freak out. He's a bit full on."

"Don't worry, I don't care what he's like. If he's related to you then I'm sure I'll like him at least a little bit," Breezie smiled. It was that same carefree, optimistic smile that used to make Spike's legs turn to jelly beneath him. It still had an effect on him.

"Alright, come in, dad," Spike called. Breezie's grin grew wider as the tall man entered the café but a completely opposite look befell him. His features darkened and his slit for a mouth turned downwards. He couldn't believe his eyes. Of all the people for his son to fall in love with it had to be her. It her to be _their_ daughter. That retched family.

"Sorry, something came up, I need to leave," Trevor grumbled before he fled.

"What was that about?" Breezie asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"I have no idea," Spike said.

"Well, since you're here, would you like a coffee?"

"You know I always do!"

…

Fiona was actually enjoying the slop that the lunch lady tried to pass off as breakfast before Sally stormed through the cafeteria and slammed her fist down on the table.

"And to what do I owe this displeasure?" Fiona rolled her eyes with disinterest as she pushed her food backwards and leant back on her hands. "Come back for more ridicule?"

"Why did you do it?" Sally narrowed her eyes.

"Do what? You're going to have to be way more specific," Fiona yawned. Sally grumbled something inaudible and reached into her pocket. She gripped some plastic and threw it on Fiona's tray. It was the wrapper to one of her energizer bars.

"This."

"Oh, yeah, right, hope you enjoyed eating them," Fiona chuckled lightly. Her apathy in the conversation and the way she ignored Sally's judgmental stare only fueled Sally's anger.

"How could you do this? You knew I was having body issues and you switched out my supply with fattening lard?"

"Well it seems you just answered the question of how I did this."

"Don't push me," Sally threatened.

"Or what?" Fiona challenged, sitting up straighter. "Is there a point to this or can I finish my breakfast?"

"I just want to know why? I know you hate me but I thought you'd decided to leave me alone. Why this? Why now?"

"Because I never did get back at you for starting that fire."

"But Amy lied, not me."

"True, but you still started it. Besides, for once I can't take all the credit?" Sally's confused expression only invited Fiona to continue gloating. "Yeah. I was just as surprised as you when who else but Blaze came up to me detailing her master plan. She knew you had body issues and waned to punish you."

"Blaze? She wouldn't. Why should I believe you?"

"Think about it. You started the fire that almost killed her. You put her in a coma. You made it so she was incapacitated while a new girl stole her boyfriend from her. If it wasn't for you, she would still be dating Silver and have her long, flowing hair instead of that ugly bob she's trying to pull off," Fiona replied.

"She… she wouldn't," Sally repeated but the more she thought about it, the more Fiona's words made sense.

"Why would I lie? If I did something to make you miserable I'd gloat about it later. No, this was all her master plan. Credit where credit is due," Fiona smiled. "Now, leave me alone. I'm hungry." Sally said nothing, but turned and left in a stunned daze as she tried to understand how somebody as seemingly sweet as Blaze could do something so heartless.

…

Mighty spent another morning wandering aimlessly around campus. He had his running shorts on and his black trainers. Recently he had been slogging around in his bed all morning and figured if he wanted to try and drag himself out of this depressed slump he had found himself in recently the first thing to do is change his behaviour. This was the second of many planned morning jogs.

However, that particular morning would prove different to all the others. That morning, he happened to decide to jog through the oft-trekked forest path that stretched from the far side of the largest football oval on campus through the dense forests towards the pristine Emerald Lake.

It was on this job underneath the virescent canopy that he heard the serene notes chiming from a small gap in the woods. Against his better judgment Mighty turned down the small gap between two tall trees and followed the sound. He wasn't surprised when he found Espio sitting in a small man-made clearing with a guitar slung around his shoulders.

"Espio?" Mighty asked as he pushed through the last bushes.

"Oh, Mighty, hey," Espio sung out as he closed the small notebook he was scribbling in and placed it in his bag. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Mighty countered as he puffed. "What is this place? It seems man-made."

"I know. How cool is it?" Espio marveled with child-like wonder. "I found it when exploring the forest one day and decided it had great acoustics. The trees just make this perfect barrier."

"That's pretty cool."

"What are you doing out this far this early in the morning?"

"Just going for a morning jog. Helps clear the head," Mighty replied. A few moments passed when neither boy said anything, looking anywhere but each other. "Well… I'll let you get back to it."

"Mighty, wait," Espio called out. "I… I know you've been a bit down lately."

"Oh… you've noticed?" Mighty sighed dejectedly.

"I think the whole school's noticed. It was hard to see you without Ray beside you, and visa-versa. People noticed, and rumours spread. I just want to make sure you're doing alright."

"I've been better, that's for sure," Mighty frowned.

"Well… look," Espio said after a brief pause. "I've been where you are. Everybody hates you. You feel like all your friends have turned against you. But when I was at my lowest two friends saved me and with the help of music I managed to pick myself back up and, honestly, I've never been happier."

"I'm glad to hear that," Mighty said.

"You're missing the point. Now it's my turn to save somebody else. Besides, you're always off saving others. I've seen it. For once, let somebody save you. Music helped me and I just know music can save you too. Can you play any instrument?"

"Um, not really. I can play the saxophone," Mighty admitted. "Not many people know that about me."

"Wow, that's really interesting. Well, we could use that every now and then but it's not really our sound. Can you do anything else?"

"I'm not a bad singer."

"Good enough for me. Mighty Armadillo, how would you like to join my new band Underground Sound?"

"Um, sure, why not. Thanks, Espio, this means a lot," Mighty smiled.

"Anytime. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me."

…

"I'm sorry but I just can't allow it," Razor said sternly. "We've had this conversation before but there is nothing I can do. The school board have my hands tied."

"But sir. There's nowhere else he can stay. Please," Lumina begged.

"I'm so, so sorry, Lumina. Now, I must finish some work." Lumina huffed in frustration as she turned without a word and stormed out of the principal's office. She didn't let herself breakdown until she was sure Razor couldn't see or hear her anymore.

Lumina was a nervous wreck. Her meeting with Razor hadn't gone exactly the way she had hoped. A cool gust of wind swept across her skin as she stepped out of the main bell tower and raced across the parking lot to meet the car that was waiting for her, pushing past Spike with a burly man.

"About time," a surly woman complained as she stepped out of the car. "You said you'd be here at eight."

"I know, but my meeting with my principal took longer than I thought," Lumina apologized.

"You're lucky, I was just about to leave," the woman complained as she stepped out of her car and walked around to the back seat. "Two weeks," the woman grumbled.

"I'm sorry?"

"Two weeks," she repeated. "You still owe me those two weeks I looked after him. If you had called earlier and said you could no longer afford my services I would have brought him up here as soon as I could but you continued to lie."

"I know. I thought I could get the money but I couldn't," Lumina's gaze drifted to her feet.

"Whatever. Just… just pay me back when you can," the woman sighed as she opened the door. "I need to be back in Central City by midday so I kinda need to get back on the road ASAP."

"Right. Sorry," Lumina nodded as she leant into the car window, but her features instantly softened when she laid her eyes on him. He was the most beautiful baby she had ever seen, at least according to her. His little eyes were shut tightly and he snored soundly, shifting slightly in his booster seat. Careful not to wake him, Lumina slowly unbuckled him and picked him out of the car until she was cradling him in her arms.

"He's already had he's breakfast. I've got his stuff in a duffle bag in the boot. Let me get it," the woman said, her voice calmer this time.

"I've missed you," Lumina whispered as she rocked him slightly from side to side, the look of complete affection and adoration on her face. "I just hope Sonia, Sally and Fiona don't mind you staying with us for the next month." Lumina knew Sonia and Sally wouldn't mind, but she wasn't looking forward to the confrontation she was bound to have with Fiona.

…

The café was quiet that morning. A few drowsy students filed in like zombies to order their morning coffee's and left with little vigor, ready to start another grueling school day. Mighty was one such student. However, he wasn't lethargic because of how early it was, but rather because life in general had still been getting him down. Yet, when he lined up at the back of the line and noticed who was standing in front of him his face visibly lit up.

"Cream," Mighty said as he tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey Mighty," she beamed a smile at him as she turned around.

"What are you doing here?" Mighty asked stupidly but the look she gave him made him realize instantly what a dumb question that had been.

"Getting some coffee…"

"Right, I knew that," Mighty flashed an awkward, goofy grin. The two stood in silence as the line moved forward until finally Cream ordered and Breezie asked for the money.

"Here, let me," Mighty cut in as he opened his wallet and handed Breezie a tenner. "And add a latte too."

"Mighty, really, you don't have to pay for my coffee," Cream said.

"It's my pleasure," Mighty raised his hand as Breezie handed him back his change. "Just think of it as me saying thank you for waking me up yesterday."

"It wasn't that big of a deal. I just didn't want you to be late for class."

"And yet the rest of the class all just left me there. Even the teacher… you were the only one that bothered to wake me up." Cream opened her mouth but paused. She hadn't considered that. As she thought about it, she realized more how the dozens of people that used to hang around Mighty had been absent recently. He'd been alone a lot more. A small frown creased over her face.

"Well, thanks for the coffee, but you have to sit and drink it with me," Cream decided.

"Alright, deal," Mighty laughed. The two took their drinks from Bean the barrister and made their way to a vacant table beside the window. "So…"

"So, tell me more about yourself Mighty," Cream began as she blew the top of her hot drink before she took a tentative sip. "I feel like we've had hundreds of classes together but have never really talked."

"Yeah, it's funny, really, that you can spend so much time near somebody but never actually talk to them," Mighty agreed. "But what do you want to know about me specifically?"

"Well, how about we play a little game."

"A game?"

"Yeah. My old best friend Courtney and I used to play it when we were younger at sleepovers. Except it was usually all about boys, but still," Cream giggled.

"Alright, sure, how do you play?" Mighty asked intrigued.

"It's simple. It's called three questions. Each player gets to ask three questions and no matter how embarrassing or secret the answer might be you have to answer truthfully. She would always ask me to play when she knew I was hiding something from her and she'd always ask the right question to get what she wanted," Cream reminisced fondly.

"Why would you play it, then?"

"Because it was a way to bond. And I got some information from her, too. I'm not as dumb as I look."

"I never said you were. But why would you want to play with me? Is there a deep secret you want to find out? Like, it seems like a big game. You have to tell the truth no matter what the question…"

"If you're too scared to play-"

"Who, me? Scared? Never. I'm just worried you might uncover something you don't want to know."

"I very much doubt that."

"Okay. Then, let's play. You go first."

"I'll start with something simple," Cream began in thought. "What is your favourite colour?"

"Oh… alright. Well, it's green. Like a forest green – A verdant colour."

"Cool. Now it's you're turn."

"Okay. What's your favourite subject?"

"Chemistry," Cream smiled. "Now that we both know the rules, let's delve a bit deeper. When you fell asleep in class was it because something was keeping you up the night before?"

"…Yes. I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately."

"Why?"

"It's not your third question yet," Mighty tutted with a smile. "My turn first. What was your first impression of me?"

"You mean at the start of the semester when I first met you?" Mighty nodded. "Well, I never really thought about it because we had pretty separate friendship circles. I guess I thought you seemed really bubbly and happy, optimistic and a really nice guy. Pluss I didn't think you were a bad looker," Cream laughed. "Now it's my turn. Why have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"Are you sure you want to know? We barely know each other and learning about my issues might scare you away."

"I won't be scared away," Cream assured.

"Okay. Well, it's because me and Ray kinda had a falling out and we aren't on speaking terms right now."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that. How come?"

"Sorry, but that was your third question," Mighty laughed. "We'll have to get coffee again so you can ask me another three."

"Are you saying you want this to become a regular thing before Zonic's chemistry class in the mornings?"

"I'm pretty sure it's my turn for a question, not yours. Cream, would you like to get coffee with me again before school tomorrow morning?"

"I'd like that," Cream smiled.

…

Cosmo raced out of her class and dashed down the hallway clutching her textbooks close to her chest. She quickly glanced behind her shoulder but he was nowhere to be seen. She could have sworn she had seen him. It must have been her imagination playing tricks on her. She had been rather nervous since he took the stage yesterday.

 _Wham!_ Cosmo was still looking back when she collided into somebody blocking her path. She cried out in panic as she fell backwards and landed on her back.

"I'm so sorry," Cosmo apologized as she scrambled around on the floor to gather the papers that had gone flying.

"Here, let me," a voice offered that made Cosmo's blood run cold. She froze, her head slowly tilting upwards until she locked eyes with him. He still wore that same cocky, taunting smirk he had that night.

"N-Nack. Wh-what are you doing here?" Cosmo hated that her stutter had returned but ever since that night at the casino over the mid-semester break she had been petrified of him.

"I was just heading to class when you ran into me," Nack replied calmly, flicking his cold, calculating eyes. "C'mon, get up off your feet." Cosmo rose like a robot. Nack still had that strange control over her that he always had.

"Th-that's not what I mean," Cosmo swallowed. "I meant, why are you here? Like, at school?"

"I'm here because you still owe me two hundred dollars, remember?" Nack laughed as Cosmo's shocked expression. "Cosmo, I'm kidding. I already said we'd call it even that night at the casino, remember? Don't tell me you've already forgotten that night," Nack said as he took her hand in hers and placed his lips gently on her knuckles.

"No, I haven't," Cosmo said jadedly as she snatched her hand away and scooped up her books off the ground. "Now, if you'll excuse me I need to be getting to class."

"I see you've got yourself a little boyfriend. I'm dying to meet him, I have so much I want to tell him." Nack's mischievous grin grew wider, his pristine white teeth showing when Cosmo slowly turned to face him again.

"You leave Jet alone. This is between you and me."

"Alright, you don't have to get your panties in a twist, although I'd love to see them," Nack winked. Cosmo thought she was going to lose her breakfast.

"What do you want, Nack?"

"I just wanted to say hi to an old friend."

"We were never friends. You always just used me."

"Cosmo, don't say that. We were good friends. We are good friends."

"But you always had an ulterior motive. Always," Cosmo judged.

"Maybe, but this time I wasn't looking for you. You bumped into me, remember?"

"Whatever," Cosmo looked down to avoid Nack's piercing gaze and began to run away. She kept her head low and tried to block out his voice as he called after her.

"I'll see you soon, Cosmo. Real soon."

…

Lien-Da wasn't sure how but her reputation had proceeded her. Everywhere she walked around school, students would cower from her. They'd avoid her path, avert their gaze when she glanced at them and always kept their heads low. For most people, it would probably make them feel judged, miserable; make them feel like an outcast. This wasn't so for Lien-Da. Lien liked it. It was the way things should be.

However, there was only one person Lien was on the lookout for. She had been expelled from several schools and knew that this one was her last chance. She couldn't afford to be expelled from Mobius High or else she could kiss her high school diploma goodbye. But one thing she didn't count on was seeing that face in the crowd. The same face from ages ago. The same face that she could now see eating lunch beside an equally familiar face.

Jet and Wave sat opposite each other munching down on sandwiches, deep in conversation. It was a rare time where the two old friends got to spend time together after all the ups and downs throughout the semester. It was like fate was trying to keep them apart but they finally managed to find equal ground.

"It still feels weird being alone together again. I missed this," Jet smiled as he took another bite.

"I know. After all we've been through, it's nice to find some time just us," Wave agreed. "But I am curious, where is Cosmo?"

"Cosmo's got a meeting with Mr. Ash to go over some extra history. She really wants to do well in her exams."

"That's cool. Well, maybe for once we can get through a meal without some stupid drama and…" Wave trailed off as the morsel of food got stuck in her throat. Her whole face drained of colour as her eyes twitched, focusing on somebody coming closer.

"Wave? Wave, are you alright?"

"Jet and Wave," Lien-Da's cocky, domineering voice boomed over the loud murmurs of the cafeteria as she made her presence known, slamming her palm down on the table. "Aren't you two a sight for sore eyes. How have you both been since primary school?"

"Primary school?" Jet asked in thought. "Oh, yeah, I knew I knew you from somewhere. Lien, it's been quite a while, hasn't it."

"Always good to see you again Jetty," Lien laughed as she clapped him on the back.

"Wave, remember Lien-Da?" Jet turned to her naively expectantly.

"Yeah Wave, do you remember me?" Lien grinned maliciously, an evil glint in her blue eyes.

"I-I-I-I," Wave stumbled over her words. Her eyes withered and she shrank back in her seat, trying to get as low as possible. It was all too overwhelming. It was all too much. It was like all the old memories resurfaced in her head.

"Feathered Freak," Lien barked, her mouth contorting viciously.

"Wh-what?"

"I said," Lien repeated in a cheery tone, "Are you feeling alright? You look a little pale."

"I-I need some air," Wave choked out as she stood up and fled as fast as her legs could take her.

"Sorry Lien. Something must have Wave's mind taking tumbles. I'll go talk to her but we should definitely hang out and reminisce on old times," Jet smiled, shaking her hand before he took off after her.

"Yes, definitely," Lien narrowed her eyes wickedly. "I'd love to reminisce on old times with freaky feathers. Of all the schools… This couldn't have worked out better."

…

"Shh, please baby you need to keep it down," Lumina begged to her crying child. She looked disheveled. It had been three hours since she'd taken her almost one-year-old child from her baby sitter and it had been three straight hours of crying. Lumina was already at her wits end.

"Please, what do you want? I've fed you. I've changed you. Just talk to me," Lumina felt like she wanted to cry too.

"What the hell is that sound," Lumina heard Fiona's loud complaining. Her roommate was returning. Lumina tried to act fast, scooping up her child and rushing to the closet. She knew it was only a temporary solution but she couldn't deal with more of Fiona's wrath. However, she wasn't fast enough. Just as Lumina was placing the baby on a small bed of jumpers that Lumina had arranged Fiona burst through the door.

"What the hell is that?" Fiona growled as her eyes were instantly drawn to the crying infant.

"Fiona, please, I can explain," Lumina said hurriedly.

"Why the hell do we have an annoying baby in our room? Just when I thought living with you couldn't get any more horrible."

"It's mine."

"What?"

"The child. It's my child. Mine and Void's," Lumina explained.

"So, this is the little tyke that made Void ruin my life?" Fiona glowered as she stood over the baby. "Here to ruin my school life too?"

"Fiona, you're being ridiculous. He didn't ruin your life. That was Void."

"Where is Void? Why are you stuck with the baby?"

"I… I don't know where Void ran off to. He fled shortly after Tails died and I had to give the money he stole back. I'm broke, Fiona," Lumina admitted with shame. "I tried to make some money so I could keep paying the sitter I hired for him but she refused to look after him for free anymore."

"Is that why you've been prostituting yourself off like a whore?" Fiona asked plainly with little regard for Lumina's feelings.

"You… you knew about that?"

"I saw you on the street the other day," Fiona confirmed. "Can't say I feel bad, though. Karma's a bitch, isn't it."

"Fiona, I didn't do anything to you. Why do you hate me?"

"Because Void chose you," Fiona snapped.

"That's not my fault! Besides, he was still engaged to me when you started fucking him. He's the one we should be made at, not each other," Lumina growled, suddenly finding her back bone. Fiona was surprised by her anger and the tone she adopted. Fiona had to admit, it suited her.

"Well," Fiona back pedaled, "what about your parents?"

"Hmm?"

"Your family? Why can't they look after the baby until you graduate?"

"They… they can't do that," Lumina answered but from Fiona's expression Lumina knew it wasn't a good enough answer. "I'm not really on speaking terms with my father, and mum never does anything to go against him. He tried to force me to get an abortion and said if I agreed to marry Void he'd disown me. I was so in love with Void and wanted to start a life with him and our unborn baby that I defied father and he kicked me out. He refuses to have anything to do with me or my child anymore."

"Oh, Lumina… I'm so sorry to hear that," Fiona said in a surprising moment of weakness. "I know what overbearing parents and doing dumb shit for love feels like."

"Fiona?" Lumina questioned. "Were you just… empathetic?"

"No," Fiona growled. "And if you ever breath a word of what I just said again I'll break both your arms."

"There's the Fiona I know back again," Lumina chuckled lightly. "But, please, don't tell Razor about the baby. It'll just be until I can find enough money to hire the sitter again."

"It'll cost you."

"Anything. Please, what do you need?" Lumina groveled.

"You have to be my slave for as long as that baby stays in my room," Fiona decided after some thought. "You'll do my laundry, make my bed, go on coffee runs for me… anything I need." To Lumina, it sounded horrible. Having to bend over backwards for Fiona was like a fate worse than death, but she had to do it, for her child.

"Okay, you've got a deal," Lumina shook Fiona's hand. With a satisfied smile Fiona walked closer to the baby to examine it. Fiona wouldn't admit it but the child warmed her heart. She thought it was cute, and it reminded her of her own little brother. Max was one of the only reasons Fiona still put up with her mother. Fiona wanted to be apart of her brother's life and if dealing with Claire was the price she had to pay, she'd pay it in full.

"Oh, that's strange," Lumina commented when Fiona bent down to get closer to the baby.

"What?"

"He stopped crying." As Fiona got closer the small boy finally stopped his ear-piercing wails and a tiny smile cross his lips. "He must like you."

"At least the kid's cute," Fiona snorted. "What's his name?"

"Max. Max Flowlight," Lumina smiled, beaming the radiance of a mother's love. Fiona rolled her eyes and let out a sigh but the icy walls around her heart began to melt when Max looked at her with his round eyes and giggled.

"Of course it is."

…

Razor marched back and forth in his office, his wooden floor scuffed from the incessant pacing. His mind was running wild and his heart beat sporadically. It felt like a cage of butterflies were let loose in his stomach. Finally, his whole world seemed to freeze when he heard a knock at the door and one of his students walked into the room.

"Why did you call me here?" Blaze asked without making eye contact. Her voice was different and her body language was reserved.

"I know you've been avoiding me every time I try to approach you," Razor began gently. "I just want to talk, my beautiful daughter."

"My name is Blaze," Blaze snapped back irritably. "And if I didn't do anything wrong then you can't keep me here and I can get back to class."

"Blaze, please, I just want to talk. Just give me five minutes."

"Why should I give you any time? You never gave me the time of day. I was too much of a burden. You rushed off and left me all alone."

"It's not like that. I tried to get to know you. I swear," Razor took a small step closer but instantly Blaze backed away towards the door. Razor stopped in his tracks and looked upon her with saddened eyes. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Then why did you leave?" Blaze practically shouted, fresh tears in her eyes. She promised herself she wanted to stay strong. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her vulnerable, but she couldn't help herself. The man she longed to know for the better part of eighteen years; the man who abandoned her was standing right there. She'd rehearsed what she would say to her father if she ever found him but now that the time was finally here she found herself mute.

"I never knew how to find you."

"That's crap! You knew who my mother was, it wouldn't have been hard. Why weren't you there, dad? All those years I spent growing up thinking you didn't love me. Mum lied and said you died shortly after I was born but I never believed her because family members never talked about you," tears streamed continually from her eyes. "Whenever I'd bring up the topic to my aunt she'd avoid it completely. If you had really died they would have talked about you fondly, not ignored the very idea of your existence. Why'd you leave?"

"Blaze, honey, don't think like that," Razor said sweetly as he took another step and tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Blaze recoiled in disgust and wrenched his hand off her as she backed towards the closed door. "Alright, I'll back off. I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you love me?"

"I… I was scared. Look at me. I'm only thirty-eight years old," Razor began. "You were born when your mother and I were twenty, and I was nineteen when she told me I had gotten her pregnant. I got scared. I ran."

"You ran?" Blaze couldn't control her fury. "Less than eight months ago I thought I was pregnant. I told my boyfriend and he didn't run away scared. He didn't dump me. Do you know what he said? He said he was excited. He said he loved me and he would do everything he could to support me and my baby."

"You were pregnant?"

"Turns out it was a trick, but he thought it was real."

"Is this that boy who cheated on you? Was that Silver? I should kick his ass for what he did to you."

"You don't get to act that way!" Blaze bellowed. "You don't get to be the protective dad, not after you left. You gave up the chance to act like that eighteen years ago!"

"But I tried to come back," Razor tried again. "I felt horrible and I missed your mother. I tried to be apart of your life but your mother and her sister blocked me out. I never got to see you once, not even any pictures. I had no idea what your name was or what you looked like – nothing."

"Then how did I get this?" Blaze asked as she pulled the half-broken amethyst necklace out of her pocket. Since the funeral she had ripped it off. They were the first days since she was a little girl that she hadn't worn it around her neck. She just couldn't bring herself to anymore, but she couldn't throw it away either.

"You had just turned one when I tried to apologize to your mother but she was having none of it. She said she never wanted to see me again and she didn't want me around to ruin her life. I begged her to give you this necklace, so you'd at least know that I loved you," Razor held back tears that threatened to escape his perpetually dry eyes.

"You don't love me."

"I do, Blaze. I really do. I didn't know your mother gave you that necklace. I didn't know that she told you I had died, but the face that I still carry around my half proves to you that I didn't want to leave you. I promise."

"Then why didn't you come back when mum died of lung cancer?" Blaze couldn't stop sobbing. She choked out her words through gasps. She hated how weak she had become but couldn't control herself. Eighteen years of neglect that she'd bottled up all began pouring out and once it started she couldn't stop it.

"I didn't know," Razor urged. "I told you, your mother and aunt blocked me out of their lives completely. They moved to a new house in a suburb far away. I couldn't deal with the memories of that area. I went overseas to study abroad in Soleanna to become an educator and got this job in this country campus so I could forget about the life I screwed up. I've spent my life dedicated to helping kids fulfil their potential. To help them all grow because I couldn't do it for you. Blaze, please, my life's biggest regret was leaving you and now I've found you again, let me be apart of your life. Please," Razor begged. Blaze paused for a moment and finally met his eyes.

"I…" Blaze began but turned her back on him. "I can't. You had your chance but you ran away. Then instead of fighting for me you ran away to another country. If you really loved me you wouldn't have cared what mum said! Don't try to talk to me again. Once I graduate, I never want to see you again!" Blaze growled as she pulled open the door and sprinted out of his office.

"Blaze… please."

…

 _"_ _So, are you going to Honey's party on the weekend?" I asked as we sat at our usual lunch table in the middle school cafeteria._

 _"_ _Only if you go," Espio replied with a grin on his face._

 _"_ _Dude, of course I'm gonna go. The whole school will be there. I wouldn't miss that for the world," I reciprocated the smile._

 _"_ _You wanna crash at mine after?"_

 _"_ _When don't I? I basically live at your house," I chuckled._

 _"_ _Mum basically treats you as her own son."_

 _"_ _I don't think your step dad likes me too much… He keeps calling me a fag," I frowned._

 _"_ _Just ignore him. That's just his way. Anyway, he'll be passed out by the time we get home from the party."_

 _"_ _I can't believe it's going to go until midnight. I haven't stayed up that late since your mum fell asleep and didn't make us go to bed that night last summer," I giggled at the memory._

 _Everything was easier back then. I often think back to middle school and all the good times. It was always me and him. Espio and Bean, the inseparable duo. We met in pre-K and went to the same primary school and middle school before we eventually found ourselves as freshmans at Mobius High._

 _I still think back to that year when we drifted apart. We were supposed to stick together and help each other get through high school but it seemed high school only tore us apart. We didn't even last a year._

 _I have a lot of theories of how we let what we forged shrivel and die. It could have been that night things went too far at his house… or it could have been when I found my other half, Tekno. I know the truth, though. It was when we became friends with Fiona. I should have listened to the rest of the school but she seemed so nice. We didn't realize we were just her lackeys until the rest of the school began to hate us._

 _I had to get out. We were a toxic threesome. Tekno helped me escape, but Espio didn't want to escape with me. He blamed me. He still does._

 _How did we let it get this way?_

 _Why did we let Fiona get between us?_

Bean lamented solemnly as he lay in bed. His shift at emerald café was over and he didn't feel up to eating lunch with the rest of the school in the cafeteria so he retired back to his room.

Bean was a mess. He honestly couldn't remember what happiness had felt like. After he lost his best friend in freshman year, he poured himself into Tekno. When his parents died, he was destroyed but Tekno was there to pick up the pieces. Now that she left him, he didn't know how to function.

Then Espio came to try to talk to him, but it only reopened old scars and the wound festered. Bean knew it would only lead to more pain. Everything always just led to more pain. He was better sticking to himself. If he let anybody in, they'd just hurt him again. They always did.

Bean sighed as he let himself drift back off to sleep. He didn't care if he skipped his classes, he barely showed up to class anymore anyway. Sleep was better than school. At least in his dreams nobody could hurt him.

…

Silver knew where he'd be. Scourge always lounged about in the same place between classes. Silver left his class, flung his backpack over his shoulder and strolled lazily over to the carpark when he saw the delinquent. He was kicking back on the hood of his car, legs cross and head propped against his arms. His eyes were closed and he soaked up the midday rays of the warming sun.

Silver made his way over, eyes studying Scourge's body. Silver couldn't understand why, but something seemed off about Scourge. He seemed content. A small smile lay on his lips. Silver almost didn't want to disturb him, but he wanted answers. Needed them.

"S-Scourge?" Silver cleared his throat as he stood beside the car. Scourge stirred slightly but didn't move. "Scourge," Silver said again, louder and with more authority.

"What?" Scourge mumbled without opening his eyes.

"I need to talk to you."

"Who needs to-" Scourge began but tilted his head slightly and peered open one eye to gaze on Silver. "Oh, Silver, it's you."

"You mean you didn't recognize my voice?" Silver almost felt hurt.

"You woke me up. I was irritated," Scourge ignored the pain he detected in his companion's voice. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you." Scourge sat up and stared at Silver, but from the look of him Scourge knew he wasn't going to leave without a fight. "Alright, get up here," Scourge rolled his eyes with a smirk. He shuffled over slightly and patted the freed space on top of his car. Silver took little time to scramble up and take a seat beside Scourge.

"So, what did you want to talk about? Somebody giving you trouble that you need me to beat up?" Scourge asked as he cracked his knuckles.

"No, nothing like that. This is about you and me."

"Oh…"

"Scourge, I know I said I didn't matter but I need to know. What happened to you? Why did you leave me? How did you become… become this?" Silver gestured at Scourge's dark clothes and black leather jacket.

"I already told you I'm not saying shit. This is me and if you don't like it you can just get fucked like the rest of them," Scourge snorted.

"But…" Silver bit his lip, his eyes shifted from Scourge's sullied expression to his chest, covered by a plain white shirt clinging to his skin. "How did that happen?" Silver placed his hand on Scourge's chest and gently smoothed his hand across the fabric. He could feel the three bumpy lines hidden; the three ghastly marks made by unhealed scar tissue.

"Don't touch me like that," Scourge protested as he slapped Silver's hand away. "What if somebody saw us and got the wrong idea? I have a reputation to uphold."

"Since when did you ever care about upholding a reputation? That old Scourge never would have cared. My best friend never would have cared."

"Well, he's gone," Scourge snapped, fed up with Silver's constant questions. Scourge hopped off the car and landed on the pavement. "No stop asking me all these chaos damned questions and just let me live my life."

"But Scourge," Silver called as he twisted off the car and stopped Scourge from leaving. "If you won't answer anything at least answer this one question. For me."

"What," Scourge sighed after a moment's pause.

"What happened to your glasses?" The question took Scourge slightly off guard.

"I hated them," Scourge snarled finally. "They reminded me of my past. They remind me about what a nerd I used to be. I don't need them. I'd rather just have bad eyesight or deal with painful contacts then be seen in glasses ever again. Now, leave me alone," Scourge pushed Silver aside and marched back to the dormitory.

"I always like them…"

…

The library was pretty empty, only a few souls roaming the aisles lined with dusty old books. Spike sat at one of the tables tucked away in the back corner. The table brought back a swell of happy memories. It was the place he first worked up the nerve to talk to Sonia – the place they spent most of their time getting to know each other despite the frustrating watch of the ever-angry librarian.

"I see you still come to our spot," a voice pierced through Spike's concentration. His head was stuck into an old history book he was brushing up on in preparation for his history exam. He was renowned for being the best history student at the school and he knew his final grades needed to mirror this, especially if he wanted to get any jobs as a history tutor.

"I always did like it," Spike replied as he lowered the book and looked up at the gorgeous girl who leant on the table, her belly swollen.

"So, are you going to offer me a seat or are you gonna expect the pregnant lady to stand?" Sonia teased in a surprisingly friendly manner.

"Oh, sorry, please sit," Spike gestured to the empty chair opposite him and Sonia graciously took a seat. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything but how come you're here? Only a few days ago you told me you never wanted to see me again and slapped me."

"You can't say you didn't deserve that slap."

"Fair. But that doesn't answer me question," Spike persisted.

"Sonic told me you spoke to him earlier," Sonia admitted with a sigh.

"So… he told you about my sister?"

"He told me everything," Sonia nodded. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"It wasn't his place to tell."

"But why didn't you tell me? I would have understood."

"I just didn't want to bring it up. It still hurts to talk about it and I was so scared you'd have done the same thing. If it happened again to somebody I cared about I… I don't know what I would have done."

"Spike, if you had just told me the truth we could have sorted this out," Sonia sighed. "I didn't care that you said you were the father. Sure, it made me give you a chance but I really did begin to love you."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"And you aren't mad that I lied?"

"Of course I am. Despite the circumstances you shouldn't have lied to me. I thought I could trust you."

"Sonia, I was only doing what I thought was right," Spike said. "I only had your well-being at heart."

"I know that. That's why I'm here. I'm here to say I forgive you and that I do accept your apology."

"Does that mean…" Spike began nervously as he swallowed an expectant lump in his throat. "You want to try again. Like, try us again, I mean."

"Spike… I do like you but I don't think that's the best idea. I just can't be with somebody who lies like that despite their reasons."

"I… I understand," Spike's gaze fell to his lap, his hands lying on top of his textbook on the table.

"But I'd still like to be friends, if that's okay with you?" Sonia placed a hand gently on his. He lifted his head to meet her soft stare.

"Yeah, okay, I'd like that," Spike offered a joyless smile.

"Well, good. I just came to bury the hatchet, but I really should be getting to class," Sonia said as she struggled to her feet.

"C-Can I hug you goodbye, like as a friend?"

"I don't think that's appropriate this soon. Maybe just a handshake?"

"A handshake works," Spike agreed as he shook her hand and waved her goodbye as she waddled out of the library. "That could have been worse," Spike sighed to himself as he sat back down and opened the book back to the passage he'd been reading about the great war.

…

It was strange. Mephiles never really acknowledged her. Sure, he knew of her. Everybody did. Her reputation proceeded her, especially when Shadow told him about the whole ordeal she'd put both Sonia and Manic through. It wasn't until he heard her heartfelt, tragic and emotional song at Tails' funeral that he really began to take notice of her. Or, take notice of her absence.

Mina hadn't shown up to class since the funeral and Mephiles didn't understand why. He assumed something must have happened to her. He hadn't realized until he'd been openly looking for her but she shared almost every class he did and she hadn't been in any of them since the weekend. Mephiles decided he'd figure out where Mina was, and the first step was to check her room.

"Hey, Tikal, which room are you staying in?" Mephiles asked as he approached the surprised girl when the bell rang to conclude their math class.

"Why do you want to know, Meph?" Tikal asked.

"I've noticed that Mina hasn't been in class recently and-"

"Yeah, she's been sick," Tikal interrupted almost too quickly. The disruption took Mephiles off guard and by her rapid response he knew there was something more going on with the absent girl.

"Well, I've been asked to give her the homework and study notes since we share most classes together and since I've got sixth period off I was planning to go deliver it to her."

"Oh… alright then," Tikal bit her lip in contemplation. "I guess it couldn't hurt. We're in room one-oh-five. Just, be quick, okay?"

"Alright, thanks Tikal you're the best," Mephiles shot her a rare smile and rushed off to the dormitory. He stopped outside the door with the bronzed number emblazoned on the wood and raised his fist to knock when he heard something that made him stop in his tracks. It sounded like… crying.

Mephiles cupped his ear against the wood and listened intently. He waited outside for a good few minutes before he was certain of it. A constant stream of wailing was coming from inside the room. It was definitely Mina. She was definitely upset. Mephiles wanted to knock on the door. He wanted to see what had her so down and wanted to cheer her up but he wasn't her friend. They shared dozens of classes weekly and he still barely talked to her. Tikal must know what's wrong and that must have been why she was so defensive. Mephiles decided to ignore it. It wasn't his place to intrude. With a shrug, he turned and strolled back down to kill his free time smoking out behind the dormitory.

Mina, lying on her bed on the other side of the door, held her head in her hands. Her bedsheets were stained with her tears. She choked, hiccupped and sobbed. She'd been crying so much that her tears had all dried up and she could produce no more.

She reached under her pillow and studied it again – the piece of paper that triggered Mina's nightmares again. It was note her father, Shellbreaker, had sent the school detailing his plans to not only claim custody but visit his daughter. Mina shuddered at the thought of him; her real father, the man that ruined her life.

…

Zonic had called in sick, much to Razor's displeasure. Ash had been kind enough to spend his free period substituting to cover for Zonic but he knew he'd have to make it up to his colleague in the future. However, that day, he couldn't teach. He couldn't even think. Ever since he'd been chastised by Espio his mind had been running wild.

 _Do something soon, before it's too late._

Espio's words had affected Zonic deeper than he'd first thought. He never did anything. He was always a reactionary, and his reaction was always to run away. He was a coward and he knew it. He couldn't stand up to Zally's father, he ran from Zally, he was too much of a chicken to show Gold how he really felt, even when she was fired, and he couldn't even stand at a door before he had to dive into the bushes.

Zonic was a coward, and he knew it. Zonic paced back and forth in his small room trying to think of what to do. He couldn't think properly. He couldn't do anything properly. His life was falling apart and he couldn't pick up the pieces. Suddenly a streak of sunlight snuck through Zonic's drawn blinds and reflected off something shiny that lay on Zonic's bedside table. It was a ring – Zally's ring.

Zonic scooped it up in his open palm and studied it with calculating, caring and regret-filled eyes. The one time he found something truly spectacular in his life and he ruined it. He was a coward and he ran. He closed his palm tightly around the ring and drew open the blinds, staring out at the parking lot and the archway that led out into the open road with newfound determination.

Zonic knew what he had to do. There was no time for running. No time to keep being a coward. He was almost thirty years old. He had already wasted too much of his life on what if's.

"It's time," Zonic said with fortitude. "No more running!"

…

The wind rustled through the trees, leaves and branches singing an eerie tune in the night sky. The dormitory and cafeteria lit up the heavens with all the lights of the many rooms on, but the parking lot to the south of the campus was still shrouded in darkness. The only main source of light was shining brightly from the round headlights of the bus.

"I'll be right back," Ray said to the impatient driver as he placed his bag on the seat and stepped off the bus when he saw Clove waddling towards her in a thick, woolen jumper. Ray raced up to her and wrapped his arms around her, stealing her body heat.

"How long are you going to be away?" Clove asked.

"Hopefully no longer than a week," Ray replied as he drew her in close. "Exams start on the seventh so we've only got just over two weeks left. I should be back on the weekend, just in time for Halloween."

"Okay. I love you, Ray," Clove smiled.

"I love you too, Clove," Ray said as he closed the gap between their lips.

"Let's get a move on. I need to be in Central City before midnight," the angered bus driver called with a toot of his horn.

"I guess I should go then," Ray stepped away.

"I'll see you soon," Clove waved as Ray sprinted back to the bus. She stood rooted to the stop as the bus reversed out of its park and rolled out of the carpark. Once Ray had left the campus and began his long trip back to Central City Clove finally let herself exhale. Her gaze flitted down to her belly and the small forming baby bump.

"What am I going to do with you…?"

* * *

 _A/N: And with Ray gone for the foreseeable future (a couple chapters) it's finally time for Clove to start figuring out how she's going to deal with her little baby Mighty problem._

 _Spike's dad meets Breezie but is clearly rattled by who she is. Could the two have a connected past somehow? Sally learns that it was Blaze's idea, not Fiona's, but how will she react?_

 _Mephiles promised to go do a DNA test to get a definitive answer. That's right, it's time for a clear-cut answer coming next chapter. This is the first time we really get a hint at Bean and Espio's past and it will only be developed further._

 _Lien-Da manipulates Jet and scares of Wave again but what truly happened between the two in the past that has Wave so frightened?_

 _QotD: Who do you think has been the worst parent so far in this story?_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Mephiles and Sonia visit the hospital_

 _Lien-Da forms a questionable friendship with somebody_

 _Sally lets a dark secret slip about her past_

 _Flashback to the defining moment of Espio and Bean's past_

 _...and Scourge decides it's finally time_

 _All this and so much more next time on Chapter 51: Somebody to Lean On_


	51. Chapter 51: Somebody to Lean on

_A/N: Sorry things have been slow. I've been away at the snow these past couple of weeks but hopefully I should find a little more time for writing in these next couple weeks. No promises though._

* * *

Chapter 51

Somebody to Lean on

The heavenly aroma of freshly ground coffee beans swept through the café interior like a sweet breeze. Mighty thanked Bean far too enthusiastically for somebody awake at seven-thirty in the morning on a Saturday and took his cup of coffee. He was surprisingly happy to be spending another morning with Cream. It had been days since she first approached him when he was sleeping class and each day he looked forward to spending more time with her. He didn't know why but when he was around her he felt like his old self again, like blood had begun pumping through his veins the way it used to.

"Hey Cream," Mighty smiled as she entered the café. He waited patiently as she ordered her coffee and ushered her over to his table.

"Morning Mighty," Cream yawned. "Why are you so happy this morning?"

"I guess it's just a good day," Mighty shrugged. Cream smiled.

"I'm glad you're feeling a bit happier than usual. It's nice to see you smile."

"You too," Mighty replied dumbly. "I mean, like, you look pretty when you smile. I mean, your smile… you know what I mean," he cut himself off with an awkward laugh.

"Yeah, I think I do," Cream giggled. "So, it's the next day and I think you owe me another three questions since you got out of answering my extra one yesterday."

"Already onto the questions? Can't a guy get a break?" Mighty said sarcastically.

"You just woke up. I'd say a good night's sleep is a good break."

"You're not gonna let me say no, are you?"

"Nope."

"Well, in that case, fire away," Mighty offered her a beaming smile as he sipped the warm beverage that had been warming his hands.

"Okay. First question. If I ask personal questions, are you sure it's okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know some subjects are a bit touchy and some wounds are still fresh," Cream observed. "If I ask a question that's too personal I want to know that it's okay."

"I'll tell you if you crossed a line, alright?"

"Promise?" Mighty paused for a moment, the word flashing images of his smiling best friend, Ray, through his mind. The way she said it reminded him of his old best friend. In fact, now that he thought about it, Cream shared a surprising amount of similarities. She was about the same height, a bit shy, had the same smile and even her fur was similar, if less pronounced and not as yellow.

"Mighty?" Cream's words pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, zoned out for a second. I guess I'm still waking up," he shot her a grin, flashing white teeth. "Yes, I promise."

"Good. You and Ray, you told me you guys are no longer friends. Is it because Clove is now dating Ray?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of? That's not a proper answer."

"I know. It's just… it's more complicated then that. Let's just say I broke up with Clove and Ray told me he wouldn't date her but he did anyway. Then our mutual friend lied about something I did and everybody shunned me and he did nothing to defend me so we aren't friends anymore," Mighty said rapidly.

"Oh… I'm sorry. Well, as my final question, I just wanted to know why you broke up with Clove." Mighty opened his mouth but said nothing. He wanted to tell her the truth, but even though Ray and he were no longer friends he didn't want to tell people the truth about the hard times Ray had been going through this year.

"I…"

"Mighty, you promised me you'd tell me if I was crossing a line. I can ask another question if you'd like."

"No. It's just, it's a tough question."

"Alright, well what about something different. If you can't tell me, maybe you could tell me why you don't want to? Are you protecting Ray? Clove? Yourself?"

"All three." Cream furrowed her brow. "I made a choice to break up with Clove so I could help Ray. Let's just say he was going through a rough patch and I needed to be there to help him and Clove was taking up too much of my time. I broke up with her so she didn't keep waiting around for me when I couldn't give her what she deserved. And, I guess I was protecting myself because I don't want you to know just how broken I am. I know it's dumb but… but Ray destroyed me and I'm finding it hard to find myself again. I didn't want you to think I was weird of shattered and scare you off."

"We're all a little broken," Cream placed her hand on his. "It's alright to show vulnerability sometimes. You don't have to carry this burden alone. You can lean on other people. I'm always here if you need, even if we still don't know much about each other."

"Thanks Cream. That means a lot," Mighty's tone had sullied, the happy chime to it had vanished. As he looked at her, all he could see was Ray.

"Would you like to ask me anything? I owe you three answers," Cream tried to lighten the mood but Mighty just shook his head.

"Maybe another time," he said as he stood. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought. I think I'm going to go back and catch a few more hours of sleep. I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Mighty, I'm sorry I asked you that. Please, don't leave."

"It's not your fault, I just need to be alone for a little bit. Sorry," Mighty whispered as he rushed out the door.

"Maybe he's more torn up about everything than I thought?" Cream thought aloud. "I've seen the way he helps others. He always tries to fix other people, but now it's time somebody fixed him," she concluded with newfound determination in her eyes.

…

Sonic woke with a start as loud thuds penetrated his dreams. Drowsily he slipped out of bed and practically crawled to the door as he wiped sleep out of his eye. He glanced over at the three empty beds in his room. Mephiles had already left to accompany Sonia to the hospital and he had no idea where Mighty was.

"Sonic T. Hedgehog, what I Chaos' name do you think you're doing?" Blaze scolded him when he cracked open the door. She crammed her foot in the small gap he created and pushed open the door with her full force.

"B-Blaze?" Sonic spluttered as he stumbled backwards, her loud words waking him up fully.

"You're such an idiot, you know that?" Blaze yelled again.

"What did I do?" Sonic was confused. He had no idea what he did or what she was referring to.

"Why'd you have to go and do that?" her tone lowered as she dipped her head and fell into him, encircling him with her arms as she buried her face into his chest. Sonic was rooted to the spot. He had no idea what was happening.

"I'm… sorry?" Sonic brought his hands up slowly and wrapped them around the now trembling cat.

"I know you're sad but this isn't the answer."

"What are you talking about?"

"Spike told me he saw you the other day," Blaze said. Sonic tensed up, his muscles contracting. "I know about the relapse. I know you've been struggling but this isn't the way."

"Blaze… I need it. It helps me, it lets me see Tails more easily," Sonic whispered.

"Sonic, Tails is dead!" Blaze snapped but apologized almost immediately. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I just… this isn't the way to solve your problems."

"I just feel empty," Sonic admitted as he released Blaze and trudged back over to his bed, placing his head in his hands. "Everything is empty and it just helps me feel something. It's helped me before in the past and you know what they say. Once an addict, always an addict."

"Don't say things like that," Blaze said as she took a seat on the mattress beside him. "You're not an addict, you just need help."

"And how am I going to get it?"

"Us," Blaze answered plainly. "I know things seem dark and like hope is gone but you still have your friends – you still have me. You don't have to weather this storm alone. We all miss Tails too but we've managed to weather this storm together. You don't have to take the brunt alone, you can lean on us. You can lean on me."

Sonic was silent for a long time as he stared at his toes though the gaps in his fingers. His heart ached and his brain hurt, still clouded from the tickling sensation. His brain wanted more Heroin. He needed more, but deep down he knew Blaze was right.

"I'm sorry," Sonic said finally.

"Please, Sonic, let me help you."

"Thank you, Blaze, for everything."

"Promise me you'll quit. Please."

"I… I promise," Sonic nodded as he rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. "I promise I'll try."

"That's all I ask," Blaze smiled as she tilted her head to lean on top of his. "That's all I ask."

…

Mephiles was nervous and anxious. He kept fiddling with his fingers in his lap as his left leg bounced up and down sporadically. A hand reached over his knee and grabbed his own. Mephiles turned to question but was met with Sonia's comforting smile as she slipped her fingers between his.

"Whatever happens, we'll figure it out," Sonia said sweetly. "Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mephiles nodded with an emotionless stare.

"Chaos, how long is this going to take?" manic whined from the chair opposite them in the small waiting alcove. He had agreed to accompany Sonia to the hospital that weekend so that they could get her baby's DNA and compare it with Mephiles' but he didn't expect the process to literally take all day.

"These things take time, honey. Just be patient," Aleena, his mother instructed calmly from beside him. Bernadette was also there absentmindedly flipping through one of the brainless gossip magazines that lined the low coffee table.

"I wish Sonic came too. At least that would give me somebody to do something with," Manic complained as he studied Sonia and Mephiles enviously. He knew they were no longer dating and understood the complex situation they had found themselves in but when compared to his own love life he'd take what they had over… he didn't even want to think about Amy.

"How come Sonic didn't come with you three?" Bernadette asked as she lifted her gaze over the magazine.

"He… um, well…" Manic trialed off unable to think of a good excuse.

"He has a final essay he needs to write. It's the last one of the year before exams," Sonia blurted out as she shot Manic an undecipherable glance. The two siblings had promised each other they wouldn't worry Bernadette with Sonic's current decline. They knew there was nothing she could do to help him and thought it cruel to force her to worry. If he wasn't better by year's end they'd tell her the truth.

"Oh, well okay then," Bernadette said strangely. She knew they were hiding something from her but decided she wouldn't push them. She knew Sonic would tell her if something was wrong.

"Miss Hedgehog? Mr. Dark?" Dr. Geoffrey announced as he strolled out of the examining room with a clipboard. "We've compared the results and have conclusive proof."

"What's it say, doc?" Manic asked.

"Am I the father?" Mephiles questioned.

"There's… no match. Mephiles isn't the father," Geoffrey revealed. Mephiles noticeably sighed and Sonia tensed. Bernadette and Aleena shared a worried glance.

"Do… do you know who is?" Sonia asked nervously.

"I'm sorry but without a DNA sample from the father to compare we have no way of telling. Unless you have anybody else you think could be the father and they'd be willing to send us a sample your beautiful baby won't ever know who her father is."

"That's… wait, did you say she?" Sonia gasped.

"Correct. You are going to have a baby girl. She's due early next year," Geoffrey smiled.

"I'm sorry I'm not the father," Mephiles said solemnly as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Why are you sorry? At least now you can be with Shadow. You guys make a great couple."

"You two are pretty much made for each other," Manic commented and Aleena silenced him with a swift, gentle kick to his shin. "Ouch, ma, what was that for?"

"Let them sort this out Manic," Aleena scolded.

"Thank you, Sonia. I promise both Shadow and I will be there for you to help you with anything you need for the baby."

"That really means a lot, Mephiles."

"That's very kind young man," Bernadette nodded.

"So, since you know it's a girl, any ideas on what you want to name her?" Mephiles asked.

"I haven't the foggiest," Sonia scratched her head. "I guess I should start thinking… I've always liked the name Melody."

…

"It's about time," Fiona grumbled as she stood up from the wooden bench perched underneath the grand tree overlooking the school's parking lot.

"Sorry I was late Miss Fox," the tall, mysterious man apologized. "I was working on the case you gave me."

"Forget that case," Fiona dismissed.

"I've gathered the information you requested about Rouge the Bat."

"I don't care about that anymore. She can go screw Scourge or anybody she wants. I'm not such a jealous bitch that I'd still care."

"Why did you hire me, then?" the man asked.

"Don't give me lip, Spectre. Mother might speak highly of your expertise but to me you're just a P.I and there are many others in this city I could hire," Fiona snapped.

"You still owe me the money for the job I've already done," Spectre said with a tinge of malice.

"I'm aware of that, but I'm not done with your services. I have a missing person I want you to find."

"Missing person? That'll cost extra."

"Money isn't an issue. I just need you to find him for… for my sanity," Fiona paused slightly. She couldn't be doing it for Lumina. She hadn't gone soft. She was only doing it so that the sniveling brat would leave her room. Yeah, that's it, no other reason. It's just to get some peace and quiet.

"Who do you need me to find?" Spectre asked.

"Void."

…

Rouge loved Saturday's. It was the one day of the week that she wiped clean. No homework, no study, nothing – just relaxation. This Saturday was no different. The sun was out, the birds soared overhead and Rouge found herself without a care in the world.

"Somebody looks happy today," Lien-Da announced her presence loudly as she sauntered over to the lounging girl. "What's got you in such high spirits?"

"The sun's out and life is good," Rouge shrugged as she peeked open an eyelid to see who the intruder was.

"You sure it wasn't because of the pounding your boy toy gave you last night?" Lien laughed.

"That's none of your business."

"You guys sure did make it Jet's business. He was complaining all morning about how loud you two were. Kept him awake all night."

"Ugh, I told Scourge that pervert was listening to us fuck," Rouge grumbled. "But, more interestingly, why are you and him suddenly so close. You haven't even been here a week and already made a boyfriend?"

"Ew, Jet, puh-lease, I'd rather ram my head through a glass window, stick a knife up my vag and then dive into salt water than date that loser."

"Wow… okay, that's graphic. If you hate him so much then why are you hanging out with him."

"Insurance," Lien replied. "Him and I are old primary school friends."

"Oh, then you must be old friends with Wave too, right?" Lien's eye twitched when Rouge mentioned the swallow.

"Yeah… something like that," Lien forced. "But, enough about me, I hear you're the one to go to for gossip."

"That's more Tikal's domain these days but I know a thing or two. Why?"

"I've heard a thing or two on the grapevine."

"If this grapevine is Fiona then they're probably untrue," Rouge corrected.

"Not from her, just from passing conversations. Is it true there's incest happening on this campus?"

"Incest, what?" Rouge scratched her head before she remembered about the rude wake-up call Knuckles received when he found out his girlfriend turned out to be his half-sister. "Oh yeah, Knux. Serves him right for fucking me over when we were dating. His ex-girlfriend turned out to be his sister."

"That's hilarious," Lien snickered.

"It was kinda funny," Rouge admitted.

"No, I mean it's funny that some guy dumped you to get with his sister."

"Hey, I dumped him thank you very much!"

"Whatever. What about Cosmo?"

"What about Cosmo?"

"Nack's told me a bit about his old gambling buddy."

"Don't listen to a word that creep says," Rouge snapped. "He fueled her addiction for gambling and right after we all helped him she ended up getting herself addicted to drugs."

"She seems like a bit of a loose unit."

"She's actually a really sweet, innocent girl. I guess that's why Jet loves her."

"Wait, does Jet have a girlfriend?"

"Mmhmm," Rouge nodded.

"That just made everything a whole lot better," Lien smirked to herself.

"What are you planning?"

"Nothing, just happy for my old friend," Lien feigned innocence.

"I thought you said you'd never date him."

"I wouldn't – gross – but I'm glad he found somebody. I'm not heartless."

"Sure… I never thought you were," Rouge added skeptically but she had to admit despite some differences she saw a lot of herself in Lien. She was glad she had found a kindred spirit. "C'mon, let's get lunch."

…

"Thanks for taking time to have lunch with me today guys," Clove offered a small smile as she bit into her sandwich.

"Of course, girl. You know I'm always here for you," Tikal returned the gesture.

"Hope I'm not third wheeling too hard," Clove chuckled. "It's just weird not having Ray around."

"It's alright, you could never third wheel," Eclipse assured as he draped his hand around Tikal's shoulders. Clove noticed her best friend roll her eyes before she shuffled slightly away and wriggled out of Eclipse's grasp. He frowned and scooted closer, opting to rest his hand on her knee instead.

"Chaos, do you ever stop?" Tikal snapped seemingly out of the blue.

"What?"

"Can't we sit with other people and not have you pressing against me for once."

"What are you talking about? We're dating I should be able to sit next to you," Eclipse said.

"Yeah, sure, next to me but not fucking on me. You've always gotta be so close."

"Why are you getting so worked up about this?"

"Maybe I should leave…"

"No, Clove, you can stay. Maybe it's Eclipse that should leave," Tikal stared daggers at him.

"What the fuck did I do this time?"

"You've always gotta be so clingy."

"I'm just gonna leave."

"Clove, stay!" Tikal shouted and Clove shrank down in her seat in sheer surprise.

"Don't yell at her. She has nothing to do with this," Eclipse defended.

"Oh, wow, so now you've found your spine."

"What? Ugh, look, I'm sorry I want to be able to touch my own girlfriend, okay?"

"It's not about that. It's you. Just, you've been so suffocating for ages now and you are so clingy. Just let me breathe."

"I'm not being clingy!" Eclipse argued.

"You so are," Tikal let out a humorless grunt. "All our friends think so. They tell me how they feel awkward hanging out around us anymore because of the way you've been acting."

"They do not!"

"Yes they do, just ask Clove."

"I really don't think I should get in the middle of this…"

"No, you're right, let's ask Clove."

"Eclipse, Tikal, seriously…"

"Is he clingy, Clove?" Tikal looked to her for defense.

"Yeah, Clove, am I or is Tikal just being a crazy bitch?" Eclipse grumbled.

"I-I-I…" Clove trailed off unsure what to see until she had had enough of the judgmental stares and expectations thrust upon her. "You know what, fuck both of you. You two need to sort your shit out by yourself, I'm so out of here," Clove jumped up and stormed away.

"See what you did. Your actions made our friends run away again," Tikal thrust the blame onto him almost immediately.

"That was your fault!" Eclipse yelled.

"Of course it is. Nothing's your fault. You aren't clingy. You aren't suffocating, I'm just being insensitive."

"You are. You know I've struggled with commitment because of what happened with my mother and family but I worked on it for you."

"Don't pull the fucking family card. I've had it worse than you."

"You have not!"

"I have, I just dealt with it better."

"Seriously, you need to shut up right now."

"Oh, I'm the one who needs to shut up? Last I checked you were the one who was trying to grope me in front of my best friend."

"I placed my arm around your shoulder. I didn't fucking grope shit!" Eclipse was almost at his wits end; so was Tikal.

"Far out I can't deal with you anymore. It's just too much. I've got too much shit to deal with and you're not helping anything."

"We've all got shit to deal with, Tikal. It's called high school. Don't be so selfish."

"You have no idea what I'm dealing with," tears threatened the corners of Tikal's eyes as her face grew red with anger, mirroring the colour Eclipse's had already turned.

"Why don't you tell me, then? You've been so distant and I just wanna help but you cut me out."

"Because you can't help."

"I can."

"You can't," Tikal repeated.

"But I can. Just let me try," Eclipse said in earnest.

"I don't want you to!" Tikal exploded, and then, suddenly, the realization set in. It wasn't because she was scared of what he would think or that she was frustrated that he was being too affectionate in public, although that did annoy her. No, it was more. She didn't want to let him in anymore. She didn't want him in his life.

"T-Tikal?"

"This isn't going to work, Eclipse," Tikal breathed quietly, well aware that almost every eye in the cafeteria was watching them.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I… I'm breaking up with you. I'm sorry."

"But Tikal, I–" but before Eclipse could finish his sentence Tikal had grabbed her bag and fled the cafeteria. "What are you all looking at?" Eclipse bellowed to the crowd of onlookers. As the words left his lips the students quickly turned away and pretended to eat their food or continue their own conversations but he could feel the stares in the back of his head as he strode dejectedly out of the cafeteria.

"Is this usual?" Lien-Da asked.

"Pretty much par for the course at this school," Rouge shrugged.

"I think I'm going to like this school after all," Lien smiled as she watched the display unfold with interest.

…

Sally wasn't happy. She didn't understand what Amy was thinking when she'd made the change. However, Sally had learnt from her mistakes and didn't want to charge headlong into conflict without proper research, and that's exactly what she did. Sally took to forums on multiple internet sites and each and every one heralded the same results. They loved it until _that_ ending.

Sally scratched her head when she first read it and was completely baffled the second time. She remembered the original draft Amy had given her. It had a perfect ending. Why did it change to something so vitriol? She wanted an answer.

"Amy, open up I know you're in there," Sally banged on her ex-girlfriend's door. Groggily Amy slumped over and swung open her door and yawned loudly.

"Sally, what are you doing here so early in the morning?" Amy wiped some sleep out of her eyes.

"It's midday," Sally stated plainly.

"Oh, really," Amy glanced to her alarm clock sitting on her bedside table and swore under her breath when she realized how long she'd over slept. "Shit. Well, at least it's a Saturday. Why are you here?"

"I want to talk to you about your book," Sally said as she strode past Amy and stopped in the middle of the room.

"What about it?"

"Why did you change the ending?"

"What are you talking about? The ending that I published was the same ending I always had planned out," Amy lied.

"Cut the crap, Amy. You gave me the draft, remember? I know how it originally ended. It was beautiful. It was poetic. It fit. But this new book… this new ending… it's just, just, shit!"

"Who the fuck do you think you are coming in here and telling me that my work is shit," Amy bit back as she began a defensive. "I don't remember asking you for your opinion."

"It's not just mine. Everybody hates the ending. It doesn't make any sense."

"Yes it does. It's the perfect ending."

"It was perfect," Sally admitted. "But this new one… it's not only bad, but it's cruel and Sonic doesn't deserve it."

"Sonic? What are you talking about? My main character is Finn."

"Yeah, Finn the tall, hedgehog with sapphire quills and an optimistic, upbeat attitude who can outrun the best of them. That's definitely not Sonic," Sally rolled her eyes facetiously.

"Whatever. It's my book and I can make whatever character I want," Amy huffed.

"I don't care about that. I care about how this new ending demonizes him. You make him out to be this heartless monster. The whole book was about the budding romance but you end with this? You end with him raping somebody else? How is that romantic?"

"It's just a story."

"Rape isn't something you can just add in without any backlash, Amy. Sonic would never do something like that to anybody, ever!"

"But it's not Sonic. It's Finn."

"Amy, this whole book was basically a self-insert fanfiction about you and Sonic. However, it was really well done. Until you went and changed it. Why? Just because Sonic broke your heart?"

"No, because life is dark and I wanted to be more realistic."

"Realistic… in a fantasy romance novel where the girl gets swept off her feet by this beautiful, amazing guy," Sally groaned. "You can't be serious. This is just you lashing out and it's not fair on Sonic or your own integrity."

"Well… they say write what you know so that's what I did."

"You know nothing about rape!" Sally snapped, suddenly enraged. Amy stood in stunned silence for a moment.

"S-Sally…"

"Just… just forget I said anything," Sally turned away.

"Sally, were you… did something happen to you?" Amy didn't know what to say or what to do but all her anger instantly drained from her.

"Change the ending before it's too late," Sally said, fighting the tears back into her eyes.

"Sally, I…" Amy trailed off as Sally rushed out of the room without another word. Amy swore she could feel her heart crack for Sally. Part of her told her to follow Sally and demand to figure out what had happened in the past but the better part of her knew it wasn't her place. Sally would tell her if she wanted and if she didn't then Amy would just have to accept that. But that didn't stop her from worrying…

…

Zonic steeled his nerves, gripped the crumpled paper that he'd been nervously rustling in his hands and pushed open the door to the principal's office. Razor barely looked up from the stack of paperwork he'd been inundated with since Gold's departure and the funeral.

"What can I do for you Zonic?" Razor asked, his hand still feverishly writing away.

"I'm sorry sir, but I need to do this," Zonic began as he strode somewhat hesitantly over to his superior and handed him the paper.

"Whatever that paper is, put it on my stack and I'll get to it when I get to it," Razor ignored it.

"Razor, I think you should read it. It's my letter of resignation."

"I don't care what it is I'm so busy I need…" Razor trailed off as the words finally hit him and he quickly glanced up at the plainly dressed teacher, finally making eye contact. "What did you just say it was?"

"My letter of resignation," Zonic affirmed as Razor snatched the paper out of Zonic's hands and inspected it thoroughly. "I quit."

"You can't quit. Not this close to the end of the year. We're already grossly understaffed as it is. I forbid it."

"I'm sorry Razor, but this is something I need to do. I can't wait here any longer."

"Zonic, this is very unprofessional. You need to at least give me your two-weeks warning first."

"This wasn't a decision I made lightly. I gave it a lot of thought but I just can't stay here any longer."

"If you walk away now then I won't give you a good recommendation. You won't find work in education again," Razor threatened as panic took ahold of him. He needed Zonic. He knew it would be a detriment to the kids to lose a teacher so close to exams and all the male students had created a rapport with the head of the boy's dormitory. But, above all else, he didn't want his friend to leave.

"Ash tried to convince me to stay too but deep down he knew I had to leave and he accepted it. I won't ask you for any favours, but you can't stop me."

"You're such a coward, Zonic. You're always running away from everything in your life that's tough," Razor lashed out.

"No, I'm not," Zonic shook his head calmly. "This time I'm not running away from anything. I'm running towards something." With that, Zonic turned and kept his head high as he walked to the door.

"Zonic, wait!" Razor called. Zonic paused and turned his head.

"Yes, sir?"

"Good luck," Razor managed to smile. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thank you, old friend," Zonic returned the smile before he disappeared through the doorway and from the school completely.

…

 _I was so nervous. I don't think I had ever been more nervous in my life and, looking back, I don't think I've been as nervous since. Trying to ask Tikal out. Singing that first song on the stage at Elias' party. Living alone when my step father kicked me out. None of them compared to that one night. Looking back I should have just bit my tongue and told him the truth but I was only fifteen and I was new to those feelings… I was new to love._

 _I can remember the night vividly and have had plenty sleepless nights running through the events over and over in my head. It was one night in freshman year and I was waiting for him to come over. I'd showered and washed my hair and body as thoroughly as I'd ever done before. I don't think I've ever used that much soap or conditioner in my life. I just wanted to look, smell and feel perfect._

 _"You can do this," I told my reflection. "Just tell him the truth." That's when the doorbell rang._

 _"Espio. You're faggy little friend is here," my stepfather bellowed as he stumbled past the bathroom door with an open can of beer in his hand. "Stay out of my way and keep your dick in your pants if you know what's good for you."_

 _"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore him but he grabbed my wrist and wrenched me back. I winced in pain but it only made him tighten his grip and bring me to his face. His breath reeked of alcohol. It stung my nostrils and made my eyes water but I didn't flinch. I couldn't show weakness in front of him._

 _"Answer me," he growled._

 _"You didn't ask me anything," I retorted. That was a mistake. His fist found its way to my gut and I felt the wind leave me._

 _"What did I say about talking back?"_

 _"Sorry sir."_

 _"Now I said keep it in your pants. I set up that mattress on the floor in your room. Make sure he sleeps there. I don't approve of you having your gay little friend stay the night but since your mother wants you to be able to have friends over I decided it can be okay. Don't let me regret it."_

 _"Yes… sir," I stammered as I met his gaze. Satisfied, he released me and trudged back to his room. The doorbell rang again and I tried to push my step father out of my mind and rushed to answer the door._

 _"Hey Espio," Bean cheered as he rushed through the door and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug._

 _"Hey Bean," I smiled as I hugged back. I could feel that familiar feeling tingle through me from the tips of my toes, up my spine to my fingertips. It rocked my whole body._

 _"So, I'm starving," Bean piped up with that familiar smirk. He wore that smile that was always apart of him. A smile filled with joy and optimism. A smile I took for granted; a smile I miss seeing on his face._

 _"Pizza?"_

 _"Pizza," he beamed as he draped an arm around my shoulder and lead me into my own kitchen like the confident, proud kid he is… was._

 _We spent the night playing video games, eating pizza and talking about nonsense. I tried to ignore my father every time he skulked through the living room to retrieve another beer from the fridge but I noticed I subconsciously shuffled away from him each time. I think he noticed, too._

 _"Hey, Espio," Bean whispered later that night when we were both up in my room. I was lying on my bed watching the small television as it played a movie that Bean had brought with him. He was resting on the small mattress beside me._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"I can't really see that well from down here. Mind if I come join you up there?" I paused and swallowed but eventually nodded and I agreed. I felt myself go as still as a statue as he climbed up onto my bed and crawled over me to get to the other side of my bed. Bean let out a contented sigh and nuzzled his head into my neck as his glazed eyes studied the movie listlessly. I couldn't feel comfortable. I felt my heart beat a thousand times a minute and my eyes kept flicking from the angel beside me to my unlocked door. I knew I had to do something._

 _"Where are you going?" Bean whispered, his words soft and sweet._

 _"I just need to go to the toilet," I lied quickly as I fled the room. I waited a little bit in the adjacent bathroom to gather my composure and control the tightness in my pants. After a few minutes I flushed the empty toilet for cover and snuck back into the room, making sure I locked it tight. That's when I saw Bean. He was snuggled up underneath my blanket with eyes closed. I let a smile cross my lips._

 _I tiptoed over to the bed, slipped into the bed and snuggled up as close to him as I dared when his eyes snapped open._

 _"Espio?"_

 _"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."_

 _"I wasn't asleep. Just waiting for you to come back. It was cold without you," Bean laughed. I felt my heart melt for what felt like the hundredth time. I felt my hands begin to sweat and I begin playing with my fingers. My mind was screaming at me to just tell him the truth and ask him what I'd been dreaming about asking him for some time._

 _'Just ask him out,' my mind screamed._

 _"H-Hey, Bean?" I squeaked._

 _"Yeah?" he looked up at me sleepily._

 _"I, ah, I have something to ask you."_

 _"Shoot."_

 _"I, well, I just wanted to know… if you, maybe, um, well…" I trailed off._

 _"Just spit it out."_

 _"I…" I sighed in defeat. "I wanted to know if you were still watching the movie. I'm kinda tired but if you're still watching it I won't switch it off." Bean looked at me incredulously._

 _"No, it's fine. I'm quite tired too," Bean shrugged as he recoiled slightly and rolled over in the bed, but he didn't leave, and I didn't want him to either._

 _"O-Okay," I mentally scolded myself as I switched off the computer and rested my head on the pillow. "Good night, Bean."_

 _"Good night, Espio."_

 _I often replay that night over in my head. Maybe everything would have been different if I just had the courage to tell him how I felt about him. I wish he knew that I liked him. But that's not how things turned out. I remember him running up to me one lunch time in the cafeteria about a month later with the biggest grin on his face._

 _"Hey Es, remember that girl I was telling you about?" he beamed._

 _"Tekno? The one you like?"_

 _"Yeah! I finally worked up the nerve to ask her out and she said yes. We're officially dating? How cool is that?!"_

 _"That… that's awesome," I sighed, adopting a façade to show my best friend my support. He had the nerve and he was happy. He was always happy back then. I wish I could have been the one to make him happy._

Espio sighed, replaying the past in his head as he watched Bean serve customers at the café with a frown on his face. He never saw Bean smile anymore. Nobody did. Not after his parents passed away and Tekno broke up with him. Espio remembered the optimistic smile that never left his face as a kid. He didn't know how Bean's life took such a turn. He wanted to help his old best friend but he just didn't know how. Not anymore.

…

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Clove said sympathetically.

"Don't be, it was a long time coming," Tikal waved away her concerns.

"Surely you're upset, though."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad but it had to end. It was getting too toxic," Tikal tried to explain. The two best friends had retired to Tikal's room while her roommates were out and about.

"But you and Eclipse were so good together."

"Yeah, were, as in past tense. Look, I've moved on I really don't want to keep talking about it."

"Okay, let's talk about something else, then. What do you want to talk about?"

"Well… there is one thing I've been meaning to ask you about," Tikal said rather flippantly. Clove shot her an inquisitive glance and Tikal replied with a look of her own as her gaze flicked to Clove's belly hidden underneath her woolen sweater.

"Oh…" Clove breathed as she instinctively placed a motherly hand over her baby bump. "Yeah, I haven't really thought about it. As bad as it is to say I'm glad Ray's gone. It gives me a chance to figure out what I want to do about it before he returns."

"He's gonna find out eventually, Clove. If he doesn't hear it from you he'll be angry."

"Don't you think I know that," Clove clawed her fingernails over her closed eyes in suppressed frustration. "I just… ugh, why'd it have to be Mighty's? Of all people…"

"I just don't know what to tell you, Clove, but it's going to be impossible to hide anymore. The only reason people can't tell is because of the heavy jumpers you've been using but with the weather creeping into the thirty's this week you can't keep using the excuse that you're cold anymore."

"Tikal I know it's just… I have no idea what I'm going to do," Clove burst into tears as she held her head in her hands. Tikal scooched closer to her and draped a comforting arm around her shoulders and whispered soothingly into her ear.

"Hey, hey, don't cry, everything is going to be okay."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm here for you," Tikal said. "I don't know how this is going to turn out but I'll be here for you every step of the way. We are going to get through this, alright?"

"Alright, thanks, you're a really good person, Tikal," Clove smiled. Tikal returned a smile of her own, but it was merely a façade. If only Clove knew the truth about her best friend. If only she knew Tikal wasn't a great friend, but a murderer. That's the adjective Tikal had been using to describe herself lately. Murderer. How can she help Clove if all she does is ruin other people's lives?

"Tiks? You okay?"

"Hmm, me? Yeah, of course. Just trying to think of what I'm going to buy you to cheer you up," Tikal feigned a laugh.

…

"And after that night I never saw her again…" Jet concluded, pausing to catch his breath. Cosmo just stared at him, mouth agape. She couldn't believe Jet and Wave had had such a rich history together. No wonder Wave had acted so strangely when she found out the two of them were dating.

"Thank you for telling me, Jet. You didn't have to do that," Cosmo said softly.

"But I did. I love you, Cosmo, and I want to be completely honest and transparent with you. I've seen too many relationships end this year because of people keeping secrets from each other and I don't want to see us ending up the same way people like Rough and Knuckles or Sonic and Amy did," Jet said with earnest and sincerity.

"I don't want that either," Cosmo agreed.

"So that's why I've been so weird in this relationship. Apart from Cream, Wave was the only other girl I loved before I met you and she ruined my relationship with Cream because I couldn't keep my feelings for her at bay."

"Do… do you still have feelings for her?" Cosmo asked.

"No," Jet said instantly. "I used to. But after I cheated on Cream with her I realized it was a childish dream. She was the girl that got away and I got wrapped up in sweet memories and lustful nostalgia that night. I like her as a friend, but I love you, Cosmo. You're the one and only girl I want to be with."

"Jet… that's so sweet. And, you know what? I think, after all the love and patience you've shown me, I think I finally feel the same way." Cosmo paused and inhaled deeply as she stared into Jet's memorizing eyes. "Jet the Hawk, I love you."

"You… you finally said it," Jet stammered stupidly. The words had rendered him speechless.

"I told you I'd tell you when I really felt it, and I do. I really do. I love you."

"I love you too," Jet smiled and, for once, Cosmo was the one that leant in and crashed her lips against his. Jet leant into the kiss immediately and both teenagers gave into the feelings as their tongues danced together for what felt like an eternity.

…

Shadow waited underneath the tall tree in the middle of his field until the wind began to pick up around him and the ear-splitting sound of blades slicing through the air deafened his surroundings. The leaves whipped frantically on the trees and the loose blades of grass billowed around the clearing in a frenzied tornado.

Shadow stepped out from his cover and looked up as the sun was blocked out by a black helicopter that flew overhead and hovered lazily above him. A rope was flung out of the chopper and a man in a suit jumped out of the helicopter and swung down, landing next to Shadow. He unclipped himself, tugged on the rope twice and, as quickly as it arrived, the chopper left leaving just Shadow and the Commander of G.U.N alone in the field nestled in the heart of the Emerald Lake forest.

"Shadow, didn't think I'd ever hear from you again," the Commander said in a distant tone.

"Didn't think I'd contact you again," Shadow replied, the bitterness he still felt for the man who allowed the kidnapping and torture of his boyfriend evident in his voice. "And yet, here you are."

"Can't say I wasn't curious when I got your message. Come to ask to be reinstated as an agent again?"

"You wish," Shadow grunted. "I came to demand some answers."

"You're in no position to be demanding anything. I could arrest you for crimes against the state."

"And I'd let all of G.U.N's little secrets slip to the media," Shadow challenged. The Commander stared back almost daring Shadow to continue.

"Alright, it's a stalemate, then. So, why did you contact me?"

"I need some information about Maria."

"Maria? The daughter of the family I assigned to adopt you?"

"Yes. She's recently sought me out again and she seems to be in trouble but she won't tell me why. I know you know why so just tell me!" Shadow bellowed.

"She left the agency shortly after you were adopted into her family. Her and her mother. They decided they both loved you and didn't want to go on any more missions and so I let them go. I have heard from Maria's mother every now and then but I haven't heard from Maria in over five years."

"That's bullshit!"

"That's the truth," the Commander assured. "Now whether you believe me or not is up to you."

"That… that can't be true," Shadow said defeatedly. "Then how will I help her."

"I don't know."

"Please, Commander, you have to help me."

"Sorry Shadow, but I don't have to do anything anymore. You left G.U.N, and so my job to protect you has ended. Goodbye, Shadow."

"Commander. Commander, come back," Shadow shouted after the Commander but he simply ignored Shadow's pleas and disappeared into the forest.

…

Nack was exploring the halls of the dormitory late that lunch time, muttering to himself. He'd recently picked up some information of a secret, unused room on this floor and he had set out a mission to find it. He didn't know how much longer he could stay in that room with Silver, Eclipse and Espio. They had quickly become annoying.

"Ah, this should be the room," Nack remarked to himself as he noted the bronze emblazoned numbers on the veneered wooden door. He got to work picking the lock expertly until he heard the satisfying click and pushed open the door.

"Alright… this is going to need a lot of work," Nack said aloud as he took in the interior. The room was like all the others in the dormitory except with one key difference. Blankets littered the room in a fort-like structure. They hung from bed to bed like a make-shift roof, protected the windows to block out the light and pillows covered the floor.

Nack got to work, stripping the blankets down that hung precariously from bed to bed and post to post and threw them in a heap in the corner. He tore the ones off the window to let the streaming sunlight gush into the room. He collected all the pillows and tossed them haphazardly into the piling corner. In the commotion, he heard the door creak open and a gasp escape the mouth of the intruder.

"What did you do to Blanketopolis?" Mina cried as she raced into the room to seize Nack's hand before he could strip the last remnants of Tails' fort.

"Don't touch me," Nack grumbled as he tore his hand away from her grip. "If you're that desperate you can get on your knees and suck me off after I'm done transforming my room."

"Sick," Mina gagged.

"If you haven't come here to pleasure me then kindly vacate the premises of my room."

"You're room? This is Tails' room."

"You mean that fox kid? News flash, sweet cheeks, he's dead and according to school law he doesn't own this room anymore. Since nobody has claimed it I take the responsibility wholeheartedly," Nack said.

"You can't do that!" Mina protest.

"I'll have you know that I can, in fact, do just that. Now get out of my room."

"But you, I, he, but-"

"As much as I love seeing girls at a loss for words when they see me," Nack began as he pushed Mina out of his room. "I have too much to do so here's where I say goodbye. Come by anytime you wish to give that blowjob. Goodbye." Nack slammed the door on Mina's shocked face before she had a chance to say anything further.

"Just wait until Razor hears about this!"

…

Sally was still livid. She held herself back from rushing up and losing her temper yesterday because things seemed to always blow back up in her face when she adopted that tactic but a good night sleep didn't placate her anger. That day, when she saw Blaze lounging beside Breezie she couldn't help herself.

"Blaze!" Sally shouted as she stomped up to the distracted cat typing away on her cell phone.

"Hmm?" Blaze hummed as she tore her gaze from the illuminated screen. "Oh, hey Sally, what's up?"

"You're a bitch, you know that?"

"What?"

"Hey, that's not cool," Breezie jumped to her friend's defense.

"Not now Breezie," Sally disregarded her. "This is about me and this slut."

"Whoa, Sally, that isn't cool."

"Breezie, just get out of here," Sally's temper was getting the better of her. "Please, I'm worked up enough as it is."

"Breezie, just go. I'll sort this out," Blaze assured as she tried to stay calm and complacent.

"You sure you're alright?" Breezie asked.

"I promise."

"Alright," Breezie said as she hopped up and with one last distasteful glance she walked out of the common area and left Sally and Blaze alone to talk.

"Okay Sally, what the hell is your problem?"

"You are," Sally snorted. "I know what you did."

"What are you talking about? What did I do?" Blaze asked obliviously.

"Cut the crap, Blaze. Fiona told me all about your little plan."

"Fiona told you. Wow, nobody has ever regretted believing something that woman has said," Blaze rolled her eyes as sarcasm dripped from her words.

"She told me about the bars." Blaze stiffened. Sally noticed. "I knew that would get your attention."

"Sally, look…"

"No, let me talk first. Fiona told me how you decided to switch up my supply of the energizer bars. When I was at my weakest… when I was struggling with mental health, body issues and bulimia you decided to play a prank on me. You decided to try and make me fatter. That isn't cool."

"Sally, you don't understand," Blaze tried to argue.

"No, I think I do. I don't know what I did to you but you crossed a line," Sally growled.

"I only did it to help you. You were damaging your body and you couldn't see it so I took it upon myself to fix you. You're my friend and I was just trying to help." A moment of silence past before Sally's angered face was replaced with one of utter disgust.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Fiona told me everything. Don't try to pull that shit. I know the truth."

"Alright, fine, fuck it," Blaze stripped her innocent veil away and pushed past her neutral demeanor. "You want to know the truth? I wanted revenge."

"What did I do to you?"

"What did you do to me? Seriously? You fucking started the fire that almost killed me, burnt off all my hair, permanently damaged my lungs and put me in the coma for fucking months," Blaze exploded.

"How… how did you know it was me?"

"Seriously? That's your response? Amy told me, alright? Who cares, the point is that you didn't and you let me suffer. That's why you came to the hospital, wasn't it? You felt guilty and let guilt eat you up inside. Admit it."

"Fine, I admit it. But at least I didn't start it on purpose. I felt horrible. It was one of the key factors that drove me to bulimia. That's how bad I felt. But it looks like you didn't feel any guilt at all when you saw me destroy myself because of those bars."

"It wasn't because of those bars, but, either way, you deserved it," Blaze said with more anger and bitterness in her voice than she ever thought was possible. Something had taken over her; a darkness that was eerily familiar. She hated the feeling – it scared her. Yet, it was comforting at the same time.

"You act like a saint, but now I see the real you. This isn't the first time you've done something like this," Sally pointed out. "There's something inside you, Blaze. A darkness. One day you're going to go too far, and I'll be there to show everybody who you really are. I'll be there to help save everybody from you."

"Whatever," Blaze dismissed.

"Until then, stay away from me. I don't want to talk to you again."

"Looks like there's something we can agree on then." Sally opened her mouth to say more but decided no more words could alleviate or elevate the situation and left. Blaze watched her leave with anger but as soon as she found herself alone in the common room again all her anger and bitterness flushed from her and she felt nothing but sadness and guilt.

"I could have handled that better… what's happening to me?"

…

"Quiet study means quiet Mr. Hedgehog," Ash scolded as he narrowed his eyes at the mischievous and distracting teenager.

"Sorry sir," Manic nodded as he stuck his head back into his history text book. Mr. Ash had already exhausted everything on the curriculum and had given his students time for private study on the few final weeks leading up to the exams. He'd offered himself up to anybody that needed help with practice exams needing marking or questions needing answering. Otherwise his students were free to study any way they wished as long as they didn't leave the room.

Sonia was one such student in this class. However, her study wasn't going as planned. The stress of upcoming exams was giving her stomach aches and she knew all the anxiety wasn't good for the baby. She huffed and threw her pencil down, reclining in her chair as she accepted the impossible situation she found herself in.

"Everything alright?" Knuckles asked inquisitively and empathetically as he saw her tortured expression. "Having some trouble with the source material?"

"That's one of my many problems," Sonia sighed as she rubbed her bulging belly. "The stress of exams is giving me stress of my own which is putting stress on the baby which is just giving me more stress."

"…I think the word stress just lost all meaning after hearing it so many times," Knuckles chuckled. "Stress. Stress. Stress," he repeated over and over emphasizing different letters.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Say it with me. Stress. Stress. Doesn't it sound funny?"

"…Stress," Sonia said unenthusiastically, more to humor the annoying echidna than anything else. "Stress. Stress. Stress," she continued as the word began to lose all meaning to her too and she cracked a smile. "I guess it is a silly word."

"Now there's that smile I've seen so much of this semester," Knuckles grinned.

"Hey, I see what you did there."

"And now that you're laughing, the stress has lessened hasn't it?"

"Not a lot."

"Not a lot is better than nothing. Baby steps. Literally," Knuckles stuck out his tongue and Sonia couldn't help but let a snigger escape her lips. "There we go."

"Alright, you got me. That was actually pretty good," Sonia admitted.

"Don't you see. If you take the power stress has over you then it can't control you. It's just a word. A silly, stupid sounding word, and you can't let it control your life. It's not good for you or your baby."

"But I can't help it. These exams are freaking me out?"

"Why? You're one of the smartest people I know. You should have the least to worry about out of all of us."

"Smooth," Sonia smirked. "But it's going to take a lot more than that to win me over."

"Win you over? Me? I would never think of such a thing. I'm just a valiant knight passing through and I saw somebody in distress," he smirked. "A knight would never turn his back on somebody in need," Knuckles said childishly, stealing another giggle from Sonia's mouth.

"Oh, you're a knight now? And how can you help me brave sir knight?" Sonia humored him.

"Apart from lifting your spirits, I also have a secret power."

"Do you now?"

"I'm actually quite good at history."

"You. Good at school? Mr. football star and basketball sensation is actually smart?"

"Alright, words can hurt. But, yes, at least in history."

"Well, maybe you are my knight in shining armour after all."

"I could help tutor you and give you some help to alleviate some of that stress. A happy mother has a happy baby," Knuckles smiled.

"Alright, now that was a better attempt. You know what, sure, why not. I've got nothing to lose. Looks like the knight did help me after all."

"Sweet. Shall we say tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow sounds great, Lancelot."

…

Lien-Da wrapped the hoodie around her tighter and brought the hood down to conceal her face as she waited behind the bathroom stalls on the far side of the oval. She grinned to herself as she felt around in her pocket to make sure the small plastic bag was still there. It hadn't even been a week and already she had found new gullible clients.

A cracked twig behind her alerted her to the presence of another. Her defenses were lowered when Cosmo stepped out of the shadows, her face a nervous wreck.

"D-Do you have what you promised me?" Cosmo asked. Her voice was deeper and she was clearly trying to sound intimidating but the shakes in her body gave away any sort of intimidation.

"Yes, as we discussed before I've got exactly what you need to help you. Rouge might be rude enough to cut you off but you won't ever need weed again after trying some of this," Lien smirked as she pulled out the small plastic bag with a tiny amount of white powder concealed inside.

"That's it?" Cosmo asked.

"Half a gram, like I promised. If you want more you'll have to wait for me to get some," Lien said.

"Sorry, I don't have a lot of money and I hear this can be really expensive."

"Nonsense. You can have the first one for free," Lien smiled. "Let's just say it's a friendly gift."

"Free? Why?"

"I'm new to this school and don't have many friends yet. I know this isn't the best way to make them but I just want to extend an olive branch and if I can help you then maybe we can be friends?"

"Friends? That's all? Y-Yeah, sure, I'd like that," Cosmo smiled. "Any friend from Jet's past is a friend of mine."

"Awesome. Well, thanks," Cosmo took the bag from Lien and shoved it deep into the pocket of her dark blue jeans. "Will I see you around then?"

"Oh, trust me, I'll be seeing you very soon," Lien smiled eerily.

…

It was the same as the others, and it was the third time that week. The dreams were getting more and more frequent and they began to feel more and more real. The same swirling, suffocating blackness enveloped her before the two eyes of the devil shone through the blackness – the headlights of that cursed car. Tikal would try to run but it was impossible and as the lights descended upon her the sky was filled with Tails' maniacal laughter.

Tikal woke with a start, gasping for breath as she sat up in her bed like she'd just been struck by lightning. She'd always wake up the same way; always right after Tails had hit her in the car. She was covered in sweat, her blankets drenched. It was getting worse – not better. Tikal didn't know what to do and she didn't know who to turn to. She couldn't very well go and tell somebody about her dreams. This had to stay a secret. It needed to.

But she couldn't continue like this. Not this close to exams. She needed sleep and she needed clarity of mind if she'd have any hope of passing these exams. Tikal strained her eyes through the dark, struggling to make up her mind when she realized she'd never find the peace she needed until she confessed to somebody.

"That settles it, then," Tikal whispered through the darkness, her roommates sleeping soundly around her. "I know exactly who I need to tell…"

…

The sky, vast and expansive bringing humbleness to those who gaze up at its magnificence. It dwarfed those beneath it and gave Mobius a sense of fragility. Each star twinkling in the twilight haze was an explosion of light and life. So close that a rocket could touch, but so far away one wouldn't ever be able to find its source.

That was why they always fascinated Sonic. They always made him feel at peace. They made him feel safe and acting as a guiding light through his life. He'd confess his secrets to the constellations and despite never answering back he knew he'd been heard. They always kept his secret and tonight he needed them to do the same.

Sonic used the cover of darkness to sprint across the football oval and dart down the forested path. He made sure he was deep enough into the deep shrubbery before he broke through some bushes and hacked his way to a small clearing with naught but a stump in the middle. A huge tree used to inhabit the area with low branches taking up all the space but since it had been cut down only a stump and a clearing acted as the remnants of the fallen tree.

In the middle of the stump something had burrowed a hole, emptying the stump of its insides. An animal of the past had dug an alcove from the cold Sonic had thought, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was it was empty now.

Sonic let the backpack he'd hoisted over his back to slip from his shoulders and fall onto the stump. Sonic unzipped it slowly and took a peek inside to make sure the contents were still safe. His heroin, his syringe and his tubing all wrapped in a black hoodie. Sonic twitched as temptation took over. He reached down to pick up a syringe but slapped sense into himself.

"No, you made a promise," he scolded himself. He rezipped the bag and dropped it into the hollowed-out stump. Sonic knew he should have destroyed it – burnt it or dropped it in the lake – but he couldn't. He needed the safety net. He needed to know he could use it if he grew desperate again. He promised Blaze he'd try to quit – try!

"Just in case… Keep my secret safe, like you always do," Sonic confessed to the stars before fleeing back to the school.

…

Silver's head had just hit the pillow when he heard the knock at the door. He groaned and rolled over to ignore it but the person at the door knocked again.

"Can one of you get that. I'm on the top bunk so I can't," Espio moaned as he shuffled uncomfortably in his bed. Silver glanced at Eclipse but he just sighed and stared unblinkingly at the bed above him. He was still too distraught after Tikal dumped him.

Silver rolled his eyes. He knew he had to get out of the warm comfort of his bed because the others wouldn't. However, as he creaked open the door he was surprised to see nobody there. He was about to shut the door when he noticed something on the ground. It was a note with Silver's name written on the front. Intrigued, Silver bent down to pick it up and read it.

 _Meet me at Emerald Lake in ten minutes_

Silver was so tired. He wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep but his curiosity got the better of him. He slipped on his tracksuit pants and threw on a jumper before he slipped out into the night.

Finally, after an admittedly long walk through the forest the path branched out into the deep sand on the edge of the lake and, there, sitting on a log facing the zaffre lake was the silhouette of somebody waiting for him. As Silver drew closer the person spoke and his voice was instantly recognizable.

"Chaos, finally. I was about to give up and leave," Scourge complained.

"Scourge? Why did you want to meet me out here so late?" Silver asked.

"I thought about it and you're right. We used to be best friends and I haven't exactly been fair to you since I came back into your life. You deserve some answers."

"Damn right I do."

"Well, take a seat," Scourge patted the space on the log beside him. Silver took a seat and waited for Scourge to speak again but he said nothing. His eyes were distant, unsure and glazed over as they studied the still lake.

"Scourge… why did you really call me out here if you didn't want to talk?" Scourge inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

"Silver. I think it's about time I told you everything. I at least owe you that much. You see, the truth is, everything changed the day we went to that Space Fight convention – the night I showed up at your door…"

* * *

 _A/N: A very Tikal-centric chapter. If you like her, I hope you liked this chapter. If you don't... well I hope you liked it regardless because a lot of things happened. Who has Tikal decided to confess her secret to and how will she be able to help Clove and Mighty's unborn fetus? Speaking of Mighty, he's trying to be real with Cream but with their little three questions game she's digging up too much about his past with Clove and Ray that he wishes to just stay buried. Will this put a wrench between the two before they even get started?_

 _Sonic's still struggling with Heroine, after all this time, and although Blaze is trying to help him there's still a pull he can't escape. Although beating it for the third time (apparently) it's grasp is too strong and he's stashed it away for a 'rainy day'. Nack and Mina are now at war over the room. What will come of it?_

 _Mephiles is not the father. I repeat, Mephiles is NOT the father! Now I know Melody was originally Tails and Mina's child's name in the comics but I was going to put the name she was thinking of but it would be a clue to who to the eventual reveal of who the real father is (Yes it's one of the main male cast, but it's not Mephiles). Later once the father's revealed I'll reveal her daughter's real name but for now… spoilers!)_

 _Fiona's now using her P.I. to find Void to help out Lumina. What will come of this? And poor Cosmo. Rouge unwittingly gave Lien insight onto Comso's weakness so that Lien-Da could later go and exploit it. As a result, in trying to help Cosmo Rouge has inadvertently turned her into a cocaine addict. What will come of this and can Cosmo be saved from herself?_

 _Sally's been shown to have a short temper but things escalated in two very different ways this chapter. The first was with Amy when she let a secret about her sordid and secretive past between the time Sonic left her and she moved to Mobius High. More on that later, but let me know any theories you might have about her, her past and her sexuality. Secondly was her dramatic confrontation with Blaze. This has been building between the two since chapter 4 when Sally inadvertently burned Blaze alive. Although they seemed to have made up, tensions and guilt were still high in both after actions they both did and now a friendship has been completely shattered. But as Sally as Sonic's best friend and Blaze also so close to him, with this lead to more fights and perhaps end negatively for Sonic? Find out soon._

More of Espio and Bean's past is being revealed and more will continue to be revealed but what do you think happened that stuck such a massive wrench between these once inseparable friends? Furthermore, Cosmo finally said the L word to Jet! Things aren't going so well for Shadow, though, as G.U.N will no longer help him after he walked out.

Finally, stay tuned for next chapter as Scourge is finally about to reveal _MOST of his sordid, mysterious past. Hope you're excited! If you are, don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you think. Also, hey, if you need something equally dramatic to read in the gaps between these chapters might I recommend the other story I'm writing in parallel with this one Outlast: Insanity Island. It's like my take on one of those reality shows like Total Drama, Big Brother and Survivor with drama, lying, eliminations and a whole new take on the Sonic characters. Please check it out if you can. Alright, shameless plug over now :P_

QotD: Zonic is officially gone. He's left the school to go seek out Gold and finally stop being a coward. My question for today is what you thought of his character and his arcs (one of which might not be completely over yet *Cough finale cough*) He appeared as a throw away side character but slowly crept into main character status and as of part 3 was a fully fledged main character. What did you think of him, his relationships with Gold, Espio, Zally, Zector, Zespio, Ash and the others. Let me know!

Next Time on SH:EL

Flashback of Mina and her past with her mysterious father

Spike makes a shocking discovery about Breezie

Blaze laments about the real possibility of a dark side existing inside her

Cream visits her mother in the city

...and Scourge tells all in a revealing expose to Silver about his past

All this and so, so much more next time on Chapter 52: Scourge's Story


	52. Chapter 52: Scourge's Story

Chapter 52

Scourge's Story

Finally, after an admittedly long walk through the forest the path branched out into the deep sand on the edge of the lake and, there, sitting on a log facing the zaffre lake was the silhouette of somebody waiting for him. As Silver drew closer the person spoke and his voice was instantly recognizable.

"Chaos, finally. I was about to give up and leave," Scourge complained as he turned from the log he was sitting on beside the zaffre lake. His piercing blue eyes studied Silver as the hedgehog drew closer under the showering moonlight.

"Scourge? Why did you want to meet me out here so late?" Silver asked.

"I thought about it and you're right. We used to be best friends and I haven't exactly been fair to you since I came back into your life. You deserve some answers."

"Damn right I do."

"Well, take a seat," Scourge patted the space on the log beside him. Silver took a seat and waited for Scourge to speak again but he said nothing. His eyes were distant, unsure and glazed over as they studied the still lake. He leant over to grab the bottle of spiced rum and broke the seal. He took a sizable swig and offered the bottle of brown liquid to Silver. He shook his head.

"Scourge… why did you really call me out here if you didn't want to talk?" Scourge inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

"Silver. I think it's about time I told you everything. I at least owe you that much. You see, the truth is, everything changed the day we went to that Space Fight convention – the night I showed up at your door…"

 _I guess I should start at the beginning. Not the night I showed up at Silver's door, but before that. Back to when I was a child. It first started when I was nine years old. Dad had an addictive personality. He'd often go down to the pokies on Thursday nights or go down to bet on the footy games. He'd be furious and drunk whenever his team lost._

 _I can still recall several nights when he'd bust open the door at two in the morning. I'd tiptoe to my door and peer through the crack to see him hit my mother for trying to calm him down. My heart broke for her. I loved her. She was my world and I was her little space man. She was the single most important thing in my life. We shared everything – I was quite the mummy's boy. That's why it was so painful hearing her take the abuse from my father. I can't even count the amount of nights I cried myself to sleep silently with the fear that he'd hear me and hit me too. I was too scared to stand up to him. I was terrified of him. I'd often hide from my fears in my hobbies. My toys, my school work, my books and cartoons but, most importantly, in the stars._

 _I loved space from a young age. I always wished I could just fly away from my father and live amongst the stars but every morning I woke up in my bed, on earth, my tears from the night before still staining my eyes. I guess that's why I fell in love with Space Fight. It had everything I loved. Action, adventure in space and, most importantly, a boy who had the same dream as me – to run away to the stars. He achieved his dream and became the most important man in the universe. A hero that saved people like my mother. I never could._

 _Then, on my tenth birthday things changed. I guess dad thought it was a sign so he went to the races and bet his entire month's salary on horse number ten. It lost. I remember the night so vividly. It was a clear, warm summer night and dad stormed home around eleven at night. The sound of the door slamming closed aroused me and, like usual, I tiptoed to the door and watched in horror._

 _"Where is he?" my father growled._

 _"He's asleep in his room," my mother replied. He pushed past her groggily and stomped towards my bedroom. I was about to dive under my bed to hide when my mother jumped between him and my door. "Don't do this."_

 _"Move out of the way!" he hissed._

 _"Don't take your anger out on the boy."_

 _"It's his fault. He made me bet on number ten. He made me lose a month's wages!"_

 _"It's not his fault!"_

 _"I said move!" The putrid stench of alcohol still wafted on his breath and stung my mother's eyes but she refused to budge. She didn't move a muscle._

 _"No," she dared. My father raised his hand and slapped her across the face. She still didn't move. He hit her again and again and again. She erupted into tears – so did I – but still she stayed between him and the door. Still, despite the relentless thrashing he gave her, she protected me from him. Eventually he got tired._

 _"Fine. Protect the maggot for all I care. Don't expect me to buy him any food for the next month, though," my father grumbled as he marched off to bed without another word._

 _"Mum?" I whispered through the door, tears running down my cheeks. "Is he gone?"_

 _"Scourge… sweetie… go back to bed," my mother choked through raspy breathes as she fought through her own pain and exhaustion._

 _"Mum. Are you okay?" I asked as I inspected the bruises he had inflicted upon her._

 _"Scourge… please…" she begged but I wouldn't budge. She couldn't hold her tears in front of me and burst into an uncontrollable mess. I knelt down beside her and hugged her. I didn't want to let go. I wanted to protect her the way she protected me. We stayed like that for what felt like hours. Me and her, together on the floor outside my room. Finally, she gathered herself and pulled something out of her back pocket._

 _"What's that, mum?" I asked. Her bruised hands shook._

 _"It's for you," she said as she handed me a black envelope with white speckled dots adorning it. "Open it." Slowly I tore it open to reveal a piece of paper with big font running across the top – Welcome to Space Camp._

 _"Are… are you serious?"_

 _"I wanted to surprise you in the morning," my mother said. Now that your finally ten you're old enough to attend that space camp you've been talking about for years. It cost me my yearly bonus but I wanted you to be happy._

 _"But mum… I can't leave you alone with him. Not now."_

 _"Don't worry about me, my little space man. This is a big birthday and I want you to enjoy it. Enjoy a week away and I'll be here when you get back."_

 _"But mum, I–"_

 _"No, I'll be fine. Just have fun at camp and I'll be happy for you. Remember, even when the world seems its darkest and everything has turned against you, smile through it. Stay strong, be brave and never let people see you at your weakest."_

 _"Okay mum, I love you."_

 _"I love you, too, my little space man," she smiled through he broken face. The next week I was off to space camp. That was when I had the best week of my life. That was when I met Silver the Hedgehog; Silvs – my best friend._

"That was when I met you," Scourge said as he turned to look again at Silver after recounting his story through a stagnant stare across the lake.

"I… I never knew," Silver whispered.

"I never told you," Scourge shrugged.

"But how come you always seemed so happy, optimistic and carefree when we hung out?"

"Because mum told me to be. Why did you think we always had sleep overs at your house? Did you ever wonder why we never did at mine?"

"Because of your dad?"

"Bingo."

…

It was a lazy Sunday morning for the students of Mobius High's Emerald Lake campus. Most snoozed through the morning cocooned in their warm blankets, blinds drawn to block out the dreary atmosphere that had descended with the wind. Dark clouds blanketed the heavens and brought with it buckets of rain that doused the grounds.

"I guess we couldn't expect the good weather to last forever," Julie shrugged as she closed her umbrella, shook of the droplets that clung to the material and deposited it in the umbrella stand beside the door to the common room.

"Yeah, but I still don't understand why we couldn't have just waited until after it let up," Knuckles complained.

"Because you know I get cranky if I don't get my morning coffee," Julie laughed as she blew on the billowing drink and took a greedy sip.

"Hey, did you guys get me my mocha?" Manic asked from his spot on one of the couches that littered the common room.

"We got you, bro," Knuckles said as he handed Manic the coffee and took a seat beside him. Julie decided to pull up a beanbag and drop it on the floor in front of the couch and made herself comfortable. They were the only three lounging in the common room that morning. Everybody else was either at Emerald Café or still in their dorm rooms.

"So, Knux, a little birdie told me that you and Sonia have been getting pretty close," Manic taunted playfully.

"Was that little birdie Sonia?"

"I'll never tell," Manic grinned. Knuckles could feel the blush on his face.

"Was it? Did she say we were getting close? Were those her exact words?" Knuckles fired a bunch of questions without pause. Manic only laughed in response.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you've got a little crush on Sonia," Julie joined in with a giggle.

"I do not. We're just friends is all."

"Sure," Julie rolled her eyes.

"Hey, if you need my blessing I'm totally cool with it. Besides, you do always end up dating sisters, don't you?" Julie and Knuckles both scowled at him. "Sorry, that joke was poor taste. My bad."

"Yes. Your bad," Knuckles grumbled.

"Speaking of girls," Julie wanted to turn the conversation around on Manic to get some revenge. "I've heard rumblings of you and Amy."

"Puh-lease, that's long dead."

"Really? What happened? Did you feel guilty because she was technically dating Sonic when you first fucked her?" Knuckles added unhelpfully.

"Dude…"

"That was for that sister joke."

"Fair."

"Wait, what? That's when you and Amy first started seeing each other? I heard about you guys sleeping around at Elias' party but I didn't think it was that serious," Julie gasped.

"Well, whatever it was she screwed up. After Mina I'm done letting girls mess around with my emotions. I don't want to see that girl again," Manic complained.

"I might not be close with Amy or anything," Julie prefaced, "but I think she still likes you."

"Yeah. She knows she messed up, but I think she wants to talk to you about it."

"She already has," Manic said.

"And what did you say?"

"I said I wanted nothing to do with her. Then she asked if we could still be friends or some bullshit so I blocked her number." Knuckles and Julie both scowled at him again.

"You're an idiot," Julie said plainly.

"What?"

"She's right. I know she might have said some dumb stuff at the party but that doesn't mean you should cut her out of her life. I know Amy. She's quite blunt. If she is trying hard to be friends, I think it means she genuinely wants to be friends. Why don't you give her a chance?" Knuckles said.

"Why should I?" Manic continued to dodge the questions.

"Because she's trying to make amends. I think you of all people should be able to give her a second chance," Julie added.

"Why me?"

"Because every time you've given somebody a second chance it's worked out for you. Think about it. If you hadn't accepted Sonic then you and him wouldn't have a good relationship now. Also, you and I had a pretty big fight, twice, but we kept give each other more chances because we're best friends."

"We're best friends?" That took Manic by surprise.

"Yeah, we are. And as your best friend I can tell you that Amy is messing with you. Just hear her out and give her a chance. If she tries anything or proves to you that she isn't worth it then you can cut her out of your life. But you never gave her a chance at friendship when a relationship didn't work."

"Knuckles is right, Manic. It can't hurt," Julie shrugged.

"I guess," Manic sighed as he fished out his phone, took a sip of his mocha and flicked through his contacts until he found her name.

Manic: _Hey. Can we meet up? I think we should talk._

…

The raucous laughter of little Max Flowlight radiated through the room like the sun, excusing its absence. He had just been fed, changed as was crawling around the room giggling at little stuffed animals that Sonia and Sally threw to each other.

"He's so cute," Sonia said adoringly.

"Especially when he isn't crying," Sally pointed out.

"I'm sorry about last night. I don't know what was wrong with him," Lumina apologized for her child's behaviour the night before. Long through the night Max was crying and Lumina had spent tireless hours trying to quiet him down. Around three in the morning Fiona had lost it, shouted profanities and stormed out.

"It's okay. I might not know anything about raising a child but I understand how hard this is and we both want you to know that we are here for you," Sally offered sympathetically.

"Yeah, and besides, it's good practice. Seeing little Maxy just makes me happy that I've been blessed with this bundle of joy," Sonia rubbed her bloated stomach. "For the first time I'm actually happy that I'm pregnant."

"It's hard, and tiring, and it'll make you want to tear your hair out – no pun intended," Lumina smirked as she scratched her bare scalp. "But it's worth it. Just seeing his little face smile up at me… I know it makes all the heartache worth it. When you have your baby, I'll be there to help you if you would like."

"I'd like that, Lumina," Sonia smiled. "I'm glad you ended up in this room. Maybe our children could have a play date some time."

"I'd like that."

"Do you know the gender?" Sally asked.

"She's a girl. I'm still not sure on the name but I have a few ideas," Sonia mused.

"That's so cute. Maybe in fifteen years' time they'll be boarding at this school together," Sally laughed. "They might even be dating."

"Let's not talk about that just yet. She isn't even born."

"I'd support him if he ended up with your daughter, Sonia. Because I'd know that his girlfriend comes from good crop."

"Thanks," Sonia smiled, the two mothers finding new found respect for each other over the recent week.

"Alright, that's it!" Fiona shouted as she slammed open the door with a loud bang. The noise frightened little max and he instantly burst out into tears. Lumina flocked to her child on instinct and glowered at Fiona.

"Put him down. We need to talk."

"You can talk to her right here," Sally stood between the two.

"No, it's okay," Lumina sighed when she noticed the anguish behind Fiona's hollow eyes. She gave Max to Sonia. "Can you look after him for a moment?"

"Of course." Lumina kissed Max on the head and followed Fiona out into the hallway.

"What's this all about, Fiona?"

"I have a P.I. I had to make a few deals with my overbearing demon of a mother to use his services but I've been putting him to good use."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Well originally I was using him to dig up dirt on Rouge to get back at her and Scourge but I've decided to change his objective. I've hired him to go find that son of a bitch Void," Fiona explained.

"Void? Why?"

"Because you deserve to find him. He has to answer to his life and not just run away from it like a coward." Lumina smiled and flung her arms around Fiona in a surprise hug that took the vixen off guard. Hesitantly she gave a tentative squeeze back before breaking contact.

"Thanks Fiona."

"Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you, I'm only doing this because I want to be able to sleep at night and I can't do that with all that crying!"

"Alright Fiona, alright," Lumina smiled again before she slipped back into the dorm room to hug her baby. Fiona smiled at her back, her gaze flicking behind Lumina to little Max giggling again in Sonia's arms.

…

 _It was the day of the big convention. Silver and I spent the whole laughing, playing and experiencing everything on offer. His dad dropped me home that night and we said our goodbyes, promising that we'd catch up before school started back up on Monday – our first day of our final year at middle school._

 _I spent hours telling mum about all the exciting things me and Silver did and she was so happy for me. She decided that next year she was going to personally take me and Silver with her._

 _"You promise?"_

 _"Of course, my little space man," she laughed as she kissed my forehead goodnight. She carefully removed my glasses and placed them on my bedside table. "I love you," she whispered as she left my room and I drifted off to sleep. However, it didn't last long._

 _To this day I still don't know what had him so mad. Did he lose money? Did he get in a fight? Did somebody do something to him? I don't know, but that night he was different. I still remember the fire he had in his furious eyes. It was hellfire._

 _I awoke to glass breaking and my mother screaming. I don't know how long they had been arguing but the sound was deafening._

 _"Be quiet or you'll wake Scourge," my mother said, her voice wavering slightly. I threw on my glasses and ran towards the door but I couldn't see the kitchen from my bedroom._

 _"You always defend that little faggot, don't you," my father growled._

 _"Darling, please, put the glass down," my mother begged. That got my attention. I pushed open the door and hastened down the hallway and peered around the corner. They were in the kitchen, standing on our black and white tiles._

 _"You need to wake up and see what our son is becoming. You're encouraging that nerd shit. He's a loser! A freak! He only has one friend and it's that gay little silver hedgehog from down the street."_

 _"Silver is a lovely boy."_

 _"Don't you see what's happening? He's pushing all that space shit on our son."_

 _"He's equally excited for a nice hobby that could lead to our son becoming a famous astronaut," my mother defended._

 _"He's turning our son into a nerd, a loser, a nobody and a fag. Who knows what that freak is doing with our son behind closed doors."_

 _"Listen to yourself. Scourge is not a nerd, he's not a loser and whether he is or isn't gay is none of our concern. We're his parents and we need to support him in all his endeavors."_

 _"He's a little shit that doesn't nothing but use up my money and jinx my bets. You've protected him long enough. It's time I showed him what life's really like," my father threatened as he brandished the jagged, broken half of an empty beer bottle that he'd smashed across the kitchen counter._

 _"You won't take another step," my mother countered. That's when his eyes flicked beside her and met mine. I saw the fires of hell in his eyes. He snarled and I screamed. "Scourge?" My mother screamed._

 _"Mum?"_

 _"Come here right now," my father growled as he stumbled towards me, clearly intoxicated. He was frothing at the mouth. He pushed my mother aside and she slammed into the fridge. I yelled and tried to run but he grabbed he wrist forcefully and dragged me back into the kitchen._

 _"Take your hands off him!" My mother yelled. I struggled against him but he was too strong._

 _"See how weak he is? See what you've been nurturing?" my father spat on me as I tried desperately and fruitlessly to break free of his grip. "Let's give him a bit of character." With a crazed glint in his eye he reeled back and sliced at me with the jagged glass. He slashed a deep cut across my chest. It ripped my white tee-shirt and took a deep chunk of flesh out of my stomach. I wailed in pain but he wasn't done. He did it again and again, all three to my stomach. I almost passed out from the pain._

 _"Enough!" My mother screamed as he reeled back to slash me again. She ripped me free of his grasp and pushed me aside, stepping between me and my father. He was too slow to stop and the glass plunged deep into her the left side of her chest – right into her heart._

 _"I'm sorry, my little space man," she whispered as she looked at me, tears in her eyes. She fell to the floor with a thud and life left her body. Her death was quick._

 _"M-M-Mum?" I babbled. I fought through the pain that inflicted my body as I crawled over to her body. She was hunched in a pool of blood – both hers and mine._

 _"Look what you made me do!" My father yelled, freaking out slightly. He trembled but blamed me. "You've ruined everything, like you always do!" He picked me up by the scruff of my neck and sent a barrage of punches into my unprotected face. The first one cracked my glasses and they fell to the floor beside my mother. The next couple bruised my face, broke my nose and my jaw, and blackened my eye._

 _"Shit!" That's when the realization hit him. He dropped me to the floor and rushed to the door. It slammed with a loud bang and, suddenly, everything went quiet. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I couldn't feel my face or my stomach and I was a mess, stained with blood and tears. I hobbled over and hugged my mum. I didn't know what to do or where to go. That's when I remembered where I felt safe; who I felt safe with._

 _I limped over to my room and grabbed a garbage bag and stuffed all my clothes into it. I ran out my door and down the street without looking back. I knew I had to get as far away from that house as possible in case he decided to come back and finish me off like he did to her._

"That's when I arrived at your house that night and the rest, as you know, is history," Scourge said.

"I… I never knew," Silver admitted. "I remember you talking to my parents and then I remember police all around our neighborhood. I knew your mum died but dad never told me that it was your father that killed her or did that to you."

"I asked him not to," Scourge answered solemnly. "We came up with a lie."

"You told me you were in a car crash and that's why you were beaten up and had scars."

"I thought you'd treat me differently or be scared of me if you knew the truth," Scourge admitted.

"I would never think differently of you, Scourge. You were my best friend," Silver admitted. "I lost my best friend and my girlfriend in the same year. You were all I had left and you left me, too."

"I'm sorry I left."

"Why did you leave me?" Silver asked, but Scourge simply took another swig of the rum and said nothing more for a long time.

…

"Absolutely not!" Razor screamed sternly, slamming his fist on his mahogany desk. This sudden outburst took Elias completely off guard. Usually Razor was calm, collected and agreed with anything the rich teenager asked for.

"It's just a little Halloween party," Elias defended his idea.

"Just a little party. Just a little party? Don't you remember what happened last party?" Razor asked rhetorically.

"It was an accident."

"Somebody died, Mr. Acorn. No. Sorry Elias, but I won't allow another party."

"Will I need to tell my parents to donate less money next year?" Elias tried his hand at bribery.

"For the last time my answer is no. I can't believe you are pushing this. I don't care about your parent's money. It's not worth another life on my hands."

"But… but…" Elias sighed. He knew pushing it was a bad idea. He just thought a party might be just the thing to lift the spirits of his fellow classmates, but Razor did have a point. Nothing but trouble had happened at his parties this year. First a girl had gotten pregnant and still has no idea who the father was, then a kid got killed in a hit and run. "I'm sorry, you're right."

"Thank you, Elias," Razor nodded. "Dismissed." Elias left with his head low. He just wanted to make people happy. It seemed nothing would lift everybody's dour spirits.

…

"Knock, knock," Spike sung out as he wracked his knuckles on the wooden door. A few moments past before a tired girl dressed in white and purple striped silk pajamas answered the door with a yawn.

"Oh, hey Spike, what are you doing here?" Breezie asked as she stretched her tired muscles. She combed her long nails through her messy, unkempt bed hair as she stepped aside to let him enter.

"Did you just wake up? It's, like, midday," Spike pointed out.

"Yeah, on a Sunday. Some of us need our beauty sleep, not that you'd know anything about that," Breezie jested playfully.

"True. I always just wake up this pretty."

"So, you never answered why you were here."

"Oh, well, about that," Spike began awkwardly, shuffling his feet on the ground.

"C'mon, spit it out, it's only me," Breezie laughed as she pushed him lightly on his chest. He stumbled backwards and fell backwards onto her bed. Breezie jumped down next to him and threw the blanket back over her legs.

"I finally got around to reading your history report. Y'know, the one you tried to trick me into writing for you…"

"Right… Again I'm super sorry about that. I was just stressed and dumb and I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that and–"

"Breezie," Spike interrupted her. "This isn't about that whole situation. I've forgiven you for it, remember? Besides, it was partially my fault anyway. I should have been a better tutor and made sure you were learning and doing work too."

"So, if it's not about that then why did you bring it up?"

"I said I finally read it. And… it's really good. Like, really good. You even changed the parts that I wrote for you and everything."

"I felt guilty for copying your work. I wanted to show you that I did appreciate you helping me and actually did learn some of the things you taut me. I wanted to show you that I could do it myself and appreciated everything you did for me," Breezie said in earnest.

"I also saw the note you left for me after the conclusion." Breezie blushed. She'd completely forgotten about the sticky note she'd given him when she was at her lowest and he still detested her. "I thought it was really sweet and, well, you know I already forgive you, but I wanted to say it again. I forgive you, Breezie."

"Thanks, Spike. You don't realize how much that really means to me," Breezie smiled.

"I also…" Spike swallowed, suddenly nervous and slightly sweaty.

"Spike, you alright? You've gone pale." Spike whet his lips and spoke slowly.

"I also wanted to ask you if… well… maybe… if you wanted…"

"To go out with you?" Breezie finished his sentence for him when he lost his words. Spike stared at her and slowly nodded.

"I was going to say give us a try but, yeah," he whispered. Breezie smiled.

"Yes, I do," she said as she closed her eyes, tilted her head and leant in. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Breezie's lips touched Spike's like they'd done so many times in his dreams. They were just like he'd always imagined they'd taste like. Sweet, soft, perfect. "So, how was that?" Breezie asked when she pulled away and smiled at him. It melted his heart.

"Perfect," Spike breathed.

"You know, it's funny, really," Breezie said.

"Funny?"

"Oh, not the kiss, I'm just thinking. Last time a boy asked me out like that and we had a spontaneous kiss was right before I met you… with Silver."

"Silver…" The name rolled uncomfortably off Spike's tongue.

"It was the night my parents fled the city. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell anybody. It was after that night they transferred me here for my safety. It was after that night I met you," Breezie smiled.

"Your parents had to run? How come you never told me that?" Spike asked in surprise.

"It never really came up. Parents were never really something you and I talked about. You always avoided talking about your father and I never brought up my parents. My mother has been dead for a while now and my dad…" Breezie blinked back tears. "I got the call that he died the other day, too."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Spike said sympathetically. "My mother died recently too." The new couple sat in silence for a while until Breezie took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face.

"Hey, at least we have each other now, right?" Breezie said as she pressed her lips against Spike's. He pushed back roughly and grinded his pelvis into hers, rubbing his hands over her back.

"And it's about time, too," Spike said.

"Spike, as much as I'd love to stay here all day in bed with you, I do have to get ready. I have a shift at the café in twenty minutes."

"But you only just woke up."

"I know. I always cut it close on my Sunday shifts," Breezie laughed. "You could always walk me to work, though, boyfriend," she winked. Spike felt a tingle through his body. He liked the sound of that.

"Alright, girlfriend, I will," the two laughed.

"You have to turn around, though. We aren't quite at the stage where you can see me naked… yet." Spike blushed and turned to give her privacy. As she changed, he spoke up. There was something still nagging him, itching the back of his brain. He knew he should have just ignored it but curiosity got the better of him.

"Breezie. You said that you came here because your parents had to flee and they didn't take you with them to keep you safe. Why did you have to flee? Why did they have to keep you safe?" Spike asked.

"Well… the truth is that dad made some bad investments and needed some money pretty bad. He borrowed a lot of money from the mafia and he couldn't pay them back. Their boss threatened them and so they had to flee the country but were scared they'd track them down, so they put me into boarding school far away," Breezie explained. Spike stood still, rigid. The colour drained from his face.

"The… the mafia? It can't be."

…

Sonic was struggling. He was fidgety, distracted and a cold sweat wracked his body. His eyes shifted and his body ached. He felt dizzy. He needed a fix. He didn't remember it being this hard to quit last time, although he didn't inject as much last time. His eyes kept flicking to the window – to the forest where he hid his final supply.

"It couldn't hurt to have just one more fix before I quit for good," Sonic told himself as he laced on his shoes and rushed to the door. However, when he wrenched it open he came face to face with Blaze, almost knocking her to the floor in his haste.

"Oh, hey Sonic. Glad to see you're here," Blaze answered with her fist still raised. She was about to knock when he opened the door. Sonic froze. He couldn't let her know he was struggling. He closed his eyes tight for a moment, willed his body to cooperate and put on his charming smile.

"Hey, I was just about to go get some food," Sonic lied.

"Oh, really? Mind if I come with you? I need to talk to you about something," Blaze asked. Sonic bit his lip. He wanted to make an excuse. He wanted to go to his supply, but he couldn't so no to Blaze.

"Of course," Sonic faked a smile as he closed the door behind him. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Sonic asked as they walked down the hallway. Sonic needed something to distract him. Anything.

"I didn't really want you to know but, well, I'd rather this come from Sally than you and I know she'll tell you sooner or later. The truth is… Fiona and I worked together to sabotage her energizer bars and fatten her up back when she was scared about losing weight," Blaze admitted. Sonic's jaw dropped.

"You what? How… how could you do a thing like that?"

"I wanted revenge. Silver, of all people, tried to tell me this wasn't the way but I was still so mad at him for cheating on me that it only pushed me towards the idea."

"As much as I hate to say it, Silver's right. Revenge is never the answer. There's always another way."

"But she put me in a coma, Sonic!" Blaze almost screamed as they descended the dormitory steps. "She burnt down our school and made us all come out here."

"It was an accident," Sonic defended.

"Still…"

"You can't keep doing bad things to people, deserved or otherwise," Sonic advised. "I know it can be tough, but you need to forgive her. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do, but only then can we be free of our own demons."

"Forgiveness won't save me from my demons," Blaze sighed. "I don't know what's come over me, Sonic. It's like I've got this darkness growing inside of me. It's come out a lot more recently and… I'm scared." Sonic reached out and his fingers grazed Blaze's hand. She accepted the gesture and closed her hand in his as they walked.

"There's no darkness, Blaze," Sonic assured her. "You're one of the nicest people I know."

"But you don't know the real me lurking underneath. I'm afraid it might consume me and I might do something horrible." Sonic stopped in his tracks and turned to her.

"I won't let it," Sonic said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and stared deep into her pupils.

"But you don't know what it's capable of."

"But I know you."

"But Sonic, I–" Blaze was interrupted when Sonic let his instincts take over. He quickly closed the gap between their lips. Blaze was surprised for a second before she gave into the kiss, pushing back passionately against Sonic.

"I… I'm sorry," Sonic whispered when he pulled back.

"No, it's fine," Blaze said breathlessly. "I… I liked it."

…

 _The next few weeks I lived with Silver and his family. It was strange, having a family that seemed to love each other so much. His father worked a nine-to-five job and his mother worked weekends, but they both loved Silver and did anything for him. It was strange. I felt like an outsider._

 _After I recovered, went through some therapy and accepted the reality of my situation, I finally started going back to school with Silver. I got some looks, but nothing too bad. I slept in his room, played games with him and ate dinner each night with his family. To my surprise, life almost began to be… pleasant. I was quieter, I didn't smile as much and had completely lost my appetite but life became livable._

 _That was until one night during dinner when Silver began talking about a camping trip he wanted to go on with me to see the meteor shower that was set to dazzle our heavens in a week's time. His mother was enthusiastic and his father thought it was a wonderful idea. I didn't agree._

 _"Aren't you excited, Scourge?" Silver had asked me. I hid my face. "Scourge?"_

 _"I don't know if I really want to go," I mumbled._

 _"Scourge, sweetie, is something wrong?" Silver's mother cooed._

 _"No. Nothing's wrong. I…" I trailed off. Silver's father noticed my behaviour._

 _"Darling, why don't you and Silver go take the dog for a walk?" his father said. His mother nodded and stood up._

 _"But I want to know why Scourge doesn't want to come," Silver whined, but his mother seized him, grabbed the dog's lead and marched out of the room._

 _"Scourge, is it your father? Has something happened recently? Your psychiatrist has told me you were making such good strides forward."_

 _"I… I just. I haven't really thought about space fight or astrophysics or our love of the stars of anything like that until now," I admitted._

 _"And why is thinking about those things troubling you, son?" He asked. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the word. Son. It felt evil, somehow._

 _"I guess I just didn't want to think about that nerdy stuff anymore."_

 _"It's not nerdy. I think it's pretty cool."_

 _"My dad didn't think so. He used to call me a fag for liking it. He used to beat my mother because she encouraged my love of the universe and the stars." Silver's father seemed noticeably shaken but he gathered enough composure to pretend the news of his mother's beatings wasn't news to him._

 _"Well, your dad isn't here anymore. You're safe from him and in this house, you'll always be accepted no matter what interests you have," Silver's dad smiled._

 _That night I ran away. That night I took the few things I still owned and fled into the streets, where I spent the next few years. It finally made sense. I couldn't live in a place that let my nerdy side flourish. If I wasn't such a nerd then maybe I would have been able to stand up to dad that night. Maybe I'd have been stronger and been able to defend mum. Maybe she'd still be alive if I wasn't such a loser back then._

"But why did that make you run away that night?" Silver asked, still completely confused.

"I thought my nerdy side was being accepted," Scourge admitted.

"Of course it was," Silver smiled solemnly.

"I couldn't let myself continue to live like that. I needed to toughen up. I needed to leave my old life behind."

"Why?"

"Because of you."

"Me?"

"I loved you, Silver. You were my best friend. The best friend I'd ever had," Scourge said sadly. "After mum died you became the most important thing in my life and I was scared that dad would come back to find me and kill you, too. He was still out there, somewhere. I needed to get as far away from you as possible so you'd stay safe. I needed to get tougher and learn how to fight for myself."

"Scourge…" Silver sighed. "But… if you left back then, that leaves years between when you ran away and when I saw you back at the school at the start of the year. What did you do?"

"I lived on the streets," Scourge said surprisingly nonchalantly.

"How did you survive on the streets?" Silver asked, but as he did a small clash of thunder roared in the sky above.

"C'mon, it looks like it's about rain. We should call it a night," Scourge said as he held out his hand and felt the first drop of rain.

"But Scourge, I want to know why," Silver protested. "I need to know. I need to understand you."

"Let's head back. I'll tell you later."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

…

The small café tucked between two towering skyscrapers on a corner in the heart of Central City was buzzing. It was the colour of ripe supermarket lemons and had a shiny look. Sweet, soothing jazz poured out its open windows along with the aroma of freshly baked scones and roasted coffee beans.

If viewed in isolation, the patio which stretched outwards could be anywhere with its mahogany sheened hardwood floors, black wired chairs and tables each coupled with a verdant umbrella. It was on one of these circular tables that Cream sat at, hunched nervously as she sipped her coffee and kept her head on a constant swivel.

"Cream, nice to see you again," a stern, harsh voice pierced through the serenity of the café, coupled by the loud clicking of high-heels on the floorboards. Cream turned to the source of the noise.

"Hello, mother," Cream sighed.

"You could have chosen a closer place," Vanilla huffed as she shoved her rotund figure into one of the tiny chairs. "I haven't much time, dear. Tell me why you came back to the city to talk to me?"

"I don't either," Cream responded properly, pushing her shoulders back and sticking out her chin. Her mother always pressured on posture and she wanted to impress the judgmental, opiniated woman. "I have to get back to the bus before five."

"Then make it quick."

"I want to talk about Soleanna."

"Cream, we've been over this," Vanilla hummed in annoyance.

"I don't want to go back, mother. I don't want to leave my friends," Cream argued.

"I don't care. All year your grades have been slipping ever since you began boarding at that school. You've been boy crazy, and you've been affected deeply by the passing of that poor boy who died."

"My grades have been improving these past couple of weeks, I've finally moved forward after Tails' death and I'm on the right track to ace my final exams."

"Regardless, we are still moving. I have work in Soleanna and there are many of the world's top universities that you can apply for over there."

"I don't want to go to uni in Soleanna. I want to go to university here. I want to go to Diamond."

"But you didn't get in," Vanilla pointed out. Cream's face fell.

"If you're so concerned about my grades slipping then it won't matter if I get rejected from a Central City university or a Soleanna university."

"In Soleanna my reputation proceeds me. I can pull some strings for my own daughter," Vanilla scoffed.

"But mother…"

"My decision is final, Cream," Vanilla interrupted.

"Alright, there might be one more reason I asked to see you today," Cream admitted. This piqued her mother's interest. "I met this boy and I think I–"

"Really, Cream? I told you to forget about boys," Vanilla scolded. "Ever since you started dating your grades have slipped. First it was that Prower boy, then the boy you saved in the hospital who cheated on you. Every boy you've seen has broken your heart. I'm doing this for your own good, Cream. I'm just trying to protect you!"

"I don't need protection."

"Until you turn eighteen, you do."

"But I won't be eighteen until March next year," Olivia complained.

"Exactly. And you will celebrate your birthday in Soleanna. Do I make myself clear?"

"But mother…"

"Do I make myself clear?" Vanilla repeated forcefully.

"…Crystal."

…

Rouge wanted to be mad. She should have. She was used and she knew it, but she had to admit that Lien-Da had been clever. Rouge sauntered down the hallway and banged on Lien's door. She didn't have to wait more than a moment before the echidna opened it.

"Rouge, what a nice surprise. Please, come in," Lien-Da cooed, but Rouge held her ground.

"You can cut the act, Lien," Rouge hissed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's with all the animosity? I really thought we were becoming friends," Lien-Da pouted.

"I thought so too. But then I took a stroll late last night."

"And?"

"And I walked by a strange sight. I saw Cosmo hiding a small bag of cocaine in her pocket. She was rubbing her nose," Rouge scowled.

"Oh? Cosmo? What a sweet girl," Lien smiled.

"I thought I cut her off. I thought I'd ended her drug abuse. I wasn't sure how she could have gotten her hands on anything, let alone cocaine."

"It's a mystery to us all," Lien shrugged.

"Then I remembered a conversation you and I had," Rouge said in an accusatory tone. "I remembered telling you about Cosmo's addictive personality and I remember telling you about I had to cut her off. Only you knew about her predicament."

"What are you trying to say, Rouge?"

"I'm saying I know you gave her the cocaine."

"What proof do you have?"

"I should let you know who my roommate is."

"Why does that matter?"

"I share a room with Wave." Lien flinched. Rouge noticed. "I see you know her."

"We used to be old friends," Lien lied.

"That's not what I heard. She told me what you're capable of and she told me that you'd definitely use Cosmo's shortcomings to get yourself another druggie and a source of income. Just admit it."

"Alright, fine, I hooked her up. But what Cosmo puts in her body is none of your business."

"That's true. I can't get her to stop, and all I can do is ask you to stop being her supplier."

"I can't do that."

"I didn't think you could," Rouge sighed. "So I just came to say that I know, and that I'm impressed you managed to use me so quickly to find a new client. But, I won't be made a fool of again. Consider this friendship over."

"Rouge, c'mon, you're overreacting. I've heard some people talk about you, and I've had a run-in with your boyfriend already. You aren't the saint you're pretending to be," Lien accused.

"I might not be a saint, but I don't make people suffer for my own gain… anymore. Goodbye, Lien-Da," Rouge concluded before she walked away without another word.

"Whatever," Lien called after her. "Do what you want, see if I care!" Lien-Da slammed the door closed behind her and screamed.

…

 _I remember that day so vividly. I was only eight years old and my dad took me out to the movies and to go to the mall. I loved my dad. He was the perfect father. He had a great six-figure job, always made it home to have dinner and loved his family. He and mum always seemed very happy. I guess they weren't…_

 _The movie was cancelled, something went wrong with the projector, and dad decided that we should just go home and we can watch something together on the T.V. We arrived home two hours earlier than expected but when we pulled in the driveway there was a strange car. We walked inside and we heard something upstairs. Dad told me to wait at the door while he went to investigate but when I heard angered shouts my curiosity got the better of me and I ventured up._

 _What awaited me in my parent's bedroom I couldn't have been prepared for. Dad was shouting furiously while my mother was in bed with another man, my current step father, Arthur._

 _"Shellbreaker, this isn't what it looks like," Isabella said._

 _"The hell it isn't," Shellbreaker exploded. "How dare you. And with him!"_

 _"At least he loves me!"_

 _"And I don't?" Shellbreaker barked as he took a step forward. Arthur jumped out of the bed with nothing but boxers on and stood up to the towering, furious man._

 _"No. You don't. She's done being your punching bag," Arthur went toe to toe with Shellbreaker. I peered around the doorway and locked eyes with my mother. She was topless, and I could see the countless bruises running down her arm. I'd never noticed them before._

 _"Mina," Isabella gasped. Both Shellbreaker and Arthur turned to me._

 _"Sweetie, I said to wait downstairs," dad screamed at me, my presence doing little to diffuse his anger._

 _"Don't yell at her like that," Isabella shrieked._

 _"I'll talk to my daughter how ever I damn well please. Come on, Mina. I'm taking you away from here," Shellbreaker said as he sized my arm tightly and dragged me out of the room._

 _"Shellbreaker, come back here! Shellbreaker!" Isabella called after me but dad kept marching away. At the time I was scared, confused and angry. I was angry at mum. I didn't understand why she was naked in her bed with another man. If only I knew what my father was really like back then. If only I'd fought to stay with mum before she came to my rescue years later. If only I knew what was really going on between the two behind closed doors. Then maybe the rest of primary school wouldn't have been so miserable._

Mephiles studied Mina from afar that weekend. He knew something was up and he was certain that he'd heard her crying alone in her room when he went to investigate. Mephiles knew the signs of somebody who was struggling but he didn't know what to do. They'd never been friends. They'd never really interacted. Mina and Mephiles lived two very different lives at school, and their friendship groups never really overlapped. But he knew he needed to help. He had to at least try.

"Mina?" Mephiles asked in his usually stoic voice as he approached her when she was walking down the hallway that Sunday afternoon.

"Oh, hey Mephiles," Mina replied. "Sorry, I really can't stay and chat. I have to be somewhere."

"Please, this will only take a moment. I just need to make sure you're alright," Mephiles remained calm and friendly, which surprised Mina.

"Am I alright?" Mina asked. She was confused.

"Yes. I've noticed you've been different the past couple weeks and I wanted to make sure you were okay. I went to talk to you in your room the other day and I could have sworn I heard crying."

"Oh, that… that was nothing, really," Mina lied. "And I've just been a bit stressed because of exams. They are super important and I need to get a good score to get into the university I want to go to so I need to make sure I do well. I promise it's nothing else, but thanks for looking out for me. It means a lot," Mina smiled falsely through a brave façade. Mephiles didn't seem convinced but he didn't know what else he could say.

"Alright. Remember, if anything is troubling you, you should talk to somebody about it. It doesn't have to be me, but if you're struggling you shouldn't continue to try and go it alone. Okay?" Mephiles urged.

"Okay. Thanks Mephiles, I'll see you in class tomorrow," Mina dodged around him and sauntered down the hallway until she made a sharp left into the girl's toilet. She dropped her bag to the ground and rushed over to the sink. She turned on the faucet, waiting until the cold water spurted out, and splashed some on her face.

Instantly her façade faded and she burst into tears. She was inflicted with surge of shallow breaths. She tried to steady herself but she couldn't. It took all her strength to stay stone-faced in front of Mephiles as he approached her.

The truth was she wasn't okay. She hadn't been okay since she'd received the message that Shellbreaker was coming back to collect her. She couldn't face him again, but she couldn't talk to anybody about the things that happened those years she'd been living with him away from her mother. It was too painful. All she could do was stare into her reflection and study her mascara blemished, tear stained face and cry her heart out.

…

Breezie was lying on her bed with her laptop over her knees, typing away as she worked on her practice essay for history class that she wanted Ash to look over. She wanted to prove to Ash, to Spike and, most importantly, to herself that she could get a good mark and pass history despite the bumpy road. She was determined. It wasn't until a knock at the door took her out of her zone that she stopped typing feverishly.

Breezie saved her work, closed the laptop and slipped over to the door in her socks. However, when she opened the door her good mood was sucked from her like a vacuum and she was left rooted to the spot.

"I take it you haven't forgotten me, then," Nack the weasel smiled as he stood confidently at her door, silver rings tightened around his spindly fingers. He smiled eerily at her, showing his crooked, yet still pearly white, teeth.

"N-Nack…" Breezie wheezed.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Breezie? I was pretty sure that was you I saw in the audience at the assembly. It took me longer than I thought to find your room," Nack grinned as he pushed Breezie backwards and forced himself into her room. Breezie was helpless to do anything against him.

"Wh-what are you d-doing here?" Breezie croaked.

"I think you know. I learnt how to be a business man from my father. One of the first things he taught me was to never go back on a deal."

"That's a good lesson," Breezie found her voice and tried to placate Nack.

"It is, isn't it?" Nack paced back and forth. "And yet you went back on our deal. You ran away and hid from me, here of all places. I know it's been years but our deal still stands and I'm here to make sure you uphold your end of the bargain."

"You mean the only reason you enrolled into this school was because of the money I owe you?" Breezie said in surprise.

"Not exactly. Why I'm here is none of your business, but I think this is just Chaos' way of making sure you repay me. Why else would we run into each other years later?"

"What happened to you, Nack? We used to be friends."

"We still are," Nack assured. "But friends repay friends. You borrowed a lot of money from me to help out your father and I'm here to collect. Or else," Nack threatened.

"I don't have much money. I've barely been able to get by on the money I make being a barista," Breezie confessed.

"That's a shame, but it doesn't change the fact that you owe me. You have a week to get me the money. This is your last chance. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you or… what was that orange porcupine's name again?"

"You stay away from Spike!"

"Spike, that was it. I might pay him a visit too."

"Alright, I'll get you the money, just leave him alone. Please," Breezie begged.

"One week, Breezie. You've got one week," Nack repeated before he slipped out of the room to leave Breezie alone to wallow in her thoughts.

…

The day grew long and the sun had succumbed to the moon's glow as it hid itself for the night behind the tree-ladened horizon. The cafeteria began to grow quiet as the students finished their meals and retired to the dormitory. Mighty and Shadow were some of the last seniors to stay behind as they slowly ate their chocolate mousses.

"And I just don't know. I sacrificed everything for him and I love him with all my being but I don't think he trusts Maria," Shadow admitted.

"I think he might just be scared that you're still in love with her and that she might steal you from him," Mighty offered helpfully.

"But he knows I don't swing that way."

"I've known Meph for almost four years now and I know that he keeps his feelings hidden and buried deep down within him."

"I know, but we've got to the point where he tells me everything. We hide how we feel from the world, but we've found each other to pour our feelings into," Shadow explained. "At least, I thought we did…"

"Maybe just try and talk to him? It can't hurt."

"Did that help you and Ray?"

"Well, that was a completely different situation."

"How so? You loved Clove but left her to be with him because you loved him more and then he dumped you to be with her. I used to love Maria but am now with Mephiles and he's scared I'll leave him to be with her. Same difference," Shadow said.

"I didn't leave Clove to be with Ray. And he didn't dump me for her. Where did you get this from?" Mighty asked.

"That's what the rumours around are saying," Shadow shrugged.

"You know I'm not gay, right?"

"Bi?"

"Straight, actually. Either way, that's besides the point," Mighty shook his head. "The point is this is a different situation and I'm trying to help you so don't be such a dick."

"Wow, really helpful," Shadow said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Fine, enough about my love life, what about yours? If you don't love Ray then are you into anybody?"

"Well… there is this one girl I've been growing pretty close with. I think I might like her," Mighty admitted.

"C'mon, who is it? I don't want to be the stereotypical gay guy that loves drama but I do need to think of something else besides Maria and Mephiles right now."

"It's Cream."

"Cream? As in Cream the Rabbit?" Shadow asked in astonishment.

"Don't sound so surprised," Mighty sounded annoyed.

"I just didn't think you and her even knew each other," Shadow corrected himself. "That's awesome."

"Yeah, she's really kind and funny and we do these cute little things together and I don't know. I want to ask her out but I also think I might be rushing into things because of the whole Clove and Ray situation."

"Hmm, that is tough," Shadow pondered. "I can see that you might just need something now because of that and then when you finally move on you might realize that you never really liked Cream. That could end badly."

"Exactly."

"On the other hand," Shadow said louder. "You could also really like her and could just be acting like an idiot by letting her slip through your fingers. Chaos knows I was when I first met Mephiles and didn't even try because I was scared."

"Wow… that actually really helps," Mighty admitted. "Thanks, Shadow. And to think, I spent most of the semester hating you."

"Same here. I hate to admit it… but I'm glad that we're friends now. But if you tell anyone I'll deny it."

"I won't say anything," Mighty laughed. "But I think you should lower your guard around other people apart from just me and Mephiles."

"I have. It didn't end well," Shadow thought back to his confusing time with both Tails and Sonic.

"Should I even ask?"

"I'd rather you didn't."

"Cool."

"Cool…" Shadow and Mighty both descended into silence as they finished their desserts.

…

Scourge awoke by the sound of banging on his dorm room door. Jet complained and rolled over. Scourge swore under his breath and stormed to the door. He planned to yell at the person to go away but as he threw open the door he saw Silver shuffling from foot to foot.

"Silver?" Scourge whispered harshly. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep," Silver answered.

"So? Why did you come here?"

"I need to know what happened to you on the street."

"Silver, I told you I'd tell you later."

"I can't wait until later. You were my best friend, Scourge. Then you just disappeared from my life and now you show up almost four years later a completely different person. Something happened when you were on the street. Something changed you and I think I deserve to know why," Silver demanded. Scourge sighed.

"Alright, fair enough," Scourge slipped out of his room and shut the door quietly. "Let's go to the common room and I'll tell you what happened, but only if you let me get back to sleep."

"Isn't the common room closed after eleven?"

"Do you want to know or not?" Scourge growled. Silver nodded.

 _I spent years on the streets. I was all alone. I had to fend for myself. Several times throughout my desolate, starving days in those cold, damp alleyways my wounds festered. I was afflicted by many diseases, my marks got infected and I almost died more than a couple times. However, I learnt to grow strong, grow tough, and my scars faded to the ugly stomach blemishes they are now. However, every time I look in the mirror and see my stomach I'm reminded of what I had to go through to be here. I'm reminded of what I had to do to survive._

 _In my time on the streets I was mugged by other homeless people, I was ignored by civilians, I was stepped on by the elite and I was starved. After the first year I managed to find an abandoned, dilapidated house with broken windows, steps with rusty nails and a hollow roof that had been forgotten by the government. I hole up in there, made a home for myself and learnt to appreciate what I'd stumbled upon._

 _I threw my glasses away, too. Whenever I looked at my reflection in a store window, or saw the timid, skinny kid staring back up at me from a puddle of water in the cobblestone streets I was reminded of my father. I was reminded of what he did to my mother. I was reminded of what he tried to do to me. But, most importantly, I was reminded about how it was all my fault and how I was too weak to do anything. I discarded my glasses away and shed my old life. I was determined to change._

 _Those three years taught me some crucial skills. I learnt to be tough. I learnt to survive. I worked out, I stole and I avoided the police. I learnt how to take what I wanted. I learnt how to become the strongest version of myself. Then one day everything changed._

 _I was seventeen and I wanted a new pair of sunglasses. I stole them from a big department store and stumbled away through the streets when I noticed him. I froze. My blood ran cold and my feet became bolted to the cement. It was my father – out and about and living his life happily._

 _I steeled my nerves and followed him. I trailed him all the way to a small apartment complex. I wanted to approach him. I wanted to show him I was still alive. I wanted to show him that I hadn't forgotten about him. I wanted to show him he couldn't get away with what he did. Ultimately, I wanted to kill him and get vengeance for my mother._

 _For weeks I studied his movements. I mapped out the exact route he took to work every day, noting which times he was home and figured out the best point to ambush him. Then I bought a gun. On Thursdays my father would travel to get groceries and would take a shortcut down a dark alleyway at the twilight hour. That was where I laid in wait._

 _That fateful Thursday, just like I'd predicted, he strolled down whistling a tune. That's when I jumped out and surprised him, brandishing the gun._

 _"Dad," I yelled. He stopped, turned around and stared at me. I expected him to be surprised. I expected him to be scared. He wasn't. Instead, he smiled a nightmarish smile and spoke as calmly as anybody ever had to me._

 _"Hello Scourge. I was wondering when you'd finally track me down. Honestly, I didn't think you'd have the guts."_

 _"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you," I shouted, aiming the gun at him. I wanted to be brave. I wanted to show him I didn't fear him anymore but I couldn't. I was shaking like a leaf and my heart beat a thousand miles a minute._

 _"You're not going to shoot me. You're still a weak, little nerd," my father spat._

 _"Why do you hate me?"_

 _"You ruined my life."_

 _"What did I ever do to you?" I asked._

 _"You were born."_

 _"Don't take another step closer," I warned as he stepped closer to me. The crooked smile never left his face as he continued to close the gap between us._

 _"Not one step closer!"_

 _"I'm going to finish what I should have done years ago," my father grumbled as he came closer and closer. I could hold my arms still. I couldn't do it. He was right, I didn't have the guts. Despite everything, I was still that anxious, nerdy little boy that was too scared to save his mother that critical night._

 _That's when her image flashed through my brain. That's when I knew I had to stand up to him. I'd spent years preparing myself for this moment. I'd transformed, but was it for myself or was it for him? It didn't matter. I knew one thing – this was my chance. I closed my eyes, steeled my nerves and flexed my finger ready to squeeze the trigger._

 _"Stop!" A third voice called out from behind me. I whipped my head around and noticed a policeman rushing into the alleyway with his weapon raised. What I hadn't realized until much later was that a neighbor had seen my laying my trap in the alleyway and alerted the police. I'd lost my chance._

 _"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot him," I warned. That stopped the policeman._

 _"Don't believe him. He's just a coward!"_

 _"I swear to chaos, dad, I'll shoot your fucking brains out," I shouted as I let my emotions get the better of me._

 _"Do it. Kill me like you killed your mother."_

 _"You killed her!" I screamed as misty tears clouded my eyes. "You ruined my life."_

 _"Son," the policeman tried to grab my attention. "Whatever this man did to you, it isn't worth going down this path. I've seen kids your age pull the trigger because they thought they needed to. Please, kid, put the gun down."_

 _"You don't know what he did," I said. "He killed my mother. He tried to kill me."_

 _"We'll take him into custody and get this all sorted out, I promise," he tried to calm me down. "Just please, put the gun down."_

 _I hesitated. My gaze flicked from my father, only a few meters away from my face, and the police officer that had begun creeping closer towards us. I wanted to kill him. I needed to, but I knew this wasn't the way. Despite everything I couldn't take a life. Not even his. Mum wouldn't have wanted me to grow up that way._

 _"Okay," I sighed as I tossed the gun to the side. "Okay…" For the first time that entire encounter, my father frowned._

 _"I'm disappointed," he shook his head. "But I knew you weren't man enough to do it. You're just as pitiful as your mother." With those last words my father made a mad dash for the gun I'd tossed aside. In pure instinct I shut my eyes and ducked to the ground, fearing the worst. I was still just a coward._

 _"No!" The policeman shouted and reacted without thinking, shooting my father in the chest as he raised the weapon at me. His eyes bulged, went cold and rolled back in his head before he collapsed lifelessly to the ground._

 _I don't remember much of the specifics after that. He took me into custody and they found out who I was and who he was. They brought up all the old records and learnt everything. They knew they couldn't leave me on the street but I had no family to speak of. The only people I'd known were Silver and his family, but I couldn't go back there. Not after everything._

 _They got in contact with Razor at Mobius High and scheduled for me to go back to high school and board with them, but to get accustomed back to school they wanted me to attend the first week of their brother campus in the heart of Central City. They thought that the boarding school wouldn't be as much of a shock to the system._

 _In the end, after everything, it wasn't my father that I was scared of; rather, I was most scared of becoming him._

"That's where I saw you again and, I guess, you know the rest," Scourge breathed as he finally admitted what had happened to him. Silver was speechless. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to comfort his friend. "Are you happy now?" Scourge concluded bitterly.

"Scourge I…" Silver tried to find the right words but he couldn't. Nothing he could say would heal the deep wounds that Scourge had been inflicted in his life, both mentally and physically. Silver did the only thing he could think of. He wrapped his arms around his former best friend and pulled him in for a long, deep hug. And, surprisingly, Scourge hugged back.

"Thanks…"

"I know you might be scared of your weaker side, but no matter who you are or what you became, you know I'll always be there for you no matter what," Silver smiled. When Scourge didn't respond, Silver tried to probe further. "You said you weren't scared of him, but scared of becoming him?"

"Yes," Scourge nodded.

"Well, turning your back on who you really are and treating people they way you've been treating them so far this year… that's exactly what he would do. Don't you think in trying to hide from your past and him, you're becoming the thing you fear most?"

"You just might be right," Scourge said after moments of silence. Then, he stood and walked out of the room saying one last thing before he disappeared up the stairs. "You just might be right…"

…

It was almost dark by the time Zonic arrived at the building – number two-oh-three. Zonic walked up the steps of the cramped house that shared its outer walls with the two adjacent, similar houses and inhaled deeply. This was it. This was his time. He'd finally stopped running away from life. He'd finally stopped being a coward. He wasn't going to run away anymore.

Zonic took a final determined step forward and knocked on the wooden door. Again, the horrible feeling of fear and regret washed over him almost instantaneously. However, this time he wasn't going to run away. This time he was going to stand strong. He had to do it for Gold, for Zally, for Zector and Zespio but, most importantly, he had to do it for himself. No more running away.

"Hello? Can I help you?" An elderly hedgehog answered the door clutching a walker. A wide, toothless smile adorned her face.

"Oh, sorry, I might have the wrong place. Is this two-oh-three?"

"Yes, how can I help you?" the nice woman answered.

"Sorry, there must be a mistake. Doesn't Gold the Tenrec live here?" Zonic asked as politely as he could. "About this high, twenty-three years old, golden ears?"

"Oh, you must be talking about the woman that used to live here. She moved out last week." Zonic's heart instantly fell in his chest.

"Do you know where she moved to?"

"Sorry, I've no idea. Are you a friend of hers?"

"Something like that," Zonic replied dejectedly. "I'm sorry to bother you."

"It's no trouble at all. I hope you find her soon."

"Me too," Zonic sighed as he slumped down the steps. After everything, she was still out of his grasp. Finally he'd stopped being a coward and stood up to his own insecurities, but he'd missed her again. Zonic had finally tried to take a step forward in his life… but it was too little, too late.

* * *

 _A/N: And there you have it. Scourge's story is finally revealed. There were many theories but nobody quite managed to guess it. No, he wasn't secretly gay with Silver. No, he wasn't also secretly a member of G.U.N. He was just a nerdy kid that had an alcoholic, abusive father that blamed his child for his life falling apart and lashed out in a drunken rage. Scourge didn't hate Silver, quite the contrary. He ran away all those years ago to protect his best friend. His past and his time on the streets explained how Scourge went from space loving, glasses wearing nerdy hedgehog to the delinquent we know today._

 _We also had the first of a new set of flashbacks for Mina. Shellbreaker is coming to collect her and she is noticeably shaken. What happened to her? We know Isabella was cheating on him with her current step father, Arthur, but what happened after Shellbreaker took her away that has her so scarred?_

 _Brike is finally official. After teasing and tearing apart Spike and Breezie for the better part of the entire story they've finally become a couple. However, their happiness only lasted mere moments before Breezie's revelation of the fate of her parent's clued Spike in on the truth. Somehow, some way, his father was responsible for her parent's deaths. How can he start a relationship with her after he knows this deep secret. But it looks like Breezie has a secret of her own. Nack is after her. With both Trevor and Nack already pulling apart their relationship, can the best friend's turned couple last or will they crumble like so many others at this school?_

 _Manic confides in Knuckles and Julie about Amy and Blaze confides in Sonic about his dark side, but how will these character realizations fuel future plots? Will Manic give Amy another chance and will Blaze's darkness consume her and make her hurt somebody close?_

 _Meanwhile, Mighty confesses to Shadow that he thinks he's falling for Cream while she has to find a way to tell him that she's moving to Soleanna after graduation. Also, Fiona has dropped her grudge on Rouge to focus on finding Void for Lumina and baby Max. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review and let me know what you think, it always means a lot to hear from you._

 _QotD: Now that Silver knows Scourge's past, what should he do to help his former best friend?_

 _Next Time on SH:EL_

 _Spike tries to gather more information about Breezie's parents' deaths_

 _Nack tries to tempt his former gambling buddy, Cosmo_

 _The first flashback reveals some of Lien-Da and Wave's past_

 _Mina breaks down in front of Mephiles_

 _...And something bad is happening to Eclipse!_

 _All this and so much more, next time on Chapter 53: A Diamond in the Rough_


	53. Chapter 53: A Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 53

A Diamond in the Rough

The curtains were drawn, shrouding the extravagant living room in darkness. Deep maroon velvet carpets laced the polished floors. Decorative candlesticks stood tall on the glass coffee table. Old, vast and rare leather-bound books sat under a blanket of dust on the shelves of the intricately carved bookcase leaning against a wall. In the middle, lounging on the grand sofa, was Rosemary with a hand covering her eyes. She ignored the rattling of the branches on the glass windows or the pitter-patter of rain.

"For Pete's sake," a grumbling voice growled as stark light flashed on the room and the magnificent glass chandelier flared to life. Amadeus strode into the room. "You've been confined to this room since we got back from that accursed school. Rosemary turned but stayed quiet.

"You have to say something," Amadeus yelled. Naught but a sigh escaped Rosemary's lips. Amadeus had been trying for days to rouse his afflicted wife but she ignored all his attempts. It would seem that nothing could shake her from this zombie-like trance she'd found herself stuck in. Suddenly, the phone rang. Rosemary glanced at it but ignored it.

"Yes, hello?" Amadeus said as he swiped the phone off the table. "No, this is her husband, Amadeus. Yes, she is here. Dear, it's your manager," Amadeus said as he blocked the receiver with his hand. She didn't even stir. Amadeus rolled his eyes.

"No, sorry she isn't taking calls at the moment. Yes. Alright, I'll let her know and I'll make sure she gives you a call as soon as she can. Understood. Thank you for calling, have a nice day," Amadeus said as he hung up the phone.

"What did he want?" Rosemary asked. It was the first words she'd spoken in almost three days.

"He says work on the new movie can't wait much longer. They need you back in Westopolis to continue shooting within the week or they'll hire somebody else for the part."

"Let them do that, then," Rosemary sighed as she let her head fall back on the pillow.

"Rosemary," Amadeus huffed but bit his tongue. He took a deep breath and took a seat at his wife's side, combing a soft hand through her hair. "Darling," he adopted a soothing tone. "This has got to stop. I know Tails is gone. I miss him dearly, but you can't let that stop you from living. This movie is a big project and it will cement you as one of the greatest actresses of all time. You can't let this fall through your fingers because…" Amadeus trailed off.

"Because what? Because our only son died," Rosemary bit back, her spirit suddenly flaring to life with anger.

"I wasn't going to say that."

"Amadeus, how can you keep acting like everything is fine? Tails is gone, and it's all because we weren't there to help him. We were never there throughout his life. He had to grow up alone, with nobody but Ken for comfort," Rosemary was distraught. Fresh tears leaked from her black, puffy eyes and slipped down her pale, bare face.

"I know," Amadeus said solemnly. "But this can't keep affecting us."

"How can you say that? He was our son? How can you act like he never mattered to us? Just because he was gay? You threw him out! You abandoned him and you didn't even tell me until it was too late!" Rosemary shrieked.

"Darling, I–"

"No, you don't get to defend yourself," she bellowed. "I don't care who he loved. All I knew was that I loved him, but you cast him aside and didn't even tell me. You let him think that his own parents didn't even love him because you couldn't handle it. You were a horrible father, and you're a horrible man! You don't even care that he's gone."

"Of course I care!" Amadeus lost his cool. "I got confused and I got angry. I made some mistakes, but that didn't mean I didn't still love him!"

"Why didn't you show him that," Rosemary shouted.

"I tried."

"No you didn't! You ignored his pleas and you told him you didn't love him. You told him he was a disgrace."

"I… I didn't mean it. I was scared, but I never really wanted him to be out of our lives. I didn't want him to die. Oh, Chaos, I didn't want him to die but our only son, he's…" Amadeus trailed off as the soul-crushing realization finally settled in his heart and for the first time in the longest time he let himself cry.

"Honey…" Rosemary whispered when she saw her husband's tears.

"I'm so sorry. It's my fault he's dead. It's because of me…" Rosemary went to hug him – to console him but she bit back her instinct. She couldn't forgive him; not yet. He hid the facts from her. He let her go about her life with the knowledge that he told their son that they didn't want him in their life anymore. It was unforgivable.

"Yes. It is."

"I can make this better," Amadeus said with determination. "I won't let this go. I won't let them win. I'll make sure we get vengeance for our son. I'll make sure the school answers for their crime."

"How?"

"I've got in contact with Claire Fox and with her help we are going to sue that school for letting our son die. Mark my words, I'll avenge Tails so we can finally move on. I swear on our dear, dead son that by the end of the year, that school will be shut down!"

…

Nack was a lot of things. He was callous, crude, selfish. People called him hundreds of names. But there was one thing nobody could ever call him, no matter how much they disliked him – careless. He was cunning, meticulous and careful. He knew it was only a matter of time before Cosmo could come crawling back to him, but he needed to make sure he didn't drive her away with a thoughtless approach. He'd almost screwed it up once.

Nack had spent some of his free time between classes the past week studying her movements. He'd watch her move from one class to another from afar, mapping out her trajectory. He knew where she'd be, where she was going and he knew the best place to intercept her.

That place just happened to be behind one of the brick toilet schools adjacent to the sporting oval that she cut across to get to her environmental science class in the small laboratory on the forest's edge.

"Have you been avoiding me?" Nack whispered from the shadows as Cosmo rushed past the toilet block. Cosmo froze in place, hugging her books closer to her chest as her eyes darted all around her.

"Who-who's there?" Cosmo asked aloud. Finally, Nack made his presence known. "Oh, N-Nack. No, I haven't. You told me you'd be seeing me soon so I was just waiting for you."

"Come on Momo, lighten up a little. It looks like you're scared of me or something," Nack grinned showing his rows of pearly white teeth.

"I told you not to call me that," Cosmo huffed, her knees wobbling.

"Chill Momo, I'm just playing around. Why do you seem so nervous? We've been friends for years. It's just me; Nack."

"I thought I made it pretty clear that I didn't want to be friends anymore," Cosmo fought back, finding some of her nerve after his sudden surprise. A small frown crossed Nack's face. He thought his ambush might have made her just nervous enough to bite her tongue. He didn't want to admit it, but ever since she'd started attending this boarding school she'd began pulling away from him. He knew he needed to entice her. He needed to bait the hook again.

"Whoa, where's this hostility coming from?"

"Do you want the short list or the long one?"

"Alright, alright, how about I try to prove to you that I'm a changed man." Cosmo couldn't hold back a snort of laughter.

"You, changed? That's the funniest thing you've ever said."

"That hurts my feelings," Nack feigned pain. "I'm not the jerk you think I am. I'm not just the guy that only uses his friends for money anymore. I've come to see that money isn't all it's cracked up to be. I thought it's all I needed but I've come to realize that it's… lonely."

"Nack? Are you serious?" Cosmo asked when she saw the dejected look cross his face as he hung his head.

"I used you, and others, and drove everybody I ever cared about away. I just want my friends back. Screw the money you owe me, let's start with a clean slate, alright? I just want my old friend back," Nack begged with his hands together.

"Are you… crying?" Cosmo noticed the twinkling of a stray tear in the corner of his eye.

"What? Me? Never," Nack quickly wiped away the tear and cleared his throat, lowering his voice to be deeper and gruffer. "I don't cry."

"Aw, Nack, to be honest, I kind of miss our friendship too, a little."

"Really Momo? Why don't we hang out just once more? I've met some people and they've invited me to a poker game with them. You should come, just like old times."

"I really shouldn't. I don't gamble anymore."

"Please? For me? Just this once, and if you hate it, we won't go back." Cosmo bit her bottom lip in contemplation. She knew she shouldn't trust him. She knew she couldn't trust herself if she fell back into that world. An image of Jet flashed through her mind, but when she looked at Nack's earnest and pleading face she shrugged.

"Alright, just this once. Only for you," Cosmo forced a smile.

"Thanks Momo, you always were the best," Nack cheered as he gave her a quick hug.

"I really need to be off now. See you tonight."

"Bye!" Nack waited until she had rushed across the oval before he let a smirk cross her face. "Hook, line and sinker."

…

The heavenly aroma of freshly ground coffee beans wafted around the café interior as Spike thanked Bean, handed him the cash and took the two cardboard cups of coffee over to the bench overlooking the oval. Spike blew on his beverage and relished in its warming taste as it slipped down his throat.

"Hey Spike," Breezie smiled as she crossed the room and placed a kiss on Spike's cheek, slipping into the seat beside him. "I'm glad you came. I almost thought I'd have to spend my break alone," Breezie pouted as she removed her apron and placed it on the bench as Spike handed her the coffee he ordered.

"I wouldn't let my girlfriend spend her break alone," Spike said.

"You love saying that word, don't you," Breezie teased.

"Yes, yes I do. I've waited four long years to be able to say it so I'll say it as much as I like."

"You also waited a long time for these, too," Breezie whispered as she placed her soft hand on his cheek, turned his head and planted her lips on his.

"Do I get to do that as much as I like too?" Spike asked dopily.

"Of course." Breezie kissed him again, deeper this time. "Spike, is something wrong?" Breezie pulled back. She studied the intricacies of his face. Something seemed off. There was clearly something weighing on his mind.

"I never could hide how I'm feeling from you, could I?" Spike laughed humourlessly. "I did want to see you, obviously, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an ulterior motive today."

"So spill it. What's on your mind? I've still got twenty minutes."

"It's actually about your parents." Breezie's face fell.

"Oh."

"If it's still too much of a touchy subject I'll back off."

"No, it's okay. I don't like talking about it but for you… what would you like to know?"

"I'm sorry to have to ask this but, well, you told me you fled the country because you owed bad people a lot of money."

"My parents fell in deep with the mob, yeah."

"When they came back to Central City, you said you mother died?"

"Sort of. We fled as a family but they were scared that they were being tracked down. They thought it wasn't a good life for a young girl to live so they came back to enroll me in this country school and planned to go live in Soleanna so that the people after them wouldn't come after me. However, while they were here mum was mugged in the street and shot."

"A mugging?" Spike seemed almost relieved.

"That's what dad told me, but I know it's not true. They killed her, to send a message." Spike could feel his heart sink in his chest. "Dad came back to visit me for graduation. It had been four years. I guess he thought maybe they'd forgotten since he hadn't had any trouble but…" Breezie began to choke up as stray tears stung her eyes.

"Breezie, are you alright?" Spike placed a hand on her back and began rubbing in small circles.

"I was told he was murdered, around the same time as Tails' funeral. I just… I miss them so much," Breezie croaked as she buried her face into the crook of Spike's neck.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I'm here for you, Breezie," Spike continued to rub her back as he looked skywards. His mind was racing. All the missing pieces of the puzzle Spike didn't knew existed until recently began to fit into place. The proof was piling up and as much as Spike didn't want to admit it, everything made so much sense. He had to face his father. He needed to do it for Breezie. He needed to hear the truth from him. He needed Trevor to admit that he killed Breezie's parents.

…

"You were right, this was a nice idea," Sonia smiled as she took in the sweet spring aroma.

"I told you," Knuckles said with a content smirk. "Sometimes that school can just feel like a prison but out here it's like all your troubles just melt away."

Knuckles had gone to Sonia that lunch time and asked her on a walk through the forest. Surprised, Sonia graciously accepted. They had gone off the beaten path and stumbled across a small, babbling brook – one of Emerald Lakes many branches. The creek wound through the verdant forest and ploughed through the earth on a quest for the lake. The dew-tipped leaves rustled in the trees above their heads.

Knuckles removed his shoes and dipped his feet in the crystal water. The brisk water kissed his sun stroked skin. He almost slipped on the mossy rocks that covered the stream's floor. Knuckles continued to wade through the river.

"C'mon Sonia, the water's lovely," Knuckles urged.

"No thanks, I'm good."

"Somebody's a buzzkill today," Knuckles joked.

"I just don't know what's in that creek. There could be leeches," Sonia pointed out.

"Leeches?" Knuckles shrieked cowardly as he jumped out of the water like he'd been stung. He sat on a rock and inspected his feet diligently. The colour drained from his face when he saw one of the black slug-like creatures stuck to his ankle slurping his blood.

"I warned you," Sonia tutted.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Knuckles freaked.

"The best way to remove a leech is salt or fire."

"Do you have either?" Sonia shook her head. "Oh god, it's sucking out all my blood. Am I gonna die?" Knuckles cried melodramatically. Sonia sighed with a smile.

"You're such an idiot," she laughed as she trudged over to him, pinched the leech and pulled it off in one swift motion. The leech gave way and Sonia flung it over her head, leaving nothing but a small trickle of blood leaking out of Knuckles' ankle.

"Ouch! You could have warned me? What if I get infected?" Knuckles babbled on like a frightened child.

"Don't be such a baby, you're fine. Just wash off the blood and you'll be fine."

"Good idea," Knuckles nodded as he stepped back in the water.

"Uh, Knuckles, there will be more than one leech in that water." Sonia couldn't stifle the laughter and Knuckles hightailed it out of the water as fast as he could. He leant against one of the tree trunks to catch his breath. "Here, put your shoes back on," Sonia giggled as she handed him back his trainers.

"Thanks," Knuckles said. As he bent down to tie slip his socks on Sonia noticed something carved into the tree.

"Hey, look at that." Sonia pointed to a carving of a heart with the letters D and S inside. "I wonder who carved that?"

"What's the bet Sonic carved that? He's a walking cliché."

"I think it's romantic."

"Hey… I can be romantic."

"Oh, can you now? Name one romantic thing you've done." Knuckles opened his mouth to talk about the golden bangle fixed with the magnificent emerald but bit his tongue. That piece of jewelry has given him and his family nothing but heartache. He didn't want to jinx whatever was brewing between him and Sonia.

"This walk," Knuckles said finally.

"Okay, this was a nice idea. Actually, I've been meaning to ask you about this."

"What about this?"

"Knuckles… I'm pregnant. I'll be having a child early next year. Why would you be taking me on romantic walks knowing the baggage I literally carry."

"I don't care about that," Knuckles dismissed. "I only care about you and the wonderful person you are."

"Knuckles…" Sonia was filled with warmth. She stretched on her tippy-toes and gave Knuckles a peck on the cheek. "Thank you."

"No worries," Knuckles replied, trying his hardest to hide the blush on his face.

…

Mephiles had been livid for longer than he cared to admit. He didn't usually get mad. He was used to people hating him. He was used to being called names – freak, homo, loser – none of it ever phased him. It was all just water off a duck's back. However, something had him unreasonably madder and sadder than he'd ever been. Shadow.

It had been over a week since Maria had popped back up in Shadow's life in a happy surprise and since then Shadow has been different. He's been more cheerful, he's smiled more. Normally Mephiles would be thrilled that his boyfriend was so much happier, but Shadow had told him about his past. He knew about Maria, and how she was the only girl Shadow ever loved. He couldn't help but feel threatened. Shadow was hiding something, and Mephiles knew it had something to do with Maria.

"Shadow, can we talk?" Mephiles had asked that lunchtime when he approached Shadow eating a sandwich at a table beside some of his friends.

"Oh, hey Mephiles, what's up?" Shadow asked as he gave Mephiles a peck on the cheek.

"I need to talk to you," Mephiles turned from Shadow to Rouge and Cream sitting opposite him. "Alone."

"You can have him. He was being boring anyway," Rouge winked.

"Fine, let's go," Shadow shrugged.

"Good luck," Rouge taunted, only laughing at Shadow's scowl he shot her. Shadow followed Mephiles out of the cafeteria and over to their dilapidated rotting table behind the dormitory.

"So, what's on your mind, honey?" Shadow asked causally.

"Are you still in love with Maria?" Mephiles said bluntly. This took Shadow aback. He was left speechless. The question had come out of nowhere and he didn't know what to say, stumbling over his words. His reaction was enough of an answer. "I knew it."

"Mephiles, what are you talking about? I'm not into girls. I love you, not her," Shadow finally found his words.

"Cut the crap, Shadow. You've never lied to me before but I know when you're acting different. The signs are as clear as day."

"Mephiles, I don't still love her!"

"I heard you talking to her the other day," Mephiles accused. "After the funeral she came to you and I heard her ask if you still loved her. You said you did."

"Were you eavesdropping on my conversation with her?" Shadow growled.

"I just happened to be walking past," Mephiles answered defensively.

"I can't believe you trust me so little that you had to stalk me and listen to my conversations with her."

"I needed to be sure."

"You didn't trust me. Me, you're boyfriend! I fucking spent weeks searching for you when you went missing and gave up my job and my life to save you."

"Don't give me that shit. Don't try to take the high ground. He was your boss that kidnapped me. Besides, at least I'm not cheating on my boyfriend."

"I'm not cheating on you," Shadow sighed with exasperation. His temper was rising. The two had never had a real fight before and this was new territory. He didn't realize how stubborn Mephiles could be sometimes. "And if this is your definition of cheating, then what about Mighty?"

"Mighty?"

"Yeah, you like him!"

"What are you talking about? Sure, I used to have a crush on him but that was in the past and it was just a stupid crush."

"Exactly! Same with Maria, she was just a stupid crush that happened in the past."

"But you still like her. I can see it in the way you act around her," Mephiles pushed further.

"Chaos, why are you so stubborn. Alright, fine, you still think that, even if I did at least I didn't sleep with her. Unlike you."

"I never slept with Mighty. Wish I did, but he didn't like me that way."

"No, but that didn't stop you fucking Sonia and having a bloody baby!"

"I already told you it wasn't my baby, we took a DNA test. Besides, even if I did it was before we were even dating."

"That didn't stop you from almost marrying her!" Shadow bellowed.

"I was trying to do the right thing!" Mephiles fired back.

"It broke my heart talking to you in that dressing room before you were going to get married. I wanted nothing more than to run away with you and never look back but I had to sacrifice everything for your happiness. Twice. Even if I did love Maria, maybe you'd finally understand how I felt when I let you almost marry Sonia."

"Shadow I…" Mephiles trailed off. "I didn't think how hard that would have been for you."

"And then you just disappeared without a trace. I thought you'd run away from me." Shadow felt like crying. He thought it might help him, but he didn't cry.

"I'm sorry Shadow, I guess I never tried to put myself in your shoes. I sacrificed a lot for Sonia but I never thought you did too. And when you came to rescue me you sacrificed what little family you had left."

"The commander had become like a dad to me. My dad asked him to be there for me, and he was. I had to cut ties with him for you, but I'd do it again. I have no family, Mephiles, but now suddenly Maria has returned."

"And you promise you don't love her?"

"I do love her, but not as a lover but rather as a sister. I love Maria, but I'm in love with you," Shadow said. Mephiles said nothing for a moment, then chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Me. Us. This is our second real fight, all because of something so stupid, like last time with the commander and my father. But this time is even more stupid. It's all because we keep sacrificing things for each other. I'm just scared to lose you."

"You won't ever lose me. That's a promise," Shadow closed the gap between the two, wrapped his arms around Mephiles' waist. Shadow crashed his lips against Mephiles' and opened wide for Mephiles' tongue to explore.

"I love you, Shadow."

"I love you too, Mephiles, and I always will."

…

Sonic was struggling. His body ached, his stomach churned and just taking a step out of his room felt like a chore. He was struggling to sleep, and last night wasn't any easier. His body craved more Heroin, and his mind started to agree. Sonic couldn't understand it. It hadn't been nearly this bad last time. He felt a bit sick and sore, but not nearly to this extent.

It didn't help that his roommates were never around. Mephiles was off on his own planet like usual, always off in some secluded spot where nobody would find him unless he wanted them to. Mighty, on the other hand, was different. He used to hang around their room a lot, especially if Sonic ever asked him to hang out. These days, however, it was almost rarer to see Mighty than it was to see Mephiles.

Sonic's gaze flicked to his window that overlooked the forest. He followed the path with his eyes, veering mentally from it to his secret spot. He knew there was some left in that stump.

"I'm not addicted, it's just a little to help ween me off it. That's all," Sonic said to himself. He was about to plan a trip to the forest when something stopped him.

"Knock, knock," a voice called from the door.

"Just a second," Sonic put on his cheeriest voice as he struggled to lift his legs off the bed. His head was immediately struck with an intense pounding and nausea flooded him. With a grunt, he pushed though the pain and slipped over to the door. "Oh, hey Blaze."

"Wow, that's all I get? Nice," Blaze joked as she entered carrying a heavy plastic bag. She dumped it in the middle of the room, helped Sonic close the door and guided him back to the bed. "You look worse for wear."

"Thanks for noticing," Sonic tried to joke with her but the bile that threatened his throat silenced him as quickly as he began.

"Is it really that bad?" Sonic nodded. "Well, lucky for you I came prepared." Blaze poured out the contents of the bag onto the floor. There were a couple bottles of Gatorade, a couple bottles of water, some muesli bars, an orange, a punnet of strawberries and a few sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap.

"What's all that?" Sonic asked.

"A detox," Blaze answered plainly. "I'm going to help you kick this. I did some research and, sorry to say, but you're going to feel like shit for the next week. But that's okay, because these will help you. I got Sonia to pick up some things while she was back in the city and this should keep you going until you start to feel better."

"Thanks, but, why those foods?"

"Simple," Blaze beamed. "Gatorade to replace some electrolytes. Water is obvious. You look seriously dehydrated. Here, have some now," Blaze tossed him a bottle. Sonic begrudgingly twisted off the cap and gulped down a few refreshing sips of water.

"And the fruit?"

"I read that oranges and strawberries are the best fruits to eat because they are high in the essential vitamins which your body needs."

"And the sandwiches?"

"I hope you like them. I made them myself. Whole grain bread to give you the necessary carbohydrates. Tuna to get the essential proteins. Cheese for vitamin A and nice leafy spinach for calcium and B6. This should help you back on your feet in no time, so keep them in the fridge and eat one a day."

"Wow, you really did your research, didn't you?"

"I just want to make sure you are feeling better. And when I'm free from study and classes I'm going to be here to help you every step of the way," Blaze smiled.

"Thanks Blaze. This really means a lot," Sonic smiled.

"Anytime. Now, eat up. I didn't spend all this money for this food to go to waste. And I'm eating some of those strawberries!"

…

The sound of their raucous, boisterous laughter echoed through the halls of the third floor of the main building as Manic and Knuckles shuffled through the winding corridors.

"Did he really do that?" Knuckles wiped a stray tear from his eye as he tried to control his gasping breaths.

"Yeah, and Mr. Ash was not happy in the slightest," Manic chuckled. As the two approached the music room the sound of a guitar melody fill their ears and they slowed to a stop. It was coming from inside the music room. It wasn't fast and it wasn't complicated, but it was a solid sound. Then, a wrong note, and another, and suddenly frustrated grunts and screams replaced the sweet music.

"Whoa, what's going on in here?" Knuckles asked as he barged through the door. The two friends laid eyes upon Mighty, disgruntled and angry as he ran his hands through his hair.

"I just can't do it, guys. I just can't seem to get the hang of it," Mighty grumbled.

"What do you mean you can't get the hang of it?" Manic asked. "Sure, you screwed up a few notes but it wasn't bad. Probably just nerves or something. I'm sure you'll find your groove."

"What groove? I've only been learning to play for like a couple days," Mighty lamented.

"What?" Both Manic and Knuckles gasped. Mighty shot them a dumbfounded look. "I thought you had been playing guitar for years. Espio said you had musical experience. That's why he convinced us to let you join."

"Well… I mean, I play saxophone, but I've listened to Espio's work and it's not very jazzy at all. I didn't want to force him to change his style just because of me, and even though he said I could sing I didn't want to take the singing job away from him. So I figured, maybe I could learn to play guitar and earn my spot," Mighty said.

"We thought you could actually play guitar? If you can't, then why did Espio ask you to join?" Knuckles didn't understand.

"He said he'd been in the same place I was and two people, and music, helped pull him up in the lowest moment of his life when everybody turned against him." Manic and Knuckles exchanged a knowing glance and sighed.

"It's cool, dude, let me give you some lessons between classes," Knuckles offered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing better to do," he shrugged.

"And I'll start creating some new melodies that can incorporate some saxophone, too. I bet Espio would love the challenge of writing lyrics to a different style," Manic smiled.

"I don't want to be a bother."

"None at all. Bands change and evolve all the time. We've had trouble finding our sound, since we've mostly just been practicing Espio's solo work so maybe this is just what we need."

"Wow… this means a lot, guys," Mighty said earnestly.

"Anytime, bro," Knuckles nodded.

"Good to have you in the band," Manic agreed.

…

"Hey, can we talk?" Jet asked as he strolled up to the swallow sitting alone at one of the many wooden tables dotting the grounds of the school.

"Oh, hey Jet, what's up?" Wave smiled.

"It's about Lien-Da," Jet said. The smile was instantly wiped off Wave's face as she looked down at her thumbs.

"Oh, okay… Why do you want to talk about her?" Wave said softly.

"This," Jet gestured to her. "You. Whenever she is brought up or whenever she's around you act all weird and closed off. I'd like to think I know you pretty well, Wave, and this isn't you. Did something happen between you two?"

"No," Wave lied.

"Wave, I know you're lying. I'm just curious, because Lien-Da has approached me a couple times and we've gotten along pretty well. She keeps asking about you, too, so I've told her some stories."

"What stories!" Wave interrupted hurriedly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. I didn't say much, I urged her to go talk to you. Is something going on between you two? If she's done something, you know you can tell me about it, right?" Jet sat beside her and placed his hand on top of hers. She glanced up at him. She never could resist those eyes. There was something about Jet that calmed her; that made her trust him.

"Okay, the truth is…"

 _I had a happy family growing up. They were perfect. Loving mother, hard-working father. I couldn't really complain. And yet, I was miserable as a child. It wasn't my family, it was everything else._

 _I was bullied in school for being a bird. My feathers, my claws, my beak, everything. It wasn't that bad, though, if not for one girl. Lien-Da. She was the worst. She was relentless. Every waking moment she would torment me. She'd scratch my skin, pull my hair, spit on my clothes, call me names, trip me down stairs. It was torture._

 _I never understood why. What did I ever do to that girl? She was my next-door neighbor. I never said a word to her, except when I begged her to stop. I don't know why she targeted me, but she did. The worst part was that she never used to. For the first few years she was ambivalent. We weren't friends, but she paid me no notice. We were just two girls who happened to go to the same school. Then everything changed when my family bought the new house on Alfred Street and I moved in next-door to her._

"Ever since we moved, Lien began her torment. I never did anything. I never said anything, and yet she ruined my life," Wave sighed.

"I'm so sorry Wave, I didn't know," Jet frowned. "Is that why you came up to me that day in the park?"

"That was one of the reasons. I saw the way school treated you for being different. I understood the pain. To be honest, you were the only thing that made primary school bearable. That, and my mum."

"Tell me about her," Jet smiled.

"I love mum. She was always there for me. Still always will be. She always knew just what to say to cheer me up. I remember all the times I'd come home from school with sore eyes. I pretended I was happy but she knew I wasn't. She knew I'd been crying. She tried everything to help me but eventually it got too much. In the end, she learnt that asking me what had happened only led to more pain. Instead she'd be there for me. She'd take me to the park, or to a movie, or to the ice-skating rink. She always knew what to do."

"Wow, I've never seen you like this."

"Like what?" Wave asked.

"So… happy," Jet mused. "When we were kids you were always carefree, but I guess I was so lonely I didn't see how upset you were. But now, seeing you talk about your family, your eyes light up."

"You… noticed my eyes?"

"I always did… do. I guess, despite how people ridiculed us we both always had loving families," Jet smiled.

"And we always had each other, too."

"I wish you never left," Jet sighed. Wave opened her mouth to speak but bit her tongue, eyes downcast.

"I had to."

…

The ringing of the bell echoed through the school grounds as teachers released the students from the confines of the classroom. Mephiles remained seated in study hall as his classmates scooped their bags off the floor and sprinted out of the classroom. He had no plans to go anywhere. Not until the person his reptilian eyes were fixated on had left – Manic.

Mephiles had grown more and more concerned about Mina as he continued to study her behaviour. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Mephiles knew she didn't want him involved but he couldn't help himself. He figured Manic might know what had been going on. He'd been dating her, and maybe he could shed some light.

"Thanks teach, I'll be sure to read up on that before the exam," Manic flashed a grin at his teacher before stepping out into the hallway. It was there that Mephiles stepped up to him, almost frightening the younger boy.

"Manic, I need to talk to you," Mephiles said darkly.

"Whoa, Meph, I didn't see you there. You scared me half to death," Manic laughed carelessly. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to you about Mina."

"M-Mina?" That took Manic off guard. He hadn't even thought about his not quite ex-girlfriend in a while. "What about her?"

"Surely you've noticed that she's been acting strangely. And I'm pretty sure I heard her crying the other day."

"And why should I care?" Manic said offhandedly.

"I thought you'd care the most. You are her boyfriend after all." Manic couldn't help but scoff. However, the confused expression fixed on Mephiles' face aggravated Manic.

"I'm not her boyfriend. I broke up with her last term. Where have you been?"

"I've been… incapacitated," Mephiles said as images of that room in G.U.N's headquarters flashed through his mind.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you but I'm not with her and, honestly, I don't care if she's going through something. She ruined my life and I've got no fucks left to give. Late Meph," Manic said bluntly before walking away. Mephiles sighed. He didn't know what to do next.

"Could it be that she's upset over her breakup with Manic?" Mephiles thought to himself. That must be it. All the pieces began to align. Mephiles set out to the dormitory. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to help. He didn't know why but he felt filled with a duty of care. However, when he arrived outside her door he heard the same thing. Sobs. This time Mephiles didn't know. He wanted to see for himself and, rudely, he wrenched open the door and stormed into her room.

"Wha?" Mina cried out in surprise as she sat up quickly from her bed and smashed her head against the bottom of the bunk bed above her. "Ouch."

"Sorry for startling you," Mephiles began somberly as he watched Mina rub her head. "I heard crying and I thought something was wrong."

"That doesn't give you the right to barge in here," Mina clapped back angrily.

"Again, I apologize, but I knew I'd heard crying before. Mina, if something is wrong you need to find help."

"Who are you to tell me what I should do," Mina glowered, anger replacing sadness. "You're the one that just barged into my room, and stopped me on the stairs yesterday, too. Are you stalking me?"

"Mina, something is wrong. I can tell. I just… I have this feeling. I get that you don't trust me, or probably even like me, but I want to help. You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to but know you're not alone."

"Thanks, but everything is fine," Mina crossed her arms defiantly. "Besides, if something was wrong I'd go to Breezie, anyway. She's my friend, not you."

"But you haven't told her about this, have you," Mephiles said. He could tell by her eyes that his summation had been correct. "Something happened that you've been bottling up for a while now. Something you've tried to live with but can't anymore."

"Please, stop talking."

Something that's been haunting you your whole life and now, after you thought you'd finally escaped it, it's back."

"I said stop talking."

"Somebody from your past, perhaps. Your parents?" Mephiles guessed. Mina ground her teeth and flicked her eyes sideways. Mephiles knew he was right. He only needed to get one more thing right. "Your father."

"How… how did you know?" Mina's defenses shattered at Mephiles' deductions and she collapsed back down onto the bed.

"I know the feeling."

"You can't possibly know anything I'm going through."

"I do, trust me."

"No, trust me, you don't. Now, thanks and all for being concerned but please, just leave me alone Mephiles."

"I can help."

"How can you possibly help me," Mina hissed. Mephiles sighed.

"My father is Crimson." Mina froze.

"You mean?"

"Yes, that Crimson. He's a terrorist, so I think I know a little about horrible fathers. He used me and abused me."

"My father was abusive too," Mina finally revealed as the tears that had been stinging her eyes threatened to flow freely again.

"Did he ever lay a finger on you?" Mephiles probed. Mina couldn't respond but nodded her head. Mephiles clenched his fist. "How dare he."

"He did so much…" Mina sniffed. "And… and…"

"And what?" Mephiles continued to push. He'd finally gotten Mina to open up to him and he wanted to know more. He wanted to be able to help, but she needed to tell him what had gotten her so upset.

"And he's managed to get custody. He's coming to see me next week."

…

The surprising pain was almost unbearable. Eclipse couldn't believe it. Sure, he'd had a bit of a stomach ache the past few days but nothing compared to this. He'd woken up this morning and was immediately buffeted by intense abdominal pain.

Eclipse moaned as he clutched his stomach and rolled over in his bed. His dry eyes looked out through the window at the beautiful day. He felt nothing but beautiful. His girlfriend dumped him, his grades had been slipping and now it felt like something was crawling around inside of him, churning deep in his guts.

Eclipse: _Hey Sil, where's that medicine_

Silver: _Calm down, I'm coming. There was a surprisingly long line at the chemist_

Eclipse: _Hurry_

Eclipse slammed his phone down onto the desk as he groaned. He placed his palm on his forehead. It was clammy and hot – very hot. Cold sweats racked his body and he had uncontrollable shivers despite his rising temperature. He needed some pain killers.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a key clunked in the lock and Silver strode into the room carrying a plastic bag.

"It's about time," Eclipse whined.

"A thank you would be nice," Silver rolled his eyes as he threw his keys on the bed and stepped up to Eclipses bed. "I got you the pain killers. I also got some vitamin tablets and some sports drink to give you some electrolytes."

"Thanks Silver, you're the best," Eclipse tried to force a smile as he fumbled open the pack of pills with shaky hands and popped two into his mouth. He washed them down with the sports drink and let out a painful sigh.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Silver asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Eclipse let his head rest against his pillow again.

"I don't just mean physically," Silver continued. "I mean you've hardly left your bed since… well, y'know, since Tikal dumped you."

"Wow, thanks for bringing that up," Eclipse said sarcastically as he rolled over to face the drywall.

"I'm just saying. Are you sure you're actually sick and it's not just, maybe, I don't know, a placebo sort of thing and you've made yourself think you're sick even though it's just heartbreak?"

"How could you even ask that? You think I'm faking sick?" Eclipse growled.

"No. I'm just saying, maybe you're making yourself feel worse than you actually are because of how bad you feel emotionally… or something. Chaos knows I felt horrible when I got my heart broken."

"I can't believe you think I'm faking."

"I don't think you're faking it. I just think–"

"Fuck off Silver," Eclipse barked.

"Eclipse, I'm not saying that," Silver sighed.

"I said fuck off. Leave me alone."

"Alright, fine, sorry I said anything," Silver threw up his hands and rolled his eyes as he scooped up his keys and stomped over to the door. "Feel better soon," he added bitterly before closing the door.

"Good riddance," Eclipse huffed childishly as his stomach gurgled and he clenched his sides to try and ease the tormenting, piercing pain.

…

 _Looking back on it, it was a stupid idea. Fiona had her reputation for a reason. She was feared by even the seniors in school for a reason. But she was my friend. Or, at least, I thought she was my friend. Me, Fiona and Bean – the three musketeers. We ran the freshmans and we always had each other's backs. I guess that's why I trusted her._

 _I was chilling in the cafeteria with Fiona. We were still freshman. It had been about two weeks since Tekno and Bean had started dating. Everybody was avoiding our table and looking anywhere else when they walked past like usual. She was talking about some gossip she heard but all her words were going in one ear and out the other. I was too busy staring at him – Bean – and his girlfriend._

 _"What is with you today?" Fiona complained. "Espio… Espio… Espio!"_

 _"Huh? Yeah, I can't believe she did that," Espio said._

 _"You really aren't listening at all, are you?"_

 _"Sorry, I've got my mind elsewhere." Fiona looked at Espio and followed his gaze. She noticed Bean laughing with Tekno. They were disgustingly cute. She watched as Bean closed his eyes, opened his mouth and let Tekno feed him. She frowned. Espio looked so sad._

 _"Hey, c'mon, let's get out of here," Fiona decided as she grabbed my hand and led me out of the building._

 _"Wait, where are we going?" I resisted as she began to lead me out of school. "We've still got fifth and sixth period._

 _"You look like you need to get your mind somewhere else. School won't even notice we're gone," Fiona replied flippantly._

 _"But they'll call my parents and I'll get in trouble."_

 _"You'll be fine. Trust me, I do this all the time."_

 _"That's what I'm afraid of." Fiona ignored me and, reluctantly, I followed. It wasn't long before she led me to a local arcade. It was strange, the loud noises, flashing lights and people rushing around with happy faced. I wouldn't have expected Fiona to like a place like this._

 _She pushed through the twisting pathways between machines like she knew the place like the back of her hand. She stopped outside a machine she pulled back the draped curtain of the shooter game and clambered inside. I followed. There were two seats, two guns and one big screen. Fiona reached underneath the coin slot and removed the plastic casing._

 _"Is that allowed?"_

 _"They haven't found me out yet. The game covers us from the camera's. Don't worry, it's fine, it's not stealing if I use them on the same game." I shrugged as she stole a bunch of coins and put them back into the slot to start the game._

 _For the next hour or so we both played. Slowly I forgot my troubles as I was immersed in the game. We shouted, laughed, groaned and focused hard until we eventually managed to get the high score._

 _"Yes, we did it!" Fiona howled victoriously as she slapped my hand. "Never thought I'd be able to beat that dickhead. Thanks for the assist."_

 _"Anytime," I smiled. "And, Fiona, thanks for this. I really needed it."_

 _"Ugh, are you going to go all sappy on me?"_

 _"I just wanted to let you know that this really means a lot."_

 _"I didn't do it for you. I just wanted an excuse to skip class." I rolled my eyes. I knew she wouldn't admit it, but she really did care for me. That's when I noticed something scratched on the roof of the machine. It was faint, but I could tell it was carved out of the plastic with a knife. Home._

 _"Fiona, what's your home life like?" I asked. I don't know what came over me but seeing how much she knew this place I felt like she spent a lot of time here. I never really thought about it but it finally donned on me. I've never been to her place. She always came to mine or Bean's when the three of us used to hang out. Did she have an angry step dad like I did?_

 _"I don't ask you about your home life so don't ask me about mine," Fiona snapped defensively._

 _"I know you don't, but I'm curious. I just want to make sure you're okay, Fiona. You are one of my best friends after all."_

 _"Best… best friend?"_

 _"Of course. Am I not yours?" Fiona paused for a moment. I don't know what was going through her head._

 _"Well, since we're on the topic of personal questions, let me ask you this," Fiona dodged. "What happened between you and Bean?"_

 _"Bean? Nothing."_

 _"C'mon, you know you can't lie to me. I saw the way you were looking at him today. Something happened, and as your friend I think I deserve to know."_

 _"Okay… but please, don't tell anybody. Especially not Bean."_

 _"Cross my heart," Fiona said as she traced her finger across her heart. "Now spill."_

 _"Here goes…" I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting the words spill out of my mouth. "I think I'm in love with Bean." Fiona said nothing. After a few seconds of silence I peeked open an eye and saw her staring at me. It was a judgmental stare, nor was it a disgusted stare. It just looked like she was thinking. "Fiona?"_

 _"Okay."_

 _"Okay? That's all you have to say. This is, like, my biggest secret."_

 _"It's okay if you're gay. You know that doesn't change anything, right?"_

 _"What? No, I'm not gay."_

 _"But you like Bean."_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"And Bean is a guy."_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"So that makes you gay."_

 _"Don't call me gay," I yelled, images of the way my step father used to yell at me and curse at me because he thought I was gay flashed through my mind._

 _"Whoa, calm down," Fiona raised her hands._

 _"Sorry, sorry. It's just, I like girls, I do, but there's just something about Bean. I don't know if I'm just confusing feelings but I… I really like him. I'm overcome with this intense jealousy when I see him with Tekno. I don't know, it's stupid."_

 _"Hey," Fiona said sweetly. "It's not stupid. If it means something to you, it can't be. Look, how about you just take a little time away from him, let yourself get your feelings all sorted out and let him pass the honeymoon phase with his new girlfriend and then you and I can figure out what to do later. Deal?"_

 _"Okay, yeah, deal. Thanks Fiona, this means a lot."_

 _"What else are friends for?"_

 _"And you promise you won't tell him?"_

 _"I already told you I promised, now c'mon, let's play another round. I bet we can beat our score!"_

…

Cosmo was nervous. She couldn't stop thinking about it all day. Ever since she'd run into Nack and he'd been so sweet to her, she hadn't known what to think. It was like he'd transformed back into that nice boy he was when she met him. But then he invited her to gamble with him again, and a part of her – a big part – really wanted to give in and get that rush only gambling could give her.

Cosmo wrapped her yellow woolen sweater closer around her body and crossed the lawn that blisteringly cool night. She ascended the stairs and finally came to a stop outside his door. She raised her knuckles and was about to knock when she bit her bottom lip.

She wasn't sure if she should do it. The allure to give in and play another round of cards was strong, and the thought that one of her oldest friends had changed his ways made her hesitate. Then her thoughts drifted to Jet again. He'd been so supportive of her. He'd been the best, albeit only, boyfriend she'd ever had. She loved him. Deep down she knew it, and she knew how disappointed he'd be if she gave into her desires and began to gamble behind his back again. He'd helped her every step along the way. She didn't want to let him down.

Jet or Nack? Recovery or relapse? Cosmo was conflicted, but she knew that despite what her brain might say, she had to follow her heart. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It opened, and Jet smiled at her from the entrance.

"Cosmo, I wasn't expecting to see you tonight. I thought you said you had some work you needed to do," Jet said as he stepped aside to let her in.

"I… finished it," Cosmo lied. Jet led her over to his bed and the two sat down together. Jet placed his hand on top of Cosmo's and their fingers laced together. Jet leant over and gently touched his lips against hers delicately.

"Either way, I'm glad you're here." Cosmo couldn't take it any longer. She couldn't lie to him. He was Jet – her Jet.

"I lied," Cosmo admitted suddenly.

"About what?" Jet replied innocently.

"About work. The truth is, I've been talking to Nack again." Jet rose his eyebrows. He knew of their history together and he knew what a bad influence he had been, and still was, on Cosmo.

"And what were you talking about?"

"He asked me to come play a few rounds of poker with him, Storm and Honey. That's why I said I was busy tonight. I was going to go play with them."

"So how come you aren't with them now?"

"Because of you," Cosmo said. "I thought about you, and how disappointed you'd be in me. When I was struggling to kick my addiction you were there every step of the way. Despite how frustrating or annoying I got, you didn't give up on me. Even when I said I didn't love you and became distant, you didn't give up on me. Now I want to show you that you put your trust in the right person. I want to stay away for you."

"You shouldn't do it for me, Cosmo. You should do it for yourself."

"Thanks Jet, I love you."

"I love you too," Jet smiled as he kissed her again, more deeply this time.

"Do you mind if I stay the night? I don't trust myself alone tonight," Cosmo asked.

"Of course you can. You know you can stay here as often and as much as you like." Together the two lay down on Jet's admittedly small bed and slipped below the covers, snuggling up together.

"Oh, before I forget, I have something for you," Jet said as he sat up and leant over to rummage through his drawer.

"For me? Jet, you really didn't need t–" Cosmo's voice failed her when Jet turned and showed her something beautiful. He was holding a magnificent necklace with what appeared to be a small, shimmering diamond.

"I know it isn't a big occasion, but I wanted to get you something special to show how I really felt about you," Jet said.

"Is that…" Cosmo trailed off.

"Yep, it's a real diamond. Turn around," Jet said softly as Cosmo turned her head and he clipped the necklace around her neck. She looked down at the stunning gemstone fixed to the chain. She played with it between her fingers, unable to believe it was real.

"Jet… how much did this cost?"

"It doesn't matter. You're worth it."

"But this must have hundreds of dollars."

"More like a thousand, but honestly the price doesn't matter."

"Jet…" Again Cosmo found herself speechless.

"I went with a diamond because of a few things. It's the only stone that could attempt to match your beauty, but also because it's one of the toughest substances on earth. Just like a diamond, our love is strong and can weather any storm."

"That's so cheesy," Cosmo giggled. "I love it, and I love you. Thanks Jet, I'll treasure it forever," Cosmo smiled as she wrapped her arms around Jet and crashed her lips against his as she fell down on top of him.

"Ugh, keep it down I'm trying to sleep," Scourge rolled his eyes as he turned around in his bed and placed his pillow over his head.

…

 _"Fucking Mighty, why does he have to make everything so complicated," I complained to myself as I stumbled up to the car and threw open the door. "I just wanted a nice night but now everything is screwed up. We're all falling apart and it's all his fault. Why can't he just be happy for others? Why does he have to ruin everything?"_

 _I was tipsy and I was angry. I wasn't thinking properly. I should have just gone upstairs to the room that Elias booked but I just wanted to return back to school. I just needed to get away._

 _"Shit!" I screamed as I rolled over the speed-bump way faster than I should of. I was so focused on whether or not I'd damaged my friend's car that I didn't see him crossing the road. It came out of nowhere. Everything seemed to slow down as I tried to slam on the breaks but I wasn't fast enough._

 _I remember the thud when I hit him. I remember seeing his body fly over the bonnet of the car. I remember rushing out and seeing his broken, contorted body on the pavement, bruised and bloody._

 _"Oh my chaos, oh my chaos, oh my chaos, what have I done?" I freaked out. Tails wasn't moving and his eyes were closed. I knew I needed to get help, but I couldn't let anybody know it was me. I jumped back in the car and raced off out of the parking lot, turning around to put the car back in the spot._

 _I raced back into the hotel crying my eyes out. My mascara was running, my make-up was smudged and my hair was a stressed, guilty, chaotic mess. That's when I ran into Clove and got her to call the ambulance. That's when I found Sonic and told him that I saw Tails get hit by a driver. I lied to him; I said the guy who hit him didn't stop and kept going. I just wanted Tails to be okay._

 _But he's not okay. He'll never be okay again. He's dead and I killed him._

The memory still haunted Tikal every waking moment of every day. She still couldn't sleep. She still struggled to eat. The guilt had ruined her relationship with Eclipse, it severed some of her closest friendships and it made her a jumpy, anxious mess. She knew she had to come clean. That's why she found herself knocking on the door. She had to tell somebody, but she couldn't face Sonic. There was only one person she could tell.

"Tikal? What are you doing here? It's almost curfew," Sally yawned as she answered the door in her satin pajamas.

"Sally, you're Sonic's best friend. You've known him the longest, yeah?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sally shrugged.

"And you've dealt with hiding a secret that hurt somebody and the guilt that came with that when you accidentally burnt the school down."

"Also true. Where are you going with this?"

"I have a secret too. I accidentally did something bad. Really bad. Way worse than you," Tikal admitted.

"Worse than burning the school down?" Sally asked.

"Way worse. I didn't know who else to turn to, but I need to tell somebody. I was the first friend you made when you came to Mobius High, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were."

"I helped you adjust to a new life back then. Well, this time, I need you to help me."

"Just come out and say what you need to say, Tikal."

"I was the one driving the car."

"What?"

"I was the one that hit Tails. I… killed Tails." Sally almost fainted. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You… you killed Tails?" Tikal nodded, suddenly losing her voice. "You have to come clean. You have to tell the police. You have to tell Tails' parents. You have to tell Sonic!"

"Sally, please, I can't. You know better than anybody that I can't."

"Bullshit Tikal. All I did was put somebody in a coma, but even then, I eventually came clean. You murdered somebody, Tikal."

"I didn't mean to."

"It doesn't matter," Sally closed the door and stepped out into the hallway so her roommates wouldn't overhear. "You were responsible for Tails' death. You need to tell everybody. I'm not just going to be the thing that helps you deal with your guilt. I'm not going to clean your conscience for you," Sally growled.

"But Sally, please, I don't know what to do. I'm a mess," Tikal was crying again. She couldn't control herself.

"Alright, fine, I won't tell anybody on one condition."

"Name it."

"I won't call the cops or tell Sonic as long as you do. You have to tell Sonic yourself and let him decide. If he wants to tell everybody, the school and the police, then I'm with him. Either way, you're telling Sonic that you killed Tails!"

…

The night was still early and most of the students were getting ready to retire to their bedrooms. Curfew lurked close. Clove sat at one of the computers in the deserted library.

"Clove, five-minute warning before we're closing up," the librarian, Megan, warned.

"Alright, thanks," Clove said quietly as she waited for Megan to retreat back to her desk before she opened the tab she'd hidden. Clove couldn't believe she would be researching this type of thing but that's the curve ball life threw at her and Clove knew it could be her only option. She couldn't continue this way, especially after the circumstances surrounding it. Honestly, the idea of it made her feel sick. She'd judged others who'd made the same decision, but now that she was in the position it suddenly made sense. It made her feel like maybe this was the solution.

"Oh, hey Clove, what are you doing here?" Julie-Su said as she noticed Clove at the computer. Clove gasped and hurriedly clicked away from the tab she'd had open.

"Nothing," Clove blurted out incriminatingly.

"O-kay," Julie furrowed her brow and shot Clove a concerned, skeptical glance. "Anyway… I was just going to ask what you're doing here so late?"

"Why am I here so late? Well, why are you here so late?" Clove fired back defensively.

"Jeez, you don't have to get so aggressive. I was just grabbing this book on the great war. Finals are this month and I'm not ready at all."

"Oh, well, me too." Julie gave her a deadpanned glare.

"Really? You were just getting a history text book… on the internet…"

"Well, I was doing research online. Y'know how it is, exams and all."

"Right." Julie knew Clove was lying and, clearly, she was acting strange but Julie was far too tired and stressed to worry about it. "Anyway, I've got a date with this book so I'll see you around."

"Alright, bye Julie," Clove forced a beaming smile and kept it plastered obviously on her face until Julie left the building. Her features fell and she sighed. "Phew, that was close," Clove mumbled as she reopened the page she was studying and continued reading the article – _Ten things you should consider before having your abortion!_

* * *

 _A/N: Yep, that's right. Our third student to be pregnant (after Sonia and Mina) is deciding on whether or not to get an abortion. On top of her relationship with Ray, and the secret that the baby is actually Mighty's, Clove is now dealing with the idea of whether she can really raise this baby or if abortion is the real thing. Will she go through with it, and if she does, will Mighty ever know that he was going to be a father?_

 _We learn more about the past that Espio and Fiona shared. Fiona grew up around an old arcade. Although she kind of stole from it, it was like a home away from home. At that age she never wanted to go home to that scary, dilapidated apartment so she spent most of her afternoons winding down time playing shooters. They were such good friends, but how did it end up so toxic. How did he just end up as her pawn like we saw when these characters were first introduced?_

 _Spike seems to finally be getting the happy ending with Breezie that he'd dreamt about but slowly all the pieces of the puzzle have been falling into place and the picture is more horrifying than he could have imagined. He knows his father killed Breezie's parents, but how can he tell her the truth?_

 _Nack has always been the worst influence on Cosmo but this time she chose to stay with Jet instead of giving in to her desires. But Nack won't give up that easily. Can she resist forever? So too did Sonic almost give into the need to have just one more hit before Blaze came in to detox him. Can he stay sober or will he end up a junkee again?_

 _We are starting, and will continue to, learn about Wave and Lien's past along with Mina and her father's past, and each one isn't exactly how they appear. Be prepared for the worst. Mephiles and Shadow are trying to work through the newest roadblock in their relationship, Manic and Knuckles are trying to help Mighty like how they helped Espio, and something's wrong with Eclispe. Finally, we see from Tikal's perspective what happened that night and now Sally knows the truth. She's had to deal with a secret that almost got somebody killed, but now she has to deal with Tikal's secret too and she's adamant about the path Tikal needs to take. She needs to admit what she did._

 _QotD: Which relationship are you rooting for and which two characters do you hope will be together at the end? Could it be Ray and Clove, Rouge and Scourge, Shadow and Mephiles, Jet and Cosmo, Julie-Su and Sally, Spike and Breezie, newly blooming possibilities like Cream and Mighty, Sonia and Knuckles and Blaze and Sonic, or perhaps some couple entirely new. Let me know._

 _Next time on SH:EL_

 _Razor tries to reconcile with Blaze and gives her something to prove his love_

 _Spike approaches his dad to find the truth_

 _Knuckles makes a mistake_

 _Fiona and Claire make a dangerous deal_

 _...and Maria returns to reveal the chilling reason she disappeared_

 _All this and so much more next time on Chapter 54: Don't Mess with a Murderer_


	54. Update

Hey everybody,

Just a quick update about the future of this story. It takes me almost a month to write each chapter but this past weekend I broke my fingers playing football and I can only use one hand. Since I can no longer type, I'll have to take a break until my fingers heal which means the next chapter will take longer than usual, maybe even up to three months depending on how long it takes to heal (Since I won't have any time in November as my end of year exams are all in November.)

This story isn't dead, it just might be a little while before the next update. Thank you for your patience.

\- TwoTailedFox


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